This Is Actually Happening

Growing up with a mother who used practiced an abusive form of spiritual voodoo, a man seeks to numb his pain, but after tragedy and a descent into crack addiction, he finally finds the cure he’d been looking for.  Today’s episode featured Will Taylor.  Listen to exclusive episodes of This is Actually Happening ad-free by joining Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. St...

Escaping her troubled past, a suburban mother finds stability in marriage and family, but when her reality suddenly begins to fall apart, she descends into an underworld of chaos.  Today’s episode featured Billy Macy. If you’d like to reach out to her, you can email at bmacy78@gmail.com . This episode is the second of a two-part series featuring Billy and her sister, Misty Watterson. Misty’s...

A woman spirals into drug use, coping with an abusive childhood, a failing marriage and post-partum depression, but on the road to recovery, her daughter goes missing and a new realm of horror opens.  Today’s episode featured Misty Watterson and the story of her daughter Allyson Watterson. If you’d like to reach out to her, you can email at mwatterson34@gmail.com . You can also find her on In...

A Thai-Filipino-American man fulfills his life-long dream of escaping his chaotic past and joining the Army, but after lingering scars from multiple deployments to Iraq threaten to destroy him, he finds an unexpected awakening.  Listen to exclusive episodes of This is Actually Happening ad-free by joining Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial by visitin...

Growing up with a narcissistic father, a woman learns to play small, but one night when an unknown masked man enters her room, she faces the worst night of her life, and emerges on the other side with a new found ferocity.  Today’s episode featured Danielle Leukam. You can learn more about Danielle on her website, danielleleukam.com . And you can find her on Instagram @danielleukam, as well a...

After his mother falls in love with Frank, the member of a one-hit-wonder 80s band, a man’s life becomes a roller coaster of neglect, scams, and chaos, but when he turns the camera on the inside of his family, a new world opens he never thought possible.  Today’s episode featured GJ Echternkamp. If you’d like to reach out to him, you can email at GJActuallyHappening@gmail.com . You can find G...

After losing her entire family at ten years old, a woman’s grief evolves into a self-destructive rage, and as systems of care, punishment and rehabilitation keep failing her, she’s forced to create her own path to healing.  Today’s episode featured Amy Ronhaar. You can find out more about Amy on her website, www.amyronhaar.com , and you can read more details of her story in her memoir Raising...

Growing up queer, bullied and abused in a heavily religious community, a man tries and to change his sexual orientation through prayer, but as he pieces his life together and heals past harms, tragedy and misfortune raise more questions than answers. Today’s episode featured Ransom. If you’d like to reach out to him, you can email at Ransomnotes24@gmail.com Listen to exclusive episodes of This is...

Finally finding love and marriage after feeling unworthy of romance, a woman develops symptoms of a mysterious and debilitating illness, but in the roller coaster of recovery, her husband’s mental illness creates a new level of chaos.  Today’s episode featured Marabai Rose. To find out more about Marabai, you can find her on Instagram @marabai.rose, and on her website  marabairose.com ....

An Indigenous woman from the Standing Buffalo Dakota Nation whose grandparents suffered the horrific abuses of the Canadian Indian residential schools finds her own path to healing amidst the ravages of generational trauma on her family and community. Today’s episode featured Erin Goodpipe. To learn more about Erin and her work, you can find her on Instagram @e_goodpipe. Erin is multidiscipli...

After being kidnapped by her mother in a custody battle, a woman finds herself cut off and under the thumb of an abusive stepmother, but after years of chaos and yearning, she finally learns the devastating truth. Today’s guest requested to remain anonymous, but if you’d like to reach out to her, you can email at cracklinghearth1@gmail.com   Listen to exclusive episodes of This is Actually Ha...

Endowed with a strong drive from a young age, a woman becomes a workaholic and marries a wonderful man with similar ambitions, but when he faces a failing project, life-long toxic work patterns come to a tragic conclusion.  Today’s episode featured Trina Colpitts. If you’d like to reach out to her, you can email at  500milesformentalhealth@gmail.com , and you can learn more about her fou...

Soon after returning from a long trip abroad, Whit Missildine, our creator and host of the show, suddenly blacked out and entered a non-responsive seizure state, but as he woke up to a new reality, struggling to put himself back together again, the gifts from the show itself offered exactly the medicine he needed. Listen to exclusive episodes of This is Actually Happening ad-free by joining Wonder...

An impromptu hiking trip turns suddenly to disaster. Listen to exclusive episodes of This is Actually Happening ad-free by joining Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting  wondery.com/links/this-is-actually-happening/  now. Producer:  Whit Missildine, Andrew Waits Social Media:  Instagram: @actuallyhappening Twitter: @TIAHPodcas...

Growing up with a sense of heroic duty, a man becomes a cop fighting the drug war, when the sobering realities of his job lead him to profound awakening. Today's episode featured Neil Woods. You can find out more about Neil by going to neilwoods.net, where you can also find links to his two books: Good Cop, Bad War and Drug Wars, with more about his own experience and about the War on Drugs i...

A woman growing up in poverty in Jamaica is abandoned by her mother at an early age, and as her story of unworthiness deepens, she falls prey to a cruel world.   Today’s episode featured Donna Hayes. Donna has written a memoir that includes further details about her incredible journey called These Broken Roads, which you can find on Amazon. You can also find out more about her on her web...

After learning to endure a toxic relationship with his father, a man crafts a ‘good life’ filled with the privileges of success, but only when he finds himself on the other side of death’s door does he find out what it really means to be alive.  Listen to exclusive episodes of This is Actually Happening ad-free by joining Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free...

Growing up in a family full of secrets, a woman experiences a complex trauma and buries a secret of her own, but after finding her passion in medicine, she is faced with dilemma that brings everything to the surface.  Today’s guest requested to remain anonymous. But if you’d like to reach out to her, you can email at v2174359@gmail.com. Listen to exclusive episodes of This is Actual...

A young woman on a backpacking trip in Bali faces a series of misfortunes, but just as she’s leaving for the next chapter of her journey, her future is thrown into darkness.  Today’s episode featured Ashley King. If you’d like to reach out to her, you can email at  ashleyjenniferk@gmail.com , or find her on Instagram @ashkng. Listen to exclusive episodes of This is Actually Happening ad-...

A young man looking for a quick way to get rid of student loan debt gambles with his life and nearly pays the ultimate price. Listen to exclusive episodes of This is Actually Happening ad-free by joining Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting  wondery.com/links/this-is-actually-happening/  now. Producer: Whit Missildine Social Media:&nbs...

A woman with severe harm OCD encounters the many faces of death and dying but finds renewal in caring for others and ultimately herself. Today's episode featured Rachel. You can find out more about her on Facebook at fb.com/RachelHillestad .   Content/Trigger Warnings: homicidal thoughts, harm OCD, death, sexual assault, mention of suicide, suicidal thoughts, explicit language Producers:&nbsp...

After tragedy strikes a Vietnamese refugee family, a young man finds his new home in a violent gang, forever marking his life path through acts of destruction and redemption. Today’s episode featured Quan Huynh. You can read more about Quan’s story in his memoir, Sparrow in the Razorwire -  www.sparrowintherazorwire.com . You can also find out more about Quan and his current work at&nbsp...

Growing up in a broken home with a loving mother, a woman faces disturbing and routine abuse from her brother, but after it escalates, and the unthinkable happens, the terror never ends.  Today's episode featured Amy Chesler. To find out more about her and her story, you can find her book on Working for Justice on Amazon. Amy also has her own podcast, What Came Next,...

A woman experiences a childhood trauma, facing silence and betrayal in the aftermath, but a when unexpected tragedy comes, the answers begin slipping out of reach.  Today’s guest requested to remain anonymous, but if you’d like to reach out, you can email her at dotisallin@gmail.com Producers:  Whit Missildine, Andrew Waits, Sara Marinelli Content/Trigger Warnings: sexual assault of a mi...

Growing up with a solid Midwestern childhood, and man discovers the wonders of the Hawaiian ocean, when one day a terrifying encounter changes everything.  Today’s episode featured Harvey Miller. You can find out more about Harvey on Instagram @mrsharkb8, on TikTok @harveymiller26, or you can contact him over email at  mr.sharkb8@gmail.com Producers:  Whit Missildine, Andrew Waits,...