Trauma Candy Salad

Today on Trauma Candy Salad, we’re talking about what happens when the people who are supposed to protect you become the people you need protection from. Halee shares the story of losing her dad at just seven years old, struggling to process her grief, and being punished instead of supported.  Then we hear from an anonymous listener who recently left a marriage where she was expected to carry the...

What happens when grief and relief exist in the same heart? And what does it feel like to realize the person you loved never truly loved you in the way you needed? In today’s episode of Trauma Candy Salad, we’re sharing two stories that explore the complicated emotions of love, loss, addiction, and the painful realization that being desired isn’t the same as being cherished. Our first submission c...

In today’s bowl, Kate shares what it was like to lose her mom to osteosarcoma at just 16 years old—and to be more than a daughter during her mother’s final days. Then Megan brings us back to May 22, 2011, when she survived the devastating EF5 tornado that tore through Joplin, Missouri. But surviving the tornado wasn’t the end of the trauma. Years later, severe weather can still bring Megan right b...

This week on Trauma Candy Salad, we’re talking about the complicated ways trauma can change our relationship with our bodies, food, sex, love, and even ourselves. Anonymous brings Twizzlers to the salad bowl to share her experience with postpartum depression, body dysmorphia, extreme calorie restriction, and compulsive exercise. What started as an attempt to cope with how she felt after having a b...

Sometimes it only takes one unexpected moment for everything to come crashing down. This week on Trauma Candy Salad, Ashley and Sammi are diving into two heartbreaking stories about the kind of loss that doesn’t always come with a warning. First, one woman watches a storm literally change the course of her life when a falling tree totals her car, leaving her without transportation, financial secur...

In this episode of Trauma Candy Salad, we’re talking about the quiet relationship hurts that can leave you questioning yourself—and whether you should have to. First, a listener opens up about her boyfriend consistently liking another woman’s pictures while barely acknowledging hers, and the excuses that leave her wondering why she even has to ask for the same attention. Then, a broken engagement...

This week on Trauma Candy Salad, we’re talking about the kind of hurt that doesn’t always come with a clean ending. First up, Jay The Great brought Snickers to the bowl with a story about a nearly ten-year friendship that turned out to be a whole lot faker than she realized. When the person you trusted is the one talking behind your back, sometimes the best thing you can do is let the trash take i...

Trigger Warnings: Car accident, traumatic injury, limb loss/amputation, depression, emotional abuse, infidelity, parental abandonment, financial manipulation, family dysfunction. This week on Trauma Candy Salad, we’re talking about the kind of wounds that don’t always leave visible scars. Berry shares the emotional aftermath of losing her leg in a devastating car accident and how surviving wasn’t...

This week, we’re sharing two stories that remind us how invisible someone’s pain can be. First, Caitlyn opens up about experiencing severe postpartum depression after the birth of her third child. What began as overwhelming anxiety quickly turned into a life-threatening mental health crisis, and it was only because of a surprise visit from her mom that she’s here to tell her story today. Her messa...

Some moments divide life into before and after. This week, we’re sharing two stories about the kind of loss that forever changes the people left behind. First, a mother honors the memory of her four-year-old daughter, Remy, who passed away after a courageous battle with DIPG, an aggressive childhood brain cancer. She opens up about the impossible reality of waking up each day without her little gi...

Some wounds don’t end when the moment is over. They follow us into adulthood, shaping how we cope, who we trust, and how we survive. This week, Whitney brings Sour Skittles to the salad bowl and shares her heartbreaking journey with anorexia nervosa, beginning at just 14 years old. What started as a coping mechanism after trauma led to years of life-threatening hospitalizations, treatment centers,...

This week on Trauma Candy Salad, we’re serving up Gummy Bears and Milky Ways in a bowl full of identity, family chaos, and grief. First, one listener shares the story of being outed by her own father during Thanksgiving grace after trusting her parents with something deeply personal. What follows is equal parts heartbreaking, chaotic, and unexpectedly protective. Then, we hear from Lacey, who hono...

This week in the Trauma Candy Salad bowl: 🍫 Tootsie Rolls for a story about the lasting impact of bullying. Anonymous shares how cruel classmates mocked her appearance, created fake social media accounts, and made her feel unwanted throughout high school. Now 31, she reflects on how those voices followed her long after graduation and the work it took to realize they never belonged to her. 🍬 Joll...

This week, we’re sharing three deeply personal stories about losing a parent, and the very different ways grief can change a life. 🍬 Twizzlers — Anonymous shares what it was like growing up with a mother whose struggles with mental illness led to multiple suicide attempts before her eventual death. It’s a story about complicated grief, anger, love, and remembering the person beyond their illness....

This week in the Trauma Candy Salad bowl: 🟫 Anna Keibler brought Zero Bars and shared the unbelievable true story behind her memoir. What began as a study abroad adventure in China turned into a five-year journey involving isolation, manipulation, coercion, betrayal, and heartbreak. Despite experiencing profound trauma, she found healing through telling her story. 🟩 Alex Hollan brought Sour Patc...

This week’s Trauma Candy Salad is a brutal mix of horrifying, heartbreaking, and deeply human moments. A college party turns into a public gastrointestinal apocalypse in the middle of class. A daughter shares the grief and rage of losing her mother to Covid during the height of the pandemic without ever getting to say goodbye. And a teenager’s excitement over getting her license ends in a devastat...

In this milestone 50th episode of Trauma Candy Salad, Sammi and Ashley sit down with guest “E” to unpack her deeply personal journey through religious trauma and deconstructing from the evangelical faith. E shares what it was like growing up immersed in a belief system rooted in fear, control, and rigid expectations—and the complex, often painful process of questioning everything she was taught. T...

In this episode of Trauma Candy Salad, we’re diving into stories that explore how quickly “normal” situations can turn unsafe—and what it looks like to survive them. Amber shares what started as a typical teenage job at the mall… until a much older coworker crossed every boundary. What began as “just being friendly” escalated into stalking behavior that left her feeling unsafe at work—until her da...

In this episode, Sammi is joined by Shauna (and returning guest Jess) for a raw and emotional conversation about what happens when the person you trusted most becomes someone you don’t recognize. Shauna shares how her relationship with her brother—once one of the closest bonds in her life—slowly unraveled, ultimately contributing to the breakdown of her entire family. What started as a shift durin...

Jess is back in the co-host chair today while Ashley is busy with mom life and Kyle is down bad with a torn bicep (send thoughts and prayers 😅). What starts as a casual catch-up quickly turns into an episode centered around one common thread: the unpredictability of a father’s love. Ana shares the story of a dad who was mostly absent—but when he did show up, it left a mark that never faded. Jacki...

In Part 2 of Erin’s story, we continue the conversation with a 30-year-old woman living with stage IV endometriosis and adenomyosis as she faces what happens when the pain comes back… even after major surgery. Erin shares what it was like to return to the operating room after her symptoms resurfaced, including the physical and emotional toll of repeat surgeries and the uncertainty of never knowing...

In Part 1 of Erin’s story, we sit down with a 30-year-old woman living with stage IV endometriosis and adenomyosis to talk about what happens when severe, chronic pain is repeatedly dismissed as “normal.” Erin shares how her symptoms began as a teenager with extreme period pain and quickly escalated into daily, debilitating pain that doctors struggled, and often failed, to take seriously. After ye...

Trigger Warning: gun violence, attempted murder This week we’re taking a short break from our usual listener stories for spring break (and to celebrate Kyle’s upcoming baby 👶), but we didn’t want to leave you without an episode. In honor of Women’s History Month, we’re sharing the powerful story of Malala Yousafzai, the girl who spoke out for girls’ education under Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan rule...

Some people don’t break things with one big moment — they take pieces slowly. In this week’s episode, “The Things He Stole From Her,” we share three stories about the ways harm shows up in relationships, in public spaces, and even inside the homes that are supposed to be safest. Ashley reads a story from a woman whose husband slowly turned the parts of her personality he once loved into reasons sh...

Abbey is back with updates from Inside a Controlling Marriage… and y’all. The plot twists are PLOTTING. An engagement announcement. A surprise “I’m quitting my job” confession. A sudden move to Nebraska. A demand to end alimony. All in the span of like… five business days. Meanwhile, she’s taking back her power — going to therapy with her son, planning visits, and meeting with a new lawyer because...