In this Bent Not Broken bonus episode, Coach Deborah reflects on her inspiring conversation with therapist and author Stacy Schaffer. Together, they explore how true healing begins when we stop trying to erase the past and start integrating it.

💬 Key Takeaways:

• Reconnect with your inner child by asking, “What did my younger self need to hear?”
• Deepen relationships with the question, “Help me understand what it’s like to be you.”
• Heal through awareness by noticing when your younger self is reacting.
• Reclaim your story — your past may have shaped you, but it doesn’t define you.

You may be bent, but you are never broken. 💖

💬 Enjoyed this episode of Bent Not Broken: Life After Divorce with Deborah Griffiths?

Don’t forget to rate, review, and subscribe on Apple Podcasts and Spotify so more people searching for life after divorce, divorce recovery, co-parenting, dating after divorce, and healing from gaslighting can discover this empowering podcast. Every review helps others find hope, inspiration, and practical tools for thriving after divorce.

🌐 Explore more resources: Visit BrokenToBoldness.com

for coaching, workshops, and guidance on divorce recovery and life transitions.

📲 Follow Deborah Griffiths for daily empowerment and support:

• Instagram: @BrokenToBoldness
• Facebook: Broken to Boldness
• Eventbrite: Divorce Recovery Workshop

✨ Remember: divorce may bend you, but it does not break you. You are stronger than you think, and your bold new chapter starts now. ✨

Award-winning author Mia J. Hanks joins Coach Deborah to share her powerful journey of surviving nearly 30 years with a covert narcissist—a partner who appeared perfect in public but was emotionally abusive behind closed doors.

Through her memoir Bride-maid, Mia offers hope to survivors struggling to understand why love can feel like control. She reveals how writing became her healing tool, how shame keeps victims silent, and how true freedom begins with reclaiming your story.

If you’ve ever questioned your worth in a relationship, this episode is a reminder:

💡 “I hadn’t been courted—I had been acquired.”

🔗 Learn more at miajhanks.com

📖 Get Bridesmaid on Amazon

💬 Enjoyed this episode of Bent Not Broken: Life After Divorce with Deborah Griffiths?

Don’t forget to rate, review, and subscribe on Apple Podcasts and Spotify so more people searching for life after divorce, divorce recovery, co-parenting, dating after divorce, and healing from gaslighting can discover this empowering podcast. Every review helps others find hope, inspiration, and practical tools for thriving after divorce.

🌐 Explore more resources: Visit BrokenToBoldness.com

for coaching, workshops, and guidance on divorce recovery and life transitions.

📲 Follow Deborah Griffiths for daily empowerment and support:

• Instagram: @BrokenToBoldness
• Facebook: Broken to Boldness

✨ Remember: divorce may bend you, but it does not break you. You are stronger than you think, and your bold new chapter starts now. ✨

In this Bent Not Broken bonus episode, Coach Deborah reflects on her inspiring conversation with Wendy Babcock, a woman who turned emotional abuse and divorce into a story of strength and purpose.

Wendy’s journey reminds us that healing isn’t about forgetting what broke you — it’s about rising stronger because of it.

Deborah breaks the episode into five empowering segments with actionable coaching tips to help you recognize control, reclaim your power, and rewrite your story.

💔 1. Recognizing the Invisible Wounds

Emotional abuse often hides behind concern. Ask yourself: Do I feel free — or monitored? Awareness is the first step toward healing.

🕊️ 2. Redefining Freedom After Divorce

Freedom may not feel joyful at first, but it begins in small acts — choosing what brings you peace and learning to trust yourself again.

✍️ 3. Reclaiming the Pen

Take your story back. Start journaling with: “When everything changed for me was when…” Writing turns pain into clarity and growth.

💬 4. From Surviving to Speaking

Wendy’s movement, When Stories, proves that sharing your truth can set you free. Speak your story safely — with a trusted friend, therapist, or your own journal.

🌻 5. The Power of Listening

Healing happens when you listen with compassion — especially to yourself. Replace self-criticism with truth: You are enough. You are healing. You are free.

💖 Closing Reflection

You don’t need to have it all figured out to begin again. Start with one small, bold step — journaling, setting a boundary, or simply saying, “I deserve peace.”

💬 Enjoyed this episode of Bent Not Broken: Life After Divorce with Deborah Griffiths?

Don’t forget to rate, review, and subscribe on Apple Podcasts and Spotify so more people searching for life after divorce, divorce recovery, co-parenting, dating after divorce, and healing from gaslighting can discover this empowering podcast. Every review helps others find hope, inspiration, and practical tools for thriving after divorce.

🌐 Explore more resources: Visit BrokenToBoldness.com

for coaching, workshops, and guidance on divorce recovery and life transitions.

📲 Follow Deborah Griffiths for daily empowerment and support:

• Instagram: @BrokenToBoldness
• Facebook: Broken to Boldness
• Eventbrite: Divorce Recovery Workshop

✨ Remember: divorce may bend you, but it does not break you. You are stronger than you think, and your bold new chapter starts now. ✨

In this bonus episode of Bent Not Broken, Coach Deborah dives deeper into her powerful conversation with Julie Loken, exploring how television and media have influenced our ideas about family, love, and divorce — often without us even realizing it.

From I Love Lucy to The Kardashians, the stories we grew up watching shaped our beliefs about what “normal” should look like. But as Deborah reminds us, you get to write your own script now.

This episode offers four transformational coaching tips to help you release outdated narratives, embrace your evolution, and redefine what family means in your current season of life.

1️⃣ Recognize the Highlight Reel Effect

What you see on TV or social media is rarely real life — it’s a highlight reel. Reflect on the internal “scripts” you’ve inherited about the perfect family or relationship, and ask yourself: What script am I still living by that no longer fits my truth?

2️⃣ Detach from Comparison Culture

Comparison robs you of gratitude. Instead of asking why your life doesn’t look like someone else’s, focus on one thing you’re grateful for in your own story today. Gratitude is your anchor to reality.

3️⃣ Redefine Family on Your Terms

Family is who shows up for you, brings peace (not pressure), and walks beside you through life’s storms. Write your own definition of family — in one sentence.

4️⃣ Give Yourself Permission to Change the Story

Just like TV evolves, so can you. You don’t need anyone’s approval to rewrite your next chapter. Ask yourself: If I were the main character, what would my next chapter be about — freedom, peace, rediscovery?

Turn off the reruns — in your living room and in your mind. Stop replaying what went wrong and start scripting what comes next. Healing isn’t about erasing your old story; it’s about reclaiming the pen and choosing what happens now.

💬 Enjoyed this episode of Bent Not Broken: Life After Divorce with Deborah Griffiths?

Don’t forget to rate, review, and subscribe on Apple Podcasts and Spotify so more people searching for life after divorce, divorce recovery, co-parenting, dating after divorce, and healing from gaslighting can discover this empowering podcast. Every review helps others find hope, inspiration, and practical tools for thriving after divorce.

🌐 Explore more resources: Visit BrokenToBoldness.com

for coaching, workshops, and guidance on divorce recovery and life transitions.

📲 Follow Deborah Griffiths for daily empowerment and support:

• Instagram: @BrokenToBoldness
• Facebook: Broken to Boldness
• Eventbrite: Divorce Recovery Workshop

✨ Remember: divorce may bend you, but it does not break you. You are stronger than you think, and your bold new chapter starts now. ✨

In this heartfelt episode of Bent Not Broken, Coach Deborah sits down with Stacy Schaffer, a licensed professional counselor, trauma survivor, and author of With Love from a Children’s Therapist. With over 20 years of experience helping children and teens heal from grief and trauma, Stacy brings a unique perspective — one that bridges lived experience and professional insight.

Together, they explore how childhood wounds can quietly shape who we become as adults and how awareness and compassion can begin the healing process. Stacy opens up about her own story of survival, loss, and resilience, sharing how she turned pain into purpose and why owning our stories is essential to freedom.

Listeners will also learn about Synergetic Play Therapy — a powerful tool that helps children express what words cannot — and how parents, educators, and caregivers can create emotional safety through understanding, connection, and presence.

💬 “Help me understand what it’s like to be you.” — one of Stacy’s guiding principles for connecting with others at any age.

✨ Key Message: Healing starts when we stop running from our stories and begin to listen to them with compassion.

Learn more about Stacy and her work at authorstacyschaffer.com.

or follow her on Instagram @hope.restored

.

🎧 Bent Not Broken: Life After Divorce — with Coach Deborah — reminding you that you may be bent, but you are never broken.

💬 Enjoyed this episode of Bent Not Broken: Life After Divorce with Deborah Griffiths?

Don’t forget to rate, review, and subscribe on Apple Podcasts

and Spotify so more people searching for life after divorce, divorce recovery, co-parenting, dating after divorce, and healing from gaslighting can discover this empowering podcast. Every review helps others find hope, inspiration, and practical tools for thriving after divorce.

🌐 Explore more resources: Visit BrokenToBoldness.com

for coaching, workshops, and guidance on divorce recovery and life transitions.

📲 Follow Deborah Griffiths for daily empowerment and support:

• Instagram: @BrokenToBoldness
• Facebook: Broken to Boldness
• Eventbrite: Divorce Recovery Workshop

✨ Remember: divorce may bend you, but it does not break you. You are stronger than you think, and your bold new chapter starts now. ✨

In this special bonus coaching session, Coach Deborah dives deeper into the lessons from her powerful conversation with Kerry Brett—master photographer, dating strategist, and author of Shot at Love. Kerry’s story goes far beyond dating; it’s about rediscovering your worth and creating a life—and love—that feels safe, authentic, and aligned.

Whether you’re healing from divorce, recovering from betrayal, or learning to trust yourself again, this episode offers a roadmap for reclaiming your confidence and rebuilding from the inside out.

1️⃣ Rebuild from the Inside Out

Healing begins when you stop asking “What’s wrong with me?” and start affirming “What’s right within me.” Confidence grows through daily choices that honor your worth. This week’s challenge:

➡️ Affirm “I am worthy of love that reflects who I’ve become.”

➡️ Take one action today that supports your self-worth.

2️⃣ Stop Ignoring Red Flags

Your intuition is your internal compass—it’s never wrong. Notice where you’ve silenced your gut instincts and give yourself permission to listen sooner. Protecting your peace is priceless.

3️⃣ Bank on Yourself

When Kerry faced divorce and debt, she chose to invest in herself—her creativity, resilience, and growth. True wealth is more than money; it’s emotional strength, spiritual grounding, and self-trust.

💭 Reflection Prompt: What inner assets—courage, compassion, creativity—can you bank on today?

Heartbreak doesn’t mark the end of your story—it’s the beginning of your becoming. As Kerry reminds us, real love starts when you stop waiting to be rescued and start becoming your own hero.

🎧 Listen to Kerry Brett’s full interview: Bent Not Broken Podcast on Apple Podcasts or Spotify

🌐 Learn more about Kerry: shotatlovebook.com

📅 Book a free Clarity Call: calendly.com/brokentoboldness7/boldnessblueprint

💖 Follow Coach Deborah: @brokentoboldness | @livingbold | @bentnotbrokenpodcast

💬 Enjoyed this episode of Bent Not Broken: Life After Divorce with Deborah Griffiths?

Don’t forget to rate, review, and subscribe on Apple Podcasts

and Spotify so more people searching for life after divorce, divorce recovery, co-parenting, dating after divorce, and healing from gaslighting can discover this empowering podcast. Every review helps others find hope, inspiration, and practical tools for thriving after divorce.

🌐 Explore more resources: Visit BrokenToBoldness.com

for coaching, workshops, and guidance on divorce recovery and life transitions.

📲 Follow Deborah Griffiths for daily empowerment and support:

• Instagram: @BrokenToBoldness
• Facebook: Broken to Boldness
• Eventbrite Divorce Recovery Workshop
• 
  

✨ Remember: divorce may bend you, but it does not break you. You are stronger than you think, and your bold new chapter starts now. ✨

In this Bent Not Broken Bonus Episode, Coach Deborah takes a heartfelt dive into her powerful conversation with Kendra Foley—a mother, advocate, and survivor whose story of parental alienation turned heartbreak into purpose.

Parental alienation is one of the most painful and misunderstood experiences a parent can endure. In this episode, Coach Deborah unpacks Kendra’s story and shares five key lessons to help parents and families heal, stay hopeful, and reclaim their peace.

1. Educate Yourself:

Knowledge brings clarity. Understanding the emotional, legal, and psychological patterns of alienation empowers you to respond with strength rather than fear.

2. Embrace the Three Ps — Patience, Persistence, and Prayer:

Healing takes time. Keep showing up, keep loving, and keep believing in reconciliation, even when it feels impossible.

3. Heal Yourself While You Wait:

Focus on your emotional, spiritual, and physical well-being. The journey back to your child begins with becoming the healthiest version of yourself.

4. Set Boundaries and Protect Your Peace:

Boundaries aren’t walls—they’re protection for your healing heart. Limit access to negativity and guard your inner peace.

5. Forgive Fully and Freely:

Forgiveness is a process that liberates you. It’s not about excusing someone’s behavior, but about freeing yourself from pain that no longer serves you.

If you’re walking through alienation or family separation, remember: your worth hasn’t changed. You are still a good parent, still worthy of love, and still capable of healing. Every act of love matters. Every prayer counts.

💬 Enjoyed this episode of Bent Not Broken: Life After Divorce with Deborah Griffiths?

Don’t forget to rate, review, and subscribe on Apple Podcasts

and Spotify

so more people searching for life after divorce, divorce recovery, co-parenting, dating after divorce, and healing from gaslighting can discover this empowering podcast. Every review helps others find hope, inspiration, and practical tools for thriving after divorce.

🌐 Explore more resources: Visit BrokenToBoldness.com

for coaching, workshops, and guidance on divorce recovery and life transitions.

📲 Follow Deborah Griffiths for daily empowerment and support:

• Instagram: @BrokenToBoldness
• Facebook: Broken to Boldness

✨ Remember: divorce may bend you, but it does not break you. You are stronger than you think, and your bold new chapter starts now. ✨

⚠️ Trigger Warning

This episode discusses emotional abuse, narcissistic relationships, trauma, and recovery. These topics may be difficult for some listeners. Please prioritize your emotional well-being and pause or step away if needed.

If you or someone you know needs support, contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) or text START to 88788.

You are not alone. Help is available.

💔 Episode Overview

In this deeply moving episode, Coach Deborah Griffiths sits down with Wendy Babcock, award-winning songwriter, speaker, and founder of When Stories and Legendary Women in Business. Wendy’s story is one of courage, creativity, and freedom — a journey from silence and survival to empowerment and purpose.

From standing alone in an empty trailer with her children to taking the stage to share her truth, Wendy reveals how she turned pain into power and reclaimed her voice after years of emotional abuse and control. Her story reminds us that freedom isn’t just about leaving — it’s about rediscovering who you are when you finally step into your own light.

🦋 Key Takeaways

• The “When” Moment: The powerful turning point when Wendy decided she was truly done and chose herself.
• Breaking the Cycle: How early childhood trauma shaped her patterns — and how she finally began to heal them.
• The Power of Creativity: How songwriting, poetry, and storytelling became her lifeline to healing and freedom.
• Recognizing Emotional Abuse: Understanding that not all abuse leaves physical scars — and learning to name what’s happening is the first step toward breaking free.
• Reclaiming the Pen: Wendy shares how taking authorship of her story allowed her to move from survivor to leader.
• Creating ‘When Stories’: How she built a platform for women to transform their pain into purpose through talks, books, and movements.
• 
  

💬 Memorable Quotes

“It was like being held underwater and not realizing you could come up for air.”

“When I took the pen back from everyone who had written my story, I finally found myself again.”

“Listen for the story — not to respond, but to truly understand.”

💡 About Wendy Babcock

Wendy Babcock is a speaker, songwriter, storyteller, and founder of When Stories, a movement helping women transform life-changing moments into messages that inspire the world. She’s also the creator of Legendary Women in Business, where she empowers women to unmute their stories, own their voices, and rise into their most unforgettable selves.

Connect with Wendy:

• 🌐 www.wendybabcock.com
• 📸 Instagram: @wendybabcockofficial
• 🎤 Learn more about When Stories: www.whenstories.com

💬 Enjoyed this episode of Bent Not Broken: Life After Divorce with Deborah Griffiths?

Don’t forget to rate, review, and subscribe on Apple Podcasts

and Spotify so more people searching for life after divorce, divorce recovery, co-parenting, dating after divorce, and healing from gaslighting can discover this empowering podcast. Every review helps others find hope, inspiration, and practical tools for thriving after divorce.

🌐 Explore more resources: Visit BrokenToBoldness.com

for coaching, workshops, and guidance on divorce recovery and life transitions.

📲 Follow Deborah Griffiths for daily empowerment and support:

• Instagram: @BrokenToBoldness
• Facebook: Broken to Boldness

Upcoming events: Divorce Recovery Workshop - Click Here to register.

✨ Remember: divorce may bend you, but it does not break you. You are stronger than you think, and your bold new chapter starts now. ✨

Coaching Insights from Coach Deborah Griffiths

Inspired by my conversation with counselor & author Sonya Krishna Chand

In this Bent Not Broken show bonus, Coach Deborah Griffiths builds on the powerful themes shared in her recent episode with Sonya Krishna Chand, licensed professional counselor, author, and host of On the Spectrum with Sonya.

In that heartfelt conversation, Sonya discussed the emotional challenges of divorce and the importance of rebuilding self-esteem. In this follow-up episode, Coach Deborah takes those insights even deeper — guiding listeners through why it’s important to feel pain, how to process emotions in healthy ways, and why your self-worth never truly left you.

• Why avoiding pain keeps you stuck — and how feeling it sets you free
• How to process grief, anger, and loss without letting them consume you
• Practical ways to release emotional tension through reflection, journaling, and movement
• The truth about self-worth — and why it’s still within you, even after heartbreak
• How to transform emotional pain into personal power and purpose

Pain isn’t punishment — it’s information.

When you allow yourself to feel it, you begin to heal it.

And as you release what no longer serves you, you rediscover that your self-worth was never lost — only waiting for you to see it again.

💬 Enjoyed this episode of Bent Not Broken: Life After Divorce with Deborah Griffiths?

Don’t forget to rate, review, and subscribe on Apple Podcasts

and Spotify so more people searching for life after divorce, divorce recovery, co-parenting, dating after divorce, and healing from gaslighting can discover this empowering podcast. Every review helps others find hope, inspiration, and practical tools for thriving after divorce.

🌐 Explore more resources: Visit BrokenToBoldness.com

for coaching, workshops, and guidance on divorce recovery and life transitions.

📲 Follow Deborah Griffiths for daily empowerment and support:

• Instagram: @BrokenToBoldness
• Facebook: Broken to Boldness
• Eventbrite Divorce Recovery Workshop

✨ Remember: divorce may bend you, but it does not break you. You are stronger than you think, and your bold new chapter starts now. ✨

In this fun episode of Broken to Boldness, host Deborah Griffiths joins forces with media strategist and visionary Julie Lokun, JD, to unpack how television has defined, distorted, and ultimately diversified the American family.

From the black-and-white idealism of the 1950s nuclear family to today’s kaleidoscope of blended, single, and chosen families, Deborah and Julie trace how media both mirrored social change and molded our collective identity. They reveal how each decade’s programming—from Leave It to Beaver to Modern Family—captured the cultural tension between appearance and authenticity, and how storylines about marriage, motherhood, and divorce evolved alongside America’s laws and values.

Through a lens of media analysis and human truth, Deborah and Julie explore what happens when the picture-perfect family portrait begins to crack—and real stories of resilience emerge. This is not just a conversation about entertainment; it’s a deep reflection on how our screens have shaped the way we see ourselves, our relationships, and what it means to belong.

Key Themes:

• 1950s: The rise of the nuclear ideal—prosperity, conformity, and moral storytelling.
• 1960s–70s: Feminism, no-fault divorce, and the first signs of liberation on TV.
• 1980s–90s: The “family values” façade versus the reality of working parents and blended homes.
• 2000s–2020s: The new media family—diverse, inclusive, and emotionally complex.
• How television became both a mirror and a molder of family evolution.

Modern Takeaway:

The image of the “perfect family” was a production. What emerged in its place is a more authentic, multifaceted portrait of love, survival, and connection. Deborah and Julie invite listeners to consider how the stories we consume continue to redefine what it means to be family in a changing world.

Listen to this episode and reexamine the stories that shaped your own.

Connect with Deborah Griffiths:

www.brokentoboldness.com

Connect with Julie Lokun, JD:

www.cre8tivecon.com

www.julielokunconsulting.com

💬 Enjoyed this episode of Bent Not Broken: Life After Divorce with Deborah Griffiths?

Don’t forget to rate, review, and subscribe on Apple Podcasts

and Spotify

so more people searching for life after divorce, divorce recovery, co-parenting, dating after divorce, and healing from gaslighting can discover this empowering podcast. Every review helps others find hope, inspiration, and practical tools for thriving after divorce.

🌐 Explore more resources: Visit BrokenToBoldness.com

for coaching, workshops, and guidance on divorce recovery and life transitions.

📲 Follow Deborah Griffiths for daily empowerment and support:

• Instagram: @BrokenToBoldness
• Facebook: Broken to Boldness
• Eventbrite Events - Register for a monthly Divorce Recovery Workshop

✨ Remember: divorce may bend you, but it does not break you. You are stronger than you think, and your bold new chapter starts now. ✨