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Some stories arrive like a storm and leave the air clearer than before. Kathy sits down with April Martinez, who grew up loving church, survived years of hidden abuse, and then endured the whiplash of public blame and church hurt that pushed her out at sixteen. What follows is a fiercely honest journey through survival mode—protecting younger siblings, running from violence, two suicide attempts, foster care, and the aching desire to feel nothing at all—only to discover that numbness never heals what truth and mercy can.

The turning point comes through her son, Anthony. Diagnosed with a brain tumor at eleven, he finds faith with remarkable clarity: receiving the Holy Ghost, asking for baptism, and urging the family back toward God. One month after his baptism, Anthony passes at fourteen. April remembers the ride to the hospital as he prayed in tongues, his tenderness checking on her between waves of pain, and the unmistakable peace that settled in the room as he slipped away. The grief was crushing, but it did not have the final word. Breath by breath, April returned to the God she met as a child—the One who was safety before everything broke.

Across this conversation we unpack how trauma hides in plain sight, how shame keeps victims quiet, and how healthy boundaries are not bitterness but wisdom. We talk about reconciling with faith after church hurt, why a prayer closet can do what a platform cannot, and how a grandmother’s intercession can outlive a generation.

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Kathy has two books out and they can be found on Amazon or Barnes & Noble online:

Redeem California, With God it IS Possible:

God of the Impossible: 30-Prayers for the Redemption and Restoration of California