Welcome to The Lionhearted, a podcast featuring stories by the brave and badass people who spend their lives fighting the one thing absolutely no one wants to talk about - child sexual abuse. And that's why we call them the lionhearted.

In this episode we focus on a filmmaker who spent decades thinking she was okay, and in fact, more than okay—successful— in everyone's eyes until what happened to her when she was 13 came roaring back, forcing her to confront it. How does a filmmaker deal with childhood trauma and engage in self-exploration?

Make a film, of course! Well, Jennifer Fox's film titled THE TALE, which is based on her true story of abuse and took years to make, was released in 2018 to great critical acclaim and to standing ovations at Sundance. But it was only while standing on that stage being lauded as a victim did Jennifer realize she was deeply uncomfortable being called a victim and that she still had so much more to reconcile about her past and her future identity as a survivor.

Trigger Warning:

Please note that this episode contains depictions of sexual violence that some people may find disturbing. If any of the content in this podcast has brought anything up for you, please reach out or speak to someone you trust.

Darkness to Light, a leading nonprofit focused on child sexual abuse prevention, also provides links to resources for support. Full disclosure: Andrea Harner is currently Board Chairperson of Darkness to Light.

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Host: Andrea Harner

Guest: Jennifer Fox

Producer: Andrea Harner and Amanda Kelso

Editing: Kevin Tosi

Show resources: 

• THE TALE on HBO
• NYTimes: For Years She Said a Coach Abused Her. Now She Has Named a Legend.
• Child USA: Delayed Disclosure
• Darkness to Light National and State Resources
• Peter Levine: Founder of Somatic Experiencing: What is Somatic Experiencing?