Donna carries memories from 18 months old, including repeated sexual abuse by her father beginning at age three. Through childhood and adolescence, she endured trafficking, gang rape, attempted abduction, and betrayal by peers. Two abortions—one illegal and traumatic, one legal—marked her teenage years. At 16, a suicide attempt by overdose nearly killed her. She married an abusive narcissist in her early twenties, escaped after years of rape and violence, and found safety with her second husband at 21. Real healing began at 38 when she finally disclosed her full story in a safe relationship. Hypnotherapy, EMDR, spiritual practice, and boundary-setting ('weeding the garden') became pivotal tools. At 44, just as she felt emotionally stable, her husband was diagnosed with terminal cancer and died after 23 years together. Today she lives with peace and freedom, working toward a healing practice while helping others see hope beyond their circumstances.
Donna Kent is a survivor of childhood sexual abuse, trafficking, and ongoing violence across her lifespan. Now in her late 40s, she works in bookkeeping and payroll while developing a healing practice as an intuitive guide and psychic medium, drawing on lived experience and multiple therapeutic modalities to support others in their recovery.
In this Kintsugi Heroes conversation with Natalie Stockdale, Donna shares the story behind the moments below.
🎙️ IN THIS CONVERSATION:
• Silence is the mechanism by which abusers maintain power; speaking up, even when terrified, immediately disempowers the abuser and opens pathways to help.
• Trauma survivors develop sophisticated masking behaviours early—suppressing inconsolable crying to avoid drawing attention—which becomes a lifelong pattern that prevents authentic help-seeking.
• Different therapeutic modalities work at different stages of healing; no single approach is sufficient, and survivors must remain open to trying new tools as they progress.
• The body archives trauma separately from emotion as a survival mechanism; EMDR and similar therapies work by reconnecting memory to emotion so it can be processed and archived rather than continuously relived.
• Healing requires conscious boundary-setting ('weeding the garden'), including the difficult work of removing or distancing from family members and lifelong friends who drain energy or perpetuate cycles.
• Survivors often dissociate into separate selves to survive; true integration requires bringing these fragmented parts back together, not just processing individual traumatic events.
• Empathy and the ability to help others see alternative perspectives is one of the most valuable gifts that emerges from having survived and recovered from trauma.
🕒 CHAPTERS:
00:00 Content warning and introduction
04:11 Early memories: hiding at 18 months, being trafficked by father's taxi to paedophiles
07:08 Gang rape at bus stop age 12: survival and silent continuation
13:49 Pregnancy at 15, rejection by family, illegal abortion in Tweed Heads
22:37 Meeting and marrying first husband: narcissist and abuser
27:38 Moving to Mount Isa, meeting second husband, safe relationship begins
34:43 Hypnotherapy: confronting father in safe space, writing letter
42:26 Mind games in trauma recovery: reliving events, self-blame, paralysis
50:41 Reintegrating dissociated selves: survivor and school-aged identities
54:43 Gifts from suffering: empathy, perspective-shifting, offering hope
57:36 Life now: peace, freedom, healing practice vision
01:00:22 Final message: draw on strength, you're not alone, keep moving forward
🌐 CONNECT WITH DONNA KENT:
Lifeline: https://www.lifeline.org.au/
1800RESPECT: https://www.1800respect.org.au/
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🎙️ ABOUT KINTSUGI HEROES
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Kintsugi Heroes is a not-for-profit Australian podcast network sharing real stories of resilience and transformation.
Named after the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with gold — the philosophy that what's been broken can become more beautiful for the mending — every episode honours the cracks, the rebuild, and the human underneath.
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– Kintsugi Heroes — real stories of resilience | hosted by John Milham
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Mentioned in this episode:
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