Welcome to this week’s episode of the StephUp Podcast! Thank you for your support and for coming back each week to listen. This episode features special guest, Kimberly Love. Kimberly is an author, radio host of Crushing 40, and CEO of Viking Queens. She is also a survivor of emotional abuse. Today she talks to us about the challenging times she has been through and how she has now dedicated herself to helping others.

Kimberly’s website, Viking Queens, launched on January 1st and has been a labor of love for her. She wanted to have a membership site where experts talk about different things women go through, such as abuse, loss, and break-ups. Kimberly stresses resiliency and self-love as ways to cope. Kimberly wants women to feel they are part of a community that lifts them up and encourages them. She welcomes you to visit her site and learn more.

Stephane and Kimberly begin the episode by talking about Kimberly’s childhood. She first experienced abuse as a child when a much older sibling was tasked with caring for her when their mother was out of the home. This sibling had a deeply engrained dislike for Kimberly, stemming from dislike of Kimberly’s father, who was also abusive. As a result, this sibling did not view Kimberly as an equal family member and emotionally abused her for years, which fundamentally changed her as a person. Kimberly left home at 17 and was able to escape the abuse. At that point, she began dating a man who turned out to be a narcissist. Kimberly was already vulnerable and broken and ended up in a domestic abuse situation with this man. Since she had grown up in an abusive environment, this treatment seemed familiar, but deep-down Kimberly knew the way she was being treated was wrong.

“When you’ve been abused for so long, the abuse is a comfortable place for you. It’s all you know”

Rather than stay with this man, Kimberly decided to break the cycle of abuse. She now works with other women who are also victims of abuse, teaching them to recognize the “red flags” and fine-tune their intuition to recognize the situation they are in. When you feel that something isn’t right, don’t brush those feelings aside and ignore them. Listen to your body and reflect on how it feels when you are around someone who is abusive. 

Stephanie and Kimberly spend the last part of the episode discussing how women are taught to be nice and submissive and to not come off as too assertive or bossy. However, Kimberly encourages women to be strong and stand up against anyone who is abusive towards them, not only in romantic relationships but in the workplace or other environments as well.

Listen in to hear the rest of their conversation and please remember to rate, subscribe, and share with your friends!

Purchase Kimberly’s book, You Taste Like Whiskey and Sunshine

Listen to Kimberly’s radio show, Crushing 40

Visit the Viking Queens website

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