The Cocoon: A Safe Place for Victims and Survivors of Sexual Trauma

From the outside, it looked like Christine Dillard walked out of her seventeen-year marriage overnight.

In reality, she'd spent three and a half years quietly planning her exit. She built a career, a safety net and a timeline that would protect her kids.

Christine is a South Dakota mum and the author of The Truth She Showed Me. She joins Ruby to talk about the micro-behaviours that add up to coercive control and why leaving is the most dangerous moment.

She also shares what peace actually feels like on the other side.

Links:

Christine's Social Media:

@thetruthsheshowedme (on fb,ig,TT)

Website:

christinedillard.com

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Christina “Chrissy” Muchenagumbo is a Registered Nurse and Continence Clinical Nurse Consultant with over 27 years of nursing experience. She is the Founder and Director of Rhema HealthCare Solutions, specialising in continence care, complex clinical nursing and disability health.

Chrissy is passionate about breaking the silence around continence, pelvic health and other health concerns that are often hidden by shame, stigma or cultural expectations. Drawing on her extensive clinical experience and Zimbabwean heritage, she brings a culturally informed and trauma-aware perspective to conversations about how stress, anxiety and lived experiences can influence bladder, bowel and pelvic health.

Her approach centres on dignity, education and creating safe spaces where people feel comfortable talking about the things we often don't talk about.

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What does complex PTSD feel like when nobody else can see it?

Ruby speaks with author, trauma educator and former justice-system professional Nikki Everett about living with complex PTSD, dissociation, flashbacks and a nervous system that remains on high alert. Nikki shares how workplace violence changed her life, how journalling became her book Uncomfortably Comfortable, and how she rebuilt her identity after trauma.

Together, they explore nervous-system regulation, recognising triggers, supporting a loved one with PTSD and finding strength, purpose and even beauty after surviving the darkest parts of life.

Nikki Everett: Website And Instagram

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Elisa James: Website

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Former police officer and child protection specialist Kristi returns to The Cocoon with a statistic that stopped us mid-conversation: child-on-child harm has now overtaken adult-on-child abuse in Australia. How did we get here, and why is nobody talking about it?

Full episode drops Sunday 28th of June. If you’re a parent, educator, or survivor, you can’t afford to miss this one.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

At six years old, Bambi Lynn was given a ragdoll named Josephine. What her mother didn’t know was that Josephine would become the only witness to years of childhood sexual abuse, alcoholism, and trauma that Bambi couldn’t speak aloud. In this episode, Bambi shares how a simple doll carried her secrets, her tears, and her survival, and why it took her 24 years to finally tell her story. From “poor Bambi” to thriving author and speaker, this is what it looks like to stop letting trauma define you.

This episode is dedicated to the memory of Bambi Lynn, who spent her final years turning pain into purpose. Rest easy, Bambi. Josephine’s got you now

Bambi's Book "The Journey Of Josephine": link

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In “Dignity After Death: Trauma-Informed Funeral Care for Survivors with Michelle Dwyer,” Ruby sits down with funeral director and celebrant Michelle Dwyer from Dwyer Family Funerals to unpack what dignity after death really looks like – especially for survivors of sexual trauma.

Together, they explore how language, boundaries and respectful body care can transform funeral practice from something clinical and cold into something deeply humane, safe and family-centred.

Michelle shares how her family-run funeral home focuses on empathy rather than profit, why the words “we’re bringing them into our care” matter so much, and how trauma-informed funeral directors can support anxious families who fear their loved one being mishandled. She also explains what actually happens in the mortuary, common myths about embalming, and practical ways we can advocate for ourselves and our loved ones in end-of-life planning.

If you’ve ever worried about how your body – or your loved one’s body – will be treated after death, this gentle, grounded conversation offers validation, clear information and real-world tools to ask for the care you deserve.

Link

Dwyer Family Funerals: Website and Info

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In this teaser for Part One of “Dignity After Death: Trauma-Informed Funeral Care for Survivors with Michelle Dwyer,” Ruby shares a powerful clip from her conversation with funeral director and celebrant Michelle Dwyer from Dwyer Family Funerals. They explore what dignity after death really means for survivors of sexual abuse and complex trauma, and why the words “we’re bringing them into our care” can make all the difference when you’re grieving.

If you’ve ever worried about how your body or your loved one’s body will be treated after death, this preview offers a gentle, trauma-informed introduction to funeral care, mortuary practices and advocating for respectful body care.

🔔 Full Part One episode drops on 29 March.

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