Brooke sits down with producer Andres for an episode that feels like both a reunion and a turning point. Andres shares the first major trauma of his life, open-heart surgery at six years old, the moment he was told he was pronounced dead on the table, and what he remembers about the time that followed. From there, the conversation moves into how early medical trauma can echo for decades, shaping fear, avoidance, and the way the body reacts long after the crisis ends. Brooke and Andres also talk honestly about spirituality, the stories we are allowed to hold without being challenged, and how healing can change the charge around a memory, even if it never disappears. In the second half, Andres tells the story of his daughter Rio’s birth, the shock of an immediate NICU emergency, and how a lifetime of survival taught him how to stay calm when his child needed him most.

We explore:

• Near-death experience, memory, and what can be hard to explain

• Medical trauma, triggers, and nervous system responses that linger

• Spirituality, belief, and making room for different experiences

• NICU realities, parenting under stress, and the power of support

• Perspective without toxic positivity, and why choice still matters

Email Us: [email protected]

Merch & More: https://www.traumauncensored.com/

Be a guest: [email protected]

Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/traumauncensored/episode-releases

Instagram: @traumauncensored

TikTok: @trauma.uncensored

YouTube: @traumauncensored

Content Disclaimer:
This episode includes discussion of child loss, near-death experience, pediatric heart surgery and medical trauma, vomiting and pain, anxiety and OCD, spirituality and belief, traumatic birth and emergency C-section, NICU hospitalization, infant surgery and medical procedures, feeding tubes, and discussion of other critically ill infants and infant death.

If you are struggling or worried about someone, call or text 988, the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, for free, confidential support, 24/7.

Brooke welcomes therapist and friend Tara for a candid conversation about loving her brother Cody, losing him to an accidental fentanyl overdose at 37, and learning how community holds what one person cannot. Tara shares growing up with two older brothers, the long arc of Cody’s addiction, and why highly sensitive people can be especially vulnerable. She explains addiction in plain language, comparing the brain’s pull to check a phone with the biochemical hijack of substances, and unpacks why “it is not your fault” and “it is still your work” can both be true. Together they talk Al-Anon and 12-step wisdom, practicing powerlessness without abandoning love, and the therapist’s careful use of self-disclosure. They also stay with continuing bonds after death, keeping a person as “is,” not “was,” and the everyday rituals that make space for grief and connection. The episode closes with part of Tara’s eulogy for Cody, a tender portrait beyond his illness.

We explore:

• Addiction, sensitivity, and a clear, accessible brain-based explanation

• Al-Anon, powerlessness, and why community changes outcomes

• What therapists mean by self-disclosure, used as a tool for safety

• Continuing bonds, “is not was,” and simple connection rituals

• Encouragement for families living with addiction and after loss

Tara's Link:

https://www.villagewellcounseling.com/work-with-tara

Email Us: [email protected]

Merch & More: https://www.traumauncensored.com/

Be a guest: [email protected]

Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/traumauncensored/episode-releases

Instagram: @traumauncensored

TikTok: @trauma.uncensored

YouTube: @traumauncensored

Content Disclaimer:
This episode includes discussion of accidental fentanyl overdose, substance use disorder, Narcan use, grief, child loss, distracted-driving crash, OCD, medication and ketamine treatment, EMDR, Al-Anon, and 12-step recovery.

If you are struggling or worried about someone, call or text 988, the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, for free, confidential support, 24/7.

Brooke welcomes Daniel for a candid conversation about growing up in chaos, choosing a different path in seventh grade, and what it took to build a steady life as an adult. Daniel describes a childhood shaped by addiction, violence around the home, and the day he drew a hard line and moved in with his grandmother. He shares the grief and complexity of his mother’s overdose, how therapy and ministry school helped him move from anger to forgiveness, and the role his marriage played in learning safety and consistency. Together, they talk about surrender over control, the long game of small daily changes, and forgiving people who could not be who you needed them to be. The episode closes with breaking generational patterns and practicing presence with their kids.

We explore:

• Choosing a different path in seventh grade and leaving an unsafe home

• Grieving a parent’s overdose and the slow work of forgiveness

• Marriage, faith, and consistency as anchors during healing

• Surrender versus control, and why small changes compound

• Breaking generational patterns and parenting with presence

Email Us: [email protected]

Merch & More: https://www.traumauncensored.com/

Be a guest: [email protected]

Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/traumauncensored/episode-releases

Instagram: @traumauncensored

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YouTube: @traumauncensored

Content Disclaimer:This episode includes discussion of childhood exposure to violence, parental substance use, overdose death, abandonment, generational trauma, perfectionism and control, Christian faith, cancer diagnosis and surgery, therapy and ministry school, marriage strain, and parenting after trauma.

If you are struggling or worried about someone, call or text 988, the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, for free, confidential support, 24/7.

Brooke sits down with Shayna to trace a decade of grief after her father’s death was quickly deemed a murder-suicide. Shayna walks through the calls, the drive-way “funeral march,” and the details that never added up, then names what living with unanswered questions does to a nervous system. Brooke grounds the conversation in real tools that help, talking about EMDR and ketamine-assisted therapy alongside medication and everyday self-care. Together they explore what it means to pause the hunt for answers without abandoning love, to let community hold some of the weight, and to choose presence on ordinary days. The episode closes with permission to be both the kid who misses her dad and the adult who advocates for better processes, boundaries, and support.

We explore:

• When “official” answers don’t fit, and how ambiguity compounds trauma

• EMDR, ketamine therapy, antidepressants, and practical regulation tools

• Giving yourself permission to pause the investigation and still honor your person

• Community, creative outlets, and reframing “new normal” into honest next steps

Email Us: [email protected]

Merch & More: https://www.traumauncensored.com/

Be a guest: [email protected]

Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/traumauncensored/episode-releases

Instagram: @traumauncensored

TikTok: @trauma.uncensored

YouTube: @traumauncensored

Content Disclaimer:
This episode includes discussion of gun violence, homicide, suicide, police investigation practices, traumatic grief, seizures/epilepsy, mental health treatment including EMDR, ketamine therapy, and antidepressants, and family dynamics.

If you are struggling or worried about someone, call or text 988, the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, for free, confidential support, 24/7.

Brooke welcomes Lindsay, Melanie, and Michelle back for a frank panel on what it really takes to begin again after grief and harm. They name the difference between chasing a “new normal” and telling the truth about a life that changed, and how fear, guilt, and shame collide with hope when you choose to move forward. Lindsay describes IVF after her son Christian’s death, a miscarriage, and the faith that carried her to Chance’s birth. Melanie talks about dating, remarriage, and parenting through waves of guilt while slowly building a larger toolbox for healing. Michelle shares leaving abuse, learning to trust with her husband Paul, and the work it takes to protect a marriage after trauma. The group closes with perspective shifts in parenting, choosing presence over perfection, and an invite for listeners to send questions for future panels.

In this episode we explore:

Rejecting “new normal,” telling the truth about life after loss, IVF, miscarriage, and holding hope through setbacks. Remarriage after widowhood, guilt, and rebuilding trust. Boundaries after abuse, patience, and doing the work. Parenting and partnership with perspective, not perfection.

Email Us: [email protected]

Merch & More: https://www.traumauncensored.com/

Be a guest: [email protected]

Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/traumauncensored/episode-releases

Instagram: @traumauncensored

TikTok: @trauma.uncensored

YouTube: @traumauncensored

Content Disclaimer: This episode includes discussion of child loss, spousal loss, abuse, infertility, IVF, miscarriage, marital strain, faith, therapy, and coping after trauma.If you are struggling or worried about someone, call or text 988, the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, for free, confidential support, 24/7.

Brooke welcomes Marla Grant, a longtime grief guide who has lived what she teaches. Marla shares the neonatal loss she could not fully grieve until decades later, the years with her daughter Nicole and the shock of her relapse and death, and the very different work of grieving her son Ryan after suicide. Together they name why grief is not a straight line, why comparing pain helps no one, and how choice shows up in the small, daily ways we care for ourselves and each other. Marla offers three touchstones that shaped her recovery, personal responsibility, acceptance, and willingness, and a gentle reminder to talk about people’s children because silence can wound. The conversation also touches the grief Olympics, waves that return without warning, and keeping a relationship with loved ones in the present tense.

We explore:

• Delayed grief after neonatal loss, then a classroom moment that unlocked it

• Nicole’s life, relapse, and how everyday absence changes a home

• Ryan’s death by suicide and what compassion looks like for the living and the dead

• Why grief is not stages, and how to ride the waves

• Choice, personal responsibility, acceptance, and willingness in practice

Guest Links

Marla's Website:

www.inspiredgriefrecovery.com

Myths About Grief: Six Major Concepts that Keep You from Moving Forward (free book that includes free 30-minute chat with Marla)

https://www.inspiredgriefrecovery.com/event

Marla's Substack:

https://substack.com/@marlagrant

Email Us: [email protected]

Merch & More: https://www.traumauncensored.com/

Be a guest: [email protected]

Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/traumauncensored/episode-releases

Instagram: @traumauncensored

TikTok: @trauma.uncensored

YouTube: @traumauncensored

Content Disclaimer:
This episode includes discussion of stillbirth and neonatal loss, pediatric cancer and death, suicide loss, grief and nonlinearity, spiritual experiences, and practical coping.

If you are struggling or worried about someone, call or text 988, the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, for free, confidential support, 24/7.

Brooke sits down with Pearl to share the day her son Matthew died and the years that followed, from the midnight dread she could not shake to the morning she saw a headline about a single-car crash and recognized her family’s vehicle. Pearl recounts calling hospitals, then the morgue, and learning there had been no next-of-kin notification before an organ donation call arrived. She traces the investigation gaps, the rumors she had to correct, and the complicated layers of identity, race, and belonging Matthew carried as a mixed-race adoptee. The conversation widens to Christmas after loss, naming both the rituals that help and the years you cannot decorate at all, and then toward Pearl’s work with women on boundaries and self-care. Her rock-in-the-pocket practice, learning that no is a complete sentence, and the retreats she leads show what rebuilding can look like when you choose yourself and keep going.

We explore:

• The night of calls, the morning news alert, and the confirmation no parent wants to make.

• What was and was not said by officials, and why clear next-of-kin processes matter.

• Adoption, identity, and how belonging struggles can shape coping.

• Holidays after child loss, from ornament blankets to years you keep it simple.

• Boundaries, the rock practice, and learning to say no without apology.

Guest Links:

Women's Successful Living Retreats: www.wslivingretreats.com

SHERO My Visionary Guide: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeQtCOVwnVpCYZ5hR_WlGBqNDjfUD6q0Q0xLxrsgyPGONAtw/viewform?usp=header

SHERO Reset: Journal and Coloring Book: https://amzn.to/48VF3QB

Vision Unfiltered - Axing Out Limiting Beliefs & Design Your 2026 SHERO Vision! https://www.facebook.com/share/1Ei1srrDXD/

Email Us: [email protected]

Merch & More: https://www.traumauncensored.com/

Be a guest: [email protected]

Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/traumauncensored/episode-releases

Instagram: @traumauncensored

TikTok: @trauma.uncensored

YouTube: @traumauncensored

Content Disclaimer:
This episode includes discussion of child loss, DUI and single-vehicle crash, racism and family conflict, alcohol use, law-enforcement notification gaps, grief during holidays, and boundary setting in recovery.

If you are struggling or worried about someone, call or text 988, the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, for free, confidential support, 24/7.

Brooke sits down with John Kinzie, a Florida firefighter-paramedic who worked Logan’s crash and later became a close family friend. John traces how cumulative loss, the crash, and job culture pushed him toward heavy drinking, the December 2018 night he checked into a hotel intending not to leave, and the moment he chose help instead. They talk frankly about stigma in fire and EMS, why some clinicians and programs miss the mark, and what real support can look like for first responders and families. John shares how 12-step community, peer support, and concrete department changes made recovery possible, and he closes with the simple practices he uses on hard days: prayer, brief quiet, and helping someone else.

We explore:

• The day of the crash from the medic’s side, including getting struck by a vehicle while rushing in, and the first time he cried on a call.

• Depression, drinking to numb, and the hotel night that became a turning point toward sobriety.

• Stigma, peer support, and building real pathways to help inside departments.

• Practical tools for regulation and perspective when the job gets heavy.

GUEST LINKS:

Contact John: [email protected] ; 352-403-1230

Meditation for Fidgety Skeptics

https://amzn.to/3KTkT0r

National Alliance on Mental Illness

https://www.nami.org/

Hernando County Fire Rescue PEER Support Team

https://www.facebook.com/share/17ooNQrLY2/?mibextid=wwXIfr

First Repsonders Foundation

https://firstrespondersfoundation.org/

Hernando County Fire Rescue Community Paramedics

https://www.facebook.com/share/17iZMD7sEv/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Email Us: [email protected]

Merch & More: https://www.traumauncensored.com/

Be a guest: [email protected]

Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/traumauncensored/episode-releases

Instagram: @traumauncensored

TikTok: @trauma.uncensored

YouTube: @traumauncensored

Content Disclaimer:This episode includes discussion of pediatric death, first responder trauma, depression, alcohol use disorder, suicidal ideation, emergency psychiatric care, stigma in public safety, and recovery resources including 12-step community and peer support.

If you are struggling or worried about someone, call or text 988, the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, for free, confidential support, 24/7.

Brooke welcomes licensed professional counselor Christopher O’Riley to unpack how mindfulness helps a chronically stressed nervous system, and why ten minutes can truly change your day. Christopher shares his path from a chaotic adolescence into a daily practice that ended substance use before age 20, then led to clinical training and decades in addiction and trauma care. Together they talk about the parasympathetic “breather” mindfulness provides, doomscrolling that looks like rest but isn’t, and simple ways to weave presence into drives, dog walks, and dishes. The conversation also explores generational patterns, why many with addiction histories carry unresolved trauma, and how formal practice makes informal presence easier. Christopher closes with details on his live, six-week online mindfulness groups beginning in January, plus encouragement for anyone who wants to begin again with something small today.

We explore:

• What chronic stress looks like today, why doomscrolling isn’t recovery time, and how mindfulness helps the body shift out of fight-or-flight.

• Christopher’s story, discovering mindfulness at 19, and the life that followed.

• The “ten minutes a day” research note and building a habit that sticks.

• Formal vs informal practice, with everyday anchors like breath, walking, showering, and coffee.

• Trauma, addiction, and why feeling safe in relationships is central to recovery.

Remedy Counseling & Wellness:

www.remedycw.com

Mindfulness Groups:

https://www.remedycw.com/mindfulness-groups

Email Us: [email protected]

Merch & More: https://www.traumauncensored.com/

Be a guest: [email protected]

Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/traumauncensored/episode-releases

Instagram: @traumauncensored

TikTok: @trauma.uncensored

YouTube: @traumauncensored

Content Disclaimer:
This episode includes discussion of addiction, childhood trauma, depression and anxiety, nervous system dysregulation, compulsive phone use, and recovery practices including mindfulness and meditation.

If you are struggling or worried about someone, call or text 988, the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, for free, confidential support, 24/7.

Brooke welcomes her cousin Katie Swisher, whose road to motherhood includes infertility, four miscarriages, and a micro-preemie who redefined hope. Katie traces the early losses and how joy drained out of every positive test, then the day a routine scan became an admission and bedrest. Hannah arrived at 25 weeks, 4 days, just 1 lb 10.8 oz and 12 inches, followed by 117 days in the NICU where alarms, nurses, and new language became daily life. Katie shares the first quiet minute she held Hannah, the long drive to the hospital, and the care team who taught them how to parent a preemie. Later, Henry’s New Year’s Day birth was followed by RSV and postpartum depression that an OB team caught and treated, giving them a “homecoming do-over.” The conversation includes faith, what not to say to grieving parents, and how community and intuition kept nudging them forward.

We explore:

• Infertility, recurrent miscarriage, and hope shrinking to one day at a time

• A 25-week delivery, NICU life, and small wins that mattered

• Henry’s birth, RSV readmission, and postpartum depression caught at an OB visit

• Medical anxiety after a chiropractic artery dissection and stroke, and why long-term meds helped

• Faith, language, and kinder ways to support families after loss

Guest Links:

Katie's FB Post 1

facebook.com/share/p/1CimS3wjeJ/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Katie's FB Post 2

https://www.facebook.com/511862352/posts/10161400502417353/?mibextid=wwXIfr&rdid=g3ye3GuyOH3S3SA8#

Katie's blog entry about first miscarriage

https://swisherfactory.blogspot.com/2009/08/august-11-2009.html?m=1

On Sharing the Silent Grief of Miscarriage

https://www.calebwilde.com/2014/10/on-sharing-the-silent-grief-of-miscarriage/

Email Us: [email protected]

Merch & More: https://www.traumauncensored.com/

Be a guest: [email protected]

Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/traumauncensored/episode-releases

Instagram: @traumauncensored

TikTok: @trauma.uncensored

YouTube: @traumauncensored

Content Disclaimer:This episode includes discussion of infertility, recurrent miscarriage, preterm birth and NICU care, postpartum depression, stroke following chiropractic neck manipulation, faith and grief, and pediatric illness.

If you are struggling or worried about someone, call or text 988, the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, for free, confidential support, 24/7.