TruthWire News Podcast

Author and speaker Heather O’Brien joins Kelly Jackson on TruthWire for a candid conversation about trauma, rebellion, identity, brokenness—and the relentless grace of Jesus Christ.

Heather shares the deeply personal story behind her book A Funny Thing Happened on My Highway to Hell: Exiting Hopelessness, Trauma and LGBTQ—from childhood wounds and church hurt, to military service, sexual assault, PTSD, alcoholism, abusive relationships, a suicide attempt, and years of identifying as a lesbian.

But this conversation is about much more than what Heather walked away from. It is about Who she came back to.

Heather explains what happened when she reluctantly walked back into a church expecting judgment—and instead encountered the grace of God. She also shares what her parents did during the years she was far from her faith: they prayed, maintained biblical boundaries, refused to affirm what they believed was wrong, but never stopped loving her or reaching for her.

We talk about the difficult line Christian families often face:

How do you love someone unconditionally without affirming every choice they make?

Heather also discusses identity, singleness, sexuality after coming back to Christ, why she refuses to “prove” anything to anyone, and what it means to anchor her identity not in a label, past experience, sexuality, career, trauma or diagnosis—but as a daughter of the King.

If you have ever wondered whether someone can be too broken, too angry, too rebellious or too far from God to come home, Heather has a message for you:

You are never too far gone.

⏱️ CHAPTERS

00:00 — Meet Heather O’Brien

01:30 — What Was Really Happening Beneath the Surface

03:30 — Fatherlessness, Church Hurt & Teenage Rebellion

07:55 — Military Service, Sexual Assault & Trauma

11:40 — Coming Home: Anger, PTSD & Alcohol

13:20 — How Heather Began Identifying as a Lesbian

15:35 — The Suicide Attempt That Changed Everything

17:50 — Reconnecting With Her Family

20:15 — The Christians Who Challenged What She Believed About God

24:10 — Walking Back Into Church—and Encountering Grace

26:15 — “The Black Sheep Is Still Part of the Family”

30:30 — Did Confrontation or Correction Change Her?

32:30 — How Her Parents Loved Her Without Affirming Her Choices

36:00 — Boundaries, Respect & Keeping the Door Open

41:00 — What Heather Would Tell Someone Who Feels Too Far Gone

44:45 — Sexuality, Singleness & Life After Returning to Christ

50:10 — Finding Her True Identity as a Daughter of God

55:15 — How Broken People Can Still Be Used to Help Others

56:25 — Where to Find Heather

57:50 — Heather’s Books

62:00 — LGBTQ, Christianity & Why These Conversations Matter

64:20 — Final Thoughts

📚 FIND HEATHER O’BRIEN

Books mentioned in this episode:

A Funny Thing Happened on My Highway to Hell: Exiting Hopelessness, Trauma and LGBTQ: https://www.amazon.com/Funny-Thing-Ha...

Don’t Let the Monsters Out: https://www.amazon.com/Dont-Let-Monst...

Chains of Freedom: https://www.amazon.com/Chains-Freedom...

Albus on Duty: https://www.amazon.com/Albus-Duty-Hea...

Facebook: Heather O’Brien

Instagram: @TattooedRevivalist

TikTok: @TattooedRevivalist

Website: https://tattooedrevivalist.com/

I’m Kelly Jackson, and this is Still Not Cancelled—where we question everything, especially the narrative. Because anyone can tell you what happened. We explain what it means.

If conversations about faith, culture, truth and the stories behind the headlines matter to you, subscribe and become part of the Still Not Cancelled community.

#HeatherOBrien #ChristianTestimony #LGBTQ #Faith #JesusChrist #Christianity #Redemption #TraumaRecovery #ProdigalSon #IdentityInChrist #StillNotCancelled

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Hollywood appears to be looking increasingly toward Tennessee, and for conservatives who watched California's culture and politics change dramatically, that naturally raises a question: What happens when Hollywood comes here?

I sat down with filmmaker and screenwriter Howie Klausner, a Middle Tennessee native who spent more than two decades working in Los Angeles before returning home. Klausner wrote the screenplay that became Space Cowboys, directed by legendary Actor Director Clint Eastwood, wrote and produced the 2024 biopic REAGAN with Dennis Quaid and Jon Voight, as well as Soul Surfer, the Bethany Hamilton story, which are just three of the many wonderful films he has written and produced in his over 20 year career.

We talk about Paramount's interest in Tennessee, why Hollywood production has been migrating away from California, the growing film industry already operating across Tennessee and the South, and whether Tennesseans should really fear Hollywood changing their culture.

But our conversation goes much further.

Howie explains why he believes the ideological gatekeepers in Hollywood represent a relatively small portion of the people actually working in the industry, why audiences became exhausted with entertainment that felt more like a political lecture than a good story, and why he believes the culture inside entertainment itself is beginning to shift.

We also talk about something much bigger happening in Tennessee: the explosive growth of faith-based filmmaking and what Howie sees as a genuine Christian revival, particularly among young Americans. His own mission as a storyteller is wonderfully simple: make stories that leave people feeling good about being human again, stories about courage, sacrifice, faith and ordinary people doing something larger than themselves.

So perhaps the question isn't simply whether Hollywood will change Tennessee.What if Tennessee helps change Hollywood?

Join us for a conversation about Hollywood, faith, culture, storytelling, Ronald Reagan, the entertainment industry's future and why Christians shouldn't respond to cultural change with fear.

Show up. Stand firm. Fear not.

Howie's Website: https://www.howieklausner.com/

#Tennessee #Hollywood #Nashville #HowieKlausner #Paramount #ChristianFilm #Faith #Culture #Conservative #Reagan #MiddleTennessee #FilmIndustry

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What happens when a 136-year-old organization created by women, for women, finds itself debating what the word “woman” actually means?

Laura McDonald of Daughters Advocating for Restoration joins Kelly Jackson for an inside look at the growing battle over the future of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR).

Laura explains why DAR members are pushing back against the acceptance of biological males with amended birth certificates, why she argues the organization's existing bylaws already require members to be women, and why the grassroots movement says this fight is about much more than transgender ideology.

We dig into the controversial vote at Continental Congress, allegations of procedural irregularities, competing legal opinions over the DAR's First Amendment associational rights, and the demand for a special meeting under the organization's own bylaws.

Laura also explains why the movement says approximately 150 chapters across 39 states have now backed the effort—and why congressional legislation concerning the DAR's federal charter has entered the fight.

At the center of it all is one fundamental question:

If the bylaws say the DAR is an organization for women, who gets to redefine what “woman” means?

Website: https://daughtersadvocatingrestoratio...
GiveSendGo:https://www.givesendgo.com/daughtersa...
Facebook: Facebook: 1659132851538607
YouTube: @daughtersrestoration

⏱️ TIMESTAMPS

00:00 — Why the future of the DAR is being challenged
03:15 — Do the DAR bylaws already require members to be women?
07:30 — Amended birth certificates & the membership controversy
11:00 — Does the DAR have a First Amendment right to determine membership?
15:30 — How Daughters Advocating for Restoration began
21:00 — Attempts to change the bylaws & demand a special meeting
25:30 — What happened at Continental Congress
30:00 — Competing legal opinions & transgender membership
35:00 — The controversial vote and alleged procedural problems
40:30 — Why the first ballot was declared compromised
45:00 — Why members say they are still owed a special meeting
49:30 — Roughly 150 chapters across 39 states join the effort
52:00 — Congress enters the fight: the DAR Membership Integrity Act
56:00 — Why define “woman” at all?
1:00:00 — Genealogy, historical records & amended documents
1:04:00 — Has politics transformed the DAR?
1:08:00 — What's next for the movement & how to follow the fight

The fight isn't simply about one vote. It's about whether a historic women's organization will remain a women's organization—and whether its members get the final say.

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Independent candidate for Tennessee governor David Hatley joins TruthWire News to explain why he believes Tennessee voters should look beyond the party label in the 2026 governor’s race.

Hatley discusses why he chose to run as an Independent, whether he considers himself a conservative, and why he believes voters who rejected Marsha Blackburn in the Republican primary should take a serious look at his campaign.

We also get into some of the issues that matter most to conservative Tennessee voters, including the Second Amendment, Tennessee’s gun laws, red flag laws, COVID-era mandates and executive power, government spending, transparency, and the unelected bureaucracy operating inside state government.

Hatley also explains why he is self-funding his campaign and makes his case directly to conservative voters who may not be satisfied with either major-party choice in November.

TIMESTAMPS

00:00 – Introduction: David Hatley for Tennessee Governor
00:35 – Who is David Hatley and why is he running?
01:48 – From humble beginnings to building Tennessee businesses
03:25 – Faith, personal mistakes and why Hatley entered politics
04:35 – Is David Hatley actually a conservative?
05:10 – Tennessee’s growing budget and lack of transparency
06:51 – Why Hatley says Republican voters should look beyond Marsha Blackburn
09:30 – Second Amendment rights and Tennessee gun laws
09:58 – Hatley calls for changing Tennessee’s “intent” gun law
12:36 – COVID mandates, business closures and executive power
15:24 – Tennessee’s unelected bureaucracy and the need for change
17:20 – Hatley’s closing argument to conservative voters
19:29 – Upcoming Williamson County event
20:08 – Where voters can learn more about David Hatley

TruthWire News
We don’t just tell you what happened. We tell you why it matters.

Subscribe for Tennessee political news, interviews, investigations and analysis.

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There I was, scrolling Facebook, when a political ad for The After Party showed up in my feed here in Williamson County.

That sent me back down a rabbit hole I had been down before.

The After Party says it is not a Bible study. It says its focus is politics. Yet churches are being encouraged to spend days—or even weeks—using it to shape how Christians understand “Christlike” political engagement.

So I decided to take a closer look.

Megan Basham already followed the money. Now I’m following that money through the church doors and asking a different question:

What, exactly, are Christians being taught—and does it actually hold up biblically?

Part I of A Theological Audit of The After Party is out now.

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