A woman’s happy childhood with her single mother unexpectedly takes a bewildering, dark turn, leading to a moment that will change everything.

211: What if you had to let her go to save yourself?

What if you were trafficked into a cult...or were mauled by a grizzly bear...or were stabbed 27 times by a serial killer - what would you do?&nbsp;This is Actually Happening&nbsp;brings you extraordinary true stories of life-changing events told by the people who lived them. From a man who woke up in the morgue to a woman stranded in a Mexican desert fighting to survive, these stories will have you on the edge of your seat waiting to hear what happens next.  New episodes come out every Tuesday for free. Listen 1-week early and to exclusive past episodes - all ad-free - with Wondery+ or Amazon Music with a Prime membership or Amazon Music Unlimited subscription.

Society & Culture

Personal Journals

History

Philosophy

Places & Travel

Documentary

True crime

After his mother falls in love with Frank, the member of a one-hit-wonder 80s band, a man’s life becomes a roller coaster of neglect, scams, and chaos, but when he turns the camera on the inside of his family, a new world opens he never thought possible.

315: What if your life became a movie?

After losing her entire family at ten years old, a woman’s grief evolves into a self-destructive rage, and as systems of care, punishment and rehabilitation keep failing her, she’s forced to create her own path to healing.

314: What if you harbored an unrelenting fury?

Growing up queer, bullied and abused in a heavily religious community, a man tries and to change his sexual orientation through prayer, but as he pieces his life together and heals past harms, tragedy and misfortune raise more questions than answers.

313: What if you had to find your own salvation?

Finally finding love and marriage after feeling unworthy of romance, a woman develops symptoms of a mysterious and debilitating illness, but in the roller coaster of recovery, her husband’s mental illness creates a new level of chaos.

312: What if you believed your love could cure him?

An Indigenous woman from the Standing Buffalo Dakota Nation whose grandparents suffered the horrific abuses of the Canadian Indian residential schools finds her own path to healing amidst the ravages of generational trauma on her family and community.

211: What if you had to let her go to save yourself?

Download our free app to listen on your phone