***PLEASE NOTE: This episode contains discussion of rape, molestation, and trauma. The topics of this podcast may be difficult for some audience members to listen to.***
Kae Withers tells a profound story of pain and adversity as she recounts her teenage years living in a neglectful, abusive household. Sold to men by her mother to feed a drug addiction, Kae had two children at a young age and spent much of her life in what she calls "survival mode," finding ways to take care of them without support. After years of struggle, Kae has found a safe home, a good job, and is surrounded by people who love her unconditionally. The challenge she faces now is how to transition out of survival mode and to let go of the intense sense of control that she maintained to keep her once chaotic life together. As she says in the interview, this is a scary thing to do: how do you let go of control when it was so essential for protecting yourself and your family, when it was something that saw Kae through the darkest period of her life? While Kae’s story is heart-wrenching, she hopes that by starting to let go of the tight grip she has had over her past and opening up about her trauma, that other people who are in similar situations can find meaning and healing from the story she shares.
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