Category: Survivor Stories

Learning To Live Alone (And Not Feel Like You’re Dying)

Learning To Live Alone (And Not Feel Like You’re Dying)

Welcome to Episode 2 of The Divorced Christian Woman Podcast, where we believe that living alone doesn’t mean you’re dying. It just means you finally have control of the thermostat.
In this episode, I sat down with Grace, Wendy, and Maile to talk about the surprisingly surreal and also beautiful journey of learning to live solo after divorce. From blackout curtains and bougie hotel sheets to full-on nervous system rewiring, we covered it all. If you’ve ever cried into a bowl of cereal on a Friday night and called it dinner, congratulations – you’re not broken. You’re just a woman figuring it out.
We’re not here to sugarcoat the first 365 days. They’re hard. But they’re also where the magic starts to crack through. And sometimes that magic smells like eucalyptus and sounds like absolute silence. The peaceful kind.

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Escaping the Man Everyone Admired: Lisa's Story

Escaping the Man Everyone Admired: Lisa’s Story [Episode 331]

What happens when the man everyone admires is the one silently destroying your soul behind closed doors?
In this gripping episode, I sit down with Lisa: a strong, truth-telling woman who walked through 40 years of emotional and spiritual abuse in her marriage. From the trauma of date rape on her first date, to the covert spiritual manipulation in a seemingly “perfect” Christian home, Lisa vulnerably shares how she survived, how she healed, and how she’s now helping other women rise.
This episode is not just a story. It’s a reclamation.

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The Best Worst Decision: Erin’s Story

The Best Worst Decision: Erin’s Story [Episode 327]

Ever feel like you’re losing your mind but everyone around you says you’re just too sensitive? Welcome to the club you never asked to join. In this episode, I sit down with Erin, a long-time member of the Flying Free Kaleidoscope community, who opens up about her raw and redemptive journey out of emotional and spiritual abuse.
From marrying a man who knew his way around a Bible and a manipulation tactic (convenient, right?) to raising six kids in eight years while being told she was a “terrible housekeeper,” Erin did what so many Christian women are taught to do—sacrifice, submit, and smile. But eventually, she realized something crucial. God wasn’t calling her to be a martyr in her own marriage.

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Excommunication Series: Janet's Story

Excommunication Series: Janet’s Story [Episode 267]

Have you ever been told you are incorrigible? Or how about contumacious, which means stubbornly and willfully disobedient to authority? Janet’s church promised to help and protect her, but when she decided to set a boundary to protect herself by divorcing her abuser, they turned on her with this vicious name-calling.

Sort of like her abuser, come to think of it.

In this final episode of our excommunication series, Janet outlines her story of waking up to abuse, seeking help from her church, and receiving a proverbial beating in return. Let’s unmask these particular wolves in Janet’s story so that we can learn how to unmask others in our own lives and in the lives of the people we care about.

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Excommunication Series: Valerie's Story

Excommunication Series: Valerie’s Story [Episode 266]

In part two of our excommunication series, I interview Valerie, a former member of a Reformed Baptist church that excommunicated her for divorcing her unfaithful and emotionally abusive husband.

After years of receiving “help” from her church as she endured betrayal after betrayal from her husband, she said enough was enough. But even as she divorced her husband and then tried to leave the church peacefully, they wouldn’t allow it. They had to have the last word. Listen to Valerie’s story today.

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Excommunication Series: Marieda's Story

Excommunication Series: Marieda’s Story [Episode 265]

“Your high-handed sin against God is a dangerous domain, especially for those that claim Christ and have identified with the church.” Mareida read these words in shock after her “sin” of running away from her abuser had reached the ears of her church.

Marieda has a story to tell, and you’ll want to listen in. It’s a story of freedom from emotional abuse and then being punished for it by the church that was supposed to protect her. It’s a story of deep betrayal but also rising from the ashes.

This is the first in a series of three episodes about excommunication.

Meet Marieda. Here is her excommunication story.

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