Just One Person is a podcast dedicated to exploring the stories of individuals who have been profoundly influenced by a single person in their lives. Each season, our guests share their unique journeys, offering listeners insights into how these pivotal influences have shaped their paths for a brighter life. We believe in the power of storytelling to inspire transformation and personal growth. Our mission is to provide a platform for these important narratives, fostering a community of listeners who find strength and inspiration in shared experiences.
Last refreshed: ⓘ
Follow this podcast in the Metacast mobile app to refresh it and see new episodes.
Don't just listen to podcasts. Learn from them with transcripts, summaries, and chapters for every episode. Skim, search, and bookmark insights. Learn more
In this episode, Stephanie shares the raw impact of her mother's tragic death, which unexpectedly resurfaced deep trauma from years of narcissistic abuse. She discusses her return to therapy, gaining tools to process pain and reclaim her own voice, and the challenging process of setting boundaries with surviving family members. Supported by loved ones and drawing strength from her grandparents' enduring love, Stephanie finds healing in sharing her story and emphasizes the importance of compassion.
Stephanie's story reaches a powerful turning point. In this episode, she begins to reclaim her voice and her life as she faces the truth of her fourth marriage — a harrowing experience of coercive control and emotional abuse. Through one brave act, she begins the process of breaking free. With the help of a close-knit circle of women and a life-changing therapist, Stephanie starts rebuilding — finding safety, strength, and healing on her own terms. This chapter is raw, real, and deeply resonant ...
In one life-changing moment, Stephanie faces every mother's deepest fear: discovering her child has been harmed. Without hesitation, Stephanie believes her daughter’s words and takes immediate action, stepping into her fiercest role yet—protector. This episode unpacks the harrowing hours that follow, capturing a mother’s strength, raw vulnerability, and unwavering courage in the face of overwhelming trauma and uncertainty.
After years of surviving abuse, betrayal, and religious control, Stephanie tries to build a life on her own terms. But peace is short-lived. In this episode, she confronts red flags in a new marriage, hidden traumas, and a devastating phone call that brings her world crashing down. A story of strength, silence, and the moment everything changes.
In this powerful chapter of Stephanie’s journey, she confronts the weight of survival and what it means to break free from control. From the pulpit to a courtroom, from a knife in her hand to losing custody of her daughter, Stephanie’s fight for autonomy is raw, messy, and painfully real. As her past continues to cast long shadows, she begins to find the strength to say no—for the first time. This episode explores the cost of escaping abuse, reclaiming power, and learning to stand on your own te...
Stephanie shares her heartbreaking experience of being married at just 16 to her 25-year-old former Bible camp counselor—a marriage her parents allowed out of fear she'd rebel otherwise. Isolated and trapped in an abusive home, Stephanie endured escalating violence until she bravely fled for her life. Through her powerful story, this episode highlights the disturbing realities of child marriage and advocates for legal protections like the Child Marriage Prevention Act of 2024.
After a year and a half at a troubled teen facility steeped in extreme religious beliefs led by uneducated leadership, Stephanie returns home without therapy or support—only expectations. Labeled "healed," she’s thrust into a performative role as a redeemed preacher’s daughter. In this episode, she shares the deep confusion and damage caused by false testimonies her parents wrote about her, family pressure, and emotional manipulation. From being coached to tell a story that wasn't hers to an unp...
At just 14, Stephanie was sent away to Gateway Farm for Girls—her ninth home and sixth school. Promising healing and hope, the reform school delivered abusive religious extremism. In this episode, Stephanie recounts being dropped off without explanation and surviving deliverance ceremonies to “cast out demons."Her story reveals how survival sometimes means playing the system, and how the deepest wounds are often those left by silence, misunderstanding, and the absence of care.
Stephanie continues to unravel her past, sharing moments of profound resilience amidst unimaginable pain. From the early struggles of surviving in a restrictive and abusive household to moments of fleeting joy and escape, Stephanie reflects on how disassociation and the love of her grandparents became lifelines during her darkest days. This episode explores her experiences with isolation, the burden of misplaced guilt, and the complicated relationship between survival and healing. Stephanie’s co...
Stephanie shares the harrowing realities of her early childhood as the daughter of Pentecostal pastors whose faith demanded an impossible standard of perfection. Under the guise of godliness, her parents subjected her to relentless physical and emotional abuse, using their religious beliefs to justify their actions. Stephanie recounts how her curiosity, creativity, and individuality were deemed rebellious sins, leading to punishments that left her bruised, bloodied, and broken. This episode delv...
In the premiere episode of Just ONE Person, host Lisa Bloom introduces us to a remarkable woman Stephanie Michelle-hairstylist, musician, and survivor. What began as a simple haircut appointment turned int a deep friendship and the start of a powerful journey. Stephanie shares vivid memories of her early childhood in rural Texas-complete with homemade Halloween costumes, switch-picking discipline, and the unconditional love of her grandparents, Mimi and PopPop. But at age 7, her life changed dra...
