We reprise a previous episode that deserved to be heard once more for the warning signs that this survivor missed, and the lessons she learned the heard way. Karen Widdoss is a courageous survivor of a murderous assault she suffered when she was a young teen. In the summer of 1994, her ex-boyfriend attacked her and nearly took her life. How she managed to hold onto her life is a miracle. Karen has added her voice to survivors of violent crimes by speaking out about her experience so no other wom...
Jul 02, 2024•1 hr•Season 4Ep. 35
This is part one of a two-part story My conversation with Charlee touches on areas we have not visited previously. She was born a twin to a mother who disliked children. Her twin brother might have had it worse because her mother hated men. It is debatable who made Charlee's younger years more miserable: her mother, her alcoholic father, her sexual predator stepfather, or her brother. By the time Charlee reached her teens, she realized she was a lesbian. And that took her to places she had never...
Jun 26, 2024•54 min•Season 4Ep. 34
This is part one of a two-part story My conversation with Charlee touches on areas we have not visited previously. She was born a twin to a mother who disliked children. Her twin brother might have had it worse because her mother hated men. It is debatable who made Charlee's younger years more miserable: her mother, her alcoholic father, her sexual predator stepfather, or her brother. By the time Charlee reached her teens, she realized she was a lesbian. And that took her to places she had never...
Jun 25, 2024•54 min•Season 4Ep. 33
This is part two of a two-part story from Sarah, who lives in Australia. Sarah and her siblings grew up in New Zealand under the tyrannical reign of a merciless stepfather. This man ruled their home with an iron fist that was directed mostly at Sarah's mother. For ten years, they needed to be on guard from his abusive behavior. Her mother bore the brunt of his emotional and physical abuse. It was fortunate her mother survived. When she was old enough to be on her own, Sarah moved away to Austral...
Jun 19, 2024•45 min•Season 4Ep. 32
This is part one of a two-part story from Sarah, who lives in Australia. Sarah and her siblings grew up in New Zealand under the tyrannical reign of a merciless stepfather. This man ruled their home with an iron fist that was directed mostly at Sarah's mother. For ten years, they needed to be on guard from his abusive behavior. Her mother bore the brunt of his emotional and physical abuse. It was fortunate her mother survived. When she was old enough to be on her own, Sarah moved away to Austral...
Jun 18, 2024•1 hr 6 min•Season 4Ep. 31
This is part three of a three-part story. Julia is an Argentinian woman. As a child, she dreamt of coming to the US to further her education and experience all she had seen on TV and read in books. Her path was to become a hard-working au pair as a way to financially make ends meet. She also loved children of all ages. For a while, everything fell into place. She tried dating sites and met American men. One stood out as a man she could imagine marrying one day. He took his time before he showed ...
Jun 13, 2024•41 min•Season 4Ep. 30
This is part two of a three-part story. Julia is an Argentinian woman. As a child, she dreamt of coming to the US to further her education and experience all she had seen on TV and read in books. Her path was to become a hard-working au pair as a way to financially make ends meet. She also loved children of all ages. For a while, everything fell into place. She tried dating sites and met American men. One stood out as a man she could imagine marrying one day. He took his time before he showed hi...
Jun 12, 2024•40 min•Season 4Ep. 29
This is part one of a three-part story. Julia is an Argentinian woman. As a child, she dreamt of coming to the US to further her education and experience all she had seen on TV and read in books. Her path was to become a hard-working au pair as a way to financially make ends meet. She also loved children of all ages. For a while, everything fell into place. She tried dating sites and met American men. One stood out as a man she could imagine marrying one day. He took his time before he showed hi...
Jun 11, 2024•41 min•Season 4Ep. 28
This is part two of a two-part narrative with Candi Rose. Candi Rose is her actual name. Her full name is Candace Rose. She was bullied in high school to the point where her mother moved her to a different school. There she fell in with the wrong crowd. Things became worse as she made a series of unfortunate decisions. Her lack of experience, wisdom, or good judgment landed her in jail as a convicted felon. Once released what did she do to make a living? She became a stripper. The twists and tur...
Jun 05, 2024•46 min•Season 4Ep. 27
This is part one of a three-part narrative with Candi Rose. Candi Rose is her actual name. Her full name is Candace Rose. She was bullied in high school to the point where her mother moved her to a different school. There she fell in with the wrong crowd. Things became worse as she made a series of unfortunate decisions. Her lack of experience, wisdom, or good judgment landed her in jail as a convicted felon. Once released what did she do to make a living? She became a stripper. The twists and t...
Jun 05, 2024•44 min•Season 4Ep. 26
I attended a podcast convention earlier this year. I left some leave-behinds and business cards with the hope of landing guests spots on national podcasts. It's another way to get the word out about dating abuse and intimate partner violence. Soon after the convention, I was contacted by Mary Fernandez, the host of the "Leadership, Legacies and Legends Unleashed" podcast. She invited me to speak on her show. This is our conversation. It's quite informative overall but the parts about the warning...
Jun 04, 2024•57 min•Season 4Ep. 28
There is little chance we will ever get an abuser to join us on this podcast and do a recorded interview. But, we have heard enough about the minds of abusers to have insights into what we would hear. It would be the justification of actions taken purely to gain control over another person. It would be a relentless pushback. That is what you will find in this episode. This episode, our third in this mini-series, comes with content and trigger warnings: Domestic abuse, domestic violence, and grap...
May 21, 2024•20 min•Season 4Ep. 25
I was invited to join in an interview with True Crime Connections podcast host, Tiffanie. This was the perfect venue to continue our review of life-saving information like my latest list of warning signs. Only in the past year have I uncovered some new ones worth hearing about. I also shared what I call the "Template Every Abuser Follows". These are important areas to know since intimate partner violence does not present itself as evil at first. "IPV" often appears like "this someone" is the emb...
May 14, 2024•1 hr 1 min•Season 4Ep. 24
The following story comes with trigger warnings due to both its content and graphic descriptions. This is part one of a two-part story. Beany Chalfant brought her story to me in an email. I knew she needed to tell her narrative to us. By the time she reached 40, she had never been close to intimate partner violence. But all of that changed with one boyfriend. In the beginning, he seemed to bring everything she was missing, but before long, he was more than she could handle. The story shows us, o...
May 08, 2024•54 min•Season 4Ep. 24
The following story comes with trigger warnings due to both its content and graphic descriptions. This is part one of a two-part story. Beany Chalfant brought her story to me in an email. I knew she needed to tell her narrative to us. By the time she reached 40, she had never been close to intimate partner violence. But all of that changed with one boyfriend. In the beginning, he seemed to bring everything she was missing, but before long, he was more than she could handle. The story shows us, o...
May 07, 2024•33 min•Season 4Ep. 23
This is part two of a two-part story with Claire. It comes with trigger warnings for its content and graphic descriptions. I was sent a link with a news segment from the West Coast. The newscasters were showing body cam footage of an intimate partner violence case that would later head into court. The footage was eerie to watch. It puts you right there outside of the building watching a man deny knowing anything had happened. But eventually, police find Claire in their apartment. Of course, an a...
May 02, 2024•53 min•Season 4Ep. 22
This is part one of a two-part story with Claire. It comes with trigger warnings for its content and graphic descriptions. I was sent a link with a news segment from the West Coast. The newscasters were showing body cam footage of an intimate partner violence case that would later head into court. The footage was eerie to watch. It puts you right there outside of the building watching a man deny knowing anything had happened. But eventually, police find Claire in their apartment. Of course, an a...
May 01, 2024•56 min•Season 4Ep. 21
This is part two of Cynthia’s two-part story of survival. It comes with trigger warnings due to its content and some descriptions. You will feel her innocence throughout. She is a trusting soul and sometimes it has gotten her into places that are impossible to escape. Trouble often seemed to follow. Cynthia is not perfect. She has made mistakes. But it seems most of her mistakes have cost her dearly. No matter what Cynthia has endured in life, she managed to remain positive, and she looked for t...
Apr 24, 2024•55 min•Season 4Ep. 20
This is part one of Cynthia’s two-part story of survival. It comes with trigger warnings due to its content and some descriptions. You will feel her innocence throughout. She is a trusting soul and sometimes it has gotten her into places that are impossible to escape. Trouble often seemed to follow. Cynthia is not perfect. She has made mistakes. But it seems most of her mistakes have cost her dearly. No matter what Cynthia has endured in life, she managed to remain positive, and she looked for t...
Apr 23, 2024•49 min•Season 4Ep. 19
I was asked by Dan Woerheide to join him on his Narrowing the Divide podcast. This podcast series is actually Dan working as a career coach, but he feels everyone working needs to know more about dating abuse and domestic violence. It will eventually touch every life. I appreciate Dan for inviting me to speak on his show. It's a new audience for me to tell what I know about domestic violence. We cover a lot of ground in this conversation. You will hear my latest list of warning signs, and someth...
Apr 23, 2024•1 hr 7 min•Season 4Ep. 18
This is part two of a two-part story. It comes with trigger warnings due to its content and descriptions. Alexandra story begins in Australia, where she was born and where we meet up with Michael. He was an artist and a narcissistic abuser. The kind of a guy we lie awake at night hoping our daughters never meet up with or date. The story takes us from Australia to Vienna, Austria and then to Poland where the abuse from Michael turns from the emotional to physical violence as horrible as we can i...
Apr 17, 2024•45 min•Season 4Ep. 17
This is part one of a two-part story. It comes with trigger warnings due to its content and descriptions. Alexandra story begins in Australia, where she was born and where we meet up with Michael. He was an artist and a narcissistic abuser. The kind of a guy we lie awake at night hoping our daughters never meet up with or date. The story takes us from Australia to Vienna, Austria and then to Poland where the abuse from Michael turns from the emotional to physical violence as horrible as we can i...
Apr 16, 2024•43 min•Season 4Ep. 16
This is part two of a two-part story. Deborah’s story takes us to places many of us have never been before. She spent time in the US Navy and then the US Army. We go to Virginia, California, Kentucky, and even Afghanistan before her return to the US. Before heading into Afghanistan with the US Army, Deborah meets Scott, who does a brilliant portrayal of being everyone’s best buddy while winning over Deborah’s heart. It here where warning signs are on full display but are unfortunately missed. Up...
Apr 10, 2024•48 min•Season 4Ep. 15
This is part one of a two-part story. Deborah’s story takes us to places many of us have never been before. She spent time in the US Navy and then the US Army. We go to Virginia, California, Kentucky, and even Afghanistan before her return to the US. Before heading into Afghanistan with the US Army, Deborah meets Scott, who does a brilliant portrayal of being everyone’s best buddy while winning over Deborah’s heart. It here where warning signs are on full display but are unfortunately missed. Up...
Apr 09, 2024•39 min•Season 4Ep. 14
Every survivor story comes with reasons to listen carefully and learn the many facets of dating and domestic violence. This story is certainly no exception. For those of you thinking domestic violence doesn’t happen to people like you, Jamie’s narrative stands as evidence to the contrary. She was a college graduate. A law school graduate. And then a prosecutor in a district attorney’s office near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. What is so ironic? She was the prosecutor of criminal cases oftentimes l...
Mar 27, 2024•1 hr•Season 4Ep. 13
Every survivor story comes with reasons to listen carefully and learn the many facets of dating and domestic violence. This story is certainly no exception. For those of you thinking domestic violence doesn’t happen to people like you, Jamie’s narrative stands as evidence to the contrary. She was a college graduate. A law school graduate. And then a prosecutor in a district attorney’s office near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. What is so ironic? She was the prosecutor of criminal cases oftentimes l...
Mar 26, 2024•44 min•Season 4Ep. 12
I met "Caitlyn" in November 2009 moments before I gave a speech about my daughter's dating violence murder. What Caitlyn described about her abuse was the most horrific story I had ever heard -- short of murder. It continues to disturb me even now. I was fortunate to conduct this interview with Caitlyn. Her story shows how bad domestic violence can get, but also demonstrates how strong a determined woman can be. There is no person I respect more than Caitlyn. You will soon know why. Thank you fo...
Mar 22, 2024•1 hr 15 min•Season 1Ep. 3
This the final part in a three-part story. Sarah’s story of abuse starts off a bit slow but then it really gets rolling. It covers many of the warning signs (red flags) of what became an unhealthy relationship, and later, and awkward, disrespectful, one-sided, abusive marriage. Plus, there were children involved. Sarah somehow managed to stay true to herself. She never became as awful as the behavior that came her way from her husband. There is so much to be learned in this heroic narrative abou...
Mar 21, 2024•36 min•Season 4Ep. 32
This is part two in a three-part story. Sarah’s story of abuse starts off a bit slow but then it really gets rolling. It covers many of the warning signs (red flags) of what became an unhealthy relationship, and later, and awkward, disrespectful, one-sided, abusive marriage. Plus, there were children involved. Sarah somehow managed to stay true to herself. She never became as awful as the behavior that came her way from her husband. There is so much to be learned in this heroic narrative about a...
Mar 21, 2024•44 min•Season 4Ep. 31
This is part one in a three-part story. Sarah’s story of abuse starts off a bit slow but then it really gets rolling. It covers many of the warning signs (red flags) of what became an unhealthy relationship, and later, and awkward, disrespectful, one-sided, abusive marriage. Plus, there were children involved. Sarah somehow managed to stay true to herself. She never became as awful as the behavior that came her way from her husband. There is so much to be learned in this heroic narrative about a...
Mar 21, 2024•39 min•Season 4Ep. 30
