Badass: Tales of Resilience

Episode 12: Queen of the World

On this episode of Badass, Jennifer Crossley shares the story of losing her 23 year old brother, Leroy, to gun violence when Jennifer was just 20. We explore the impact this had on Jennifer’s family, and also how it has spurred Jennifer to speak out for gun control on behalf of families like hers. We also discuss the harmful racial dynamics in the gun debate, and how those dynamics continue to affect black and brown communities. 

Episode 11: Holding Hope

In this episode we turn the tables on Marabai. Laura Gordon interviews her about her new book, Holding Hope: One Family's Odyssey through Lyme Disease and Psychosis. Marabai reads excerpts from the book, and shares with Laura what living through a life changing illness, and her husband's psychosis was like.

Episode 10: Stranger than Fiction- Part 2

In this episode of Badass we return to April Hennessy's story of surviving her time at a Christian "reform" program, and her challenging childhood. April tells us about the vulnerable and liberating period of her life when she walked away from a culture that had been so harmful to her, yet had to brave being totally alone in the world to do so. We explore the idea of found family, and the beautiful relationship between two young women that put April on her path toward healing. We also explore the tendrils of shame that reach deep within us, and touch so many of our experiences when we have endured trauma. April's honest discussion of the reverberations of trauma is deeply moving. If you listen to this and would like to start or join a conversation, check out our FB page @badassbloomington. I would love to start building community around these stories.

Episode 9: Stranger Than Fiction- Part 1

On this episode of Badass, April Hennessy shares her experience of being sent to Camp Tracey, in Jacksonville, Florida, at age 15. After April began running away from home to escape abuse, she was labeled a “troubled teen”, and ultimately forced to go to a Christian based residential program to “reform” her. The program was actually a forced labor camp, where teens worked 12 hour days doing grueling agricultural labor, and violent corporal punishment was levied for the smallest of infractions. April spent 16 months there, until she was finally released.

Episode 8: Welcome to Holland

In this episode of Badass, Kate shares the story of her son Keenan’s birth, and the terrifying period of time shortly thereafter, when Keenan hovered between life and death. His tiny body was wracked with seizures that were damaging his brain, and at first Kate struggled to get help for him, all the while knowing something was terribly wrong. Finally, Kate was able to get a Dr.’s attention, and at that point it became clear that baby Keenan’s life was in danger. Kate and Kailas then became acquainted with a life they never imagined for themselves, one lived largely inside of a children’s hospital, for the first two years of Keenan’s life. Luckily, Keenan survived those years. Today, he is a beautiful 12 year old boy, with a smile that goes straight to your heart, and he is profoundly affected by all that his body went through at the beginning of his life. 

Episode 7: There is No Wrong Way to Survive

On this episode of Badass, Anna Miller allows us into a very difficult period of her life. At 14 Anna was raped by her boyfriend, who was 16 at the time. It was an experience that derailed her for three years. She withdrew into herself, and tried to make sense of what had happened to her. Just after emerging from that experience, and finding herself again, Anna was raped by a stranger in a parking lot at knife point. This second experience plunged Anna into PTSD and terror. She had to grapple with that terror every day for years as she healed her spirit, and her body. There are graphic descriptions of sexual assault in this episode, however we do give you a warning when those details are about to be shared so that you may choose to listen to Anna's story, without listening to those descriptions.

Episode 6: In an Instant

 In 2019 Cathleen Weber's whole life changed in an instant, when she sustained a traumatic brain injury in a car accident. On this episode of Badass, Cathleen shares with us the experience of suddenly losing so many of her abilities, and her tenacious walk towards wellness.

Episode 5: Extra or Extraordinary?

On this episode of Badass Dana Malan shares the story of her son Victor’s Leukemia diagnosis at age 5. We explore her family’s sudden entrance into the world of childhood cancer, which involved painful, and sometimes traumatic treatments for Victor. Dana was called on to be an advocate for her son, a task that is not easy in a world that often labels women who speak up as "extra". Dana found herself navigating this while working full time, and with another child who was just a year old when Victor was diagnosed. Thankfully, Victor survived childhood Leukemia and is doing well today. We are also sharing a Fire Side Chat with Marabai, where she addresses sexism in medicine, and reads an excerpt of her upcoming memoir, Holding Hope. 

Episode 4: I’m Not a Victim, I’m a Victor

On this episode of Badass, Emily Reynolds shares with us her experience of being a survivor of domestic violence, or as she likes to call it, a victor. In March of 2022 Emily’s abuser was convicted of Felony Domestic Battery. It is rare for a survivor of domestic violence to see this kind of justice. Emily shows us the tenacity required on the part of the survivor to see a domestic violence case all the way through. She also illuminates the ways in which domestic violence can look very different from the Lifetime movies we grew up with, just how easy it is for a woman to find herself in a violent relationship, and how hard it can be to get out. We close out the episode with a Fire Side Chat on abortion rights.

Episode 3: A Guided Tour of the Lymelands

On this episode of Badass, Laura shares with us the story of being ushered into the wilderness by a nameless illness that took hold of her while she was pregnant with her second child. An illness that robbed her of her most basic abilities, and changed every aspect of her life.