Let Us Prey: Exposing the Circle of Hope Girls' Ranch & the Troubled Teen Industry
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- Опубликовано: 31 май 2024
- Disguised as a wholesome Christian school for troubled youth, was a house of horrors for those unlucky enough to be placed there. Diabolical and dangerous punishm*nts, intense physical labor left these girls scarred in more ways than one. The documentary “Let Us Prey”, finally started to expose the secrets behind the walls of the school and within the IFB (Independent Fundamental Baptist) churches as a whole. Amanda shares her story, as a young one of parents who ran one of these schools.
TikTok: @notmyfathersdaughter3 / notmyfathersdaughter3
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Chapter Markers
00:00:00 Intro
00:02:50 Beliefs and rules of the IFB (Independent Fundamental Baptists)
00:04:25 TW: CA in various forms
00:07:28 How the boarding schools are related to IFB
00:09:20 Doctrines that promoted ab*se at home
00:12:37 Culottes or skirts? Rules tighten at Agape.
00:15:08 TW: CA-Amanda's dad learns new punishments
00:22:53 TW: CA - Amanda's grandmother calls CPS
00:25:50 Are these group homes still running?
00:29:34 What's the draw of sending your kid to an IFB boarding school?
00:31:43 Sad*stic parents? Or good intentions?
00:33:35 What was Amanda's actual education like there?
00:34:45 Trapped at Circle of Hope until age 30 - Rachel Kellso’s story
00:36:56 TW: CA -5 point restraint punishm*nt at IFB schools
00:42:19 How did Amanda finally escape boarding school?
00:44:30 "We aren't a cult...THEY are!" Deconstructing
00:49:25 Repeating damaging patriarchal patterns
00:55:05 Where are Amanda's parents now?
00:56:48 Agape shuts down (with some help from TikTok)
00:58:11 How Amanda has been since "Let Us Prey" released
01:02:55 Linda, Listen
Theme Song Produced and Composed by Christian Guevara
*Disclaimer: Thanks for joining us at Cults to Consciousness. This storytelling podcast is meant to be for entertainment purposes only and does not substitute for medical advice. We may discuss triggering topics and we ask that you make your personal mental health a priority. Lastly, the opinions of our guests do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the host.*
a common scam: A day care in the south can just call itself christian day care, And the locals totally overlook neglect , abuse, and otherwise intolerable conditions just from that branding alone.
What I find interesting when the Bible was written men didn’t wear pants either
😂🙌
This made me cry immediately. I was 15 and my parents took me to a IFB girls home in Union, Mississippi. I am 41 years old and still have honest to God nightmares of this abusive place.
I'm so sorry you dealt with abuse. Praying for your healing 😅❤
You have done such an excellent job prerecording all these videos so we don’t miss you on parental leave. I hope you and Jonathan are having a blast learning about the new human you created!
It’s impressive and I am very grateful they put in so much effort!
Do you have some kind of issue saying f “maternity” leave?
@@balipsette No, I was referring to both of them. And given they’re both genders, I used parental leave as opposed to maternity and paternity leave. Geez Louise! Take a big breath. The next sentence says “you and Jonathan” which means I was referring to them both. I have found that stopping and reading comments aloud helps me to see when people are trying to communicate clearly. Hence, taking the time to explain to you why I used the verbiage I used.
@@balipsetteyou seem like the kind of person who would have an outrage at someone calling the sky blue 😐🙄
@@balipsettedid you run out of places to troll and this is the best you could do? Pretty pathetic.
Y'all definitely didn't have to pre record all these videos for us but I'm so happy you did! Mad respect to you
I appreciate that🥰
Yay to body autonomy! Worked with abused children for 20 years. This is my number one thing I try to instill or preach about with parents when protecting your children. I'm 100% behind this concept. Even babies and toddlers have body autonomy. They get to say no the hugs and kisses or being held by family members if they don't want to. Give the baby back to mom if they start crying, don't force the toddler to hug grandma if they don't want to! Teach them.young!
Awesome!!! Thank you for sharing with that information. YES to Body Autonomy!!!
As a mother I’ve NEVER taken my children to sit on Santa’s lap. We teach them about stranger danger yet we take them to sit on a strange man’s lap and tell him what toy they want….gives me the creeps!
I ask my daughters if I can give them hugs and kisses. If they say no I say OK. My mother raised me in rape culture and I'm not passing that on.
Prone & supine restraints are illegal in almost every situation in several countries because people die from those types of restraints. I can’t imagine why any child would ever need to be restrained in a prone / supine restraint. My background is in behavioural psychology & during my university studies & professional development training we are constantly taught about the dangers of prone / supine restraints
@@mariespalding2327I m gonna say that's taking it to the other extreme ..who sais to put them on Santa's lap..but they should b allowed to go if they want to and learn trust while supervised
Being heard and believed is so important for healing.
Interesting. I didn't actually really know that. But it explains why my therapy significantly helped me. I didn't understand how it helped, I just know it did. Thank you for the insight.
I do appreciate Amanda’s honesty so much. When I got out of ‘my’ cult at 17 I had two long term abusive relationships. I have learnt through this channel that if you’re taught to be self-sacrificing and submissive, controlling and coercive relationships can feel so normal and right, even though they will destroy you eventually. What a valuable piece of information and another reason why this channel is so important. Maybe some people will be able to avoid these situations, or maybe some like me will learn how to forgive themselves as they didn’t have the knowledge or tools to conduct healthy relationships. Thank you so much, both of you ♥️
Thank you for your kind and supportive words!❤️
What is it with adults getting pleasure from torturing kids!?!?! What goes on their mind!?!
✨️SOCIOPATHS✨️
@@OriginalContent89 there's way too many of them.
Children are very easy targets to exercise power.
Children are easy to handle physically and mentally, they are easily manipulated.
Children don't understand boundaries very well, and very extreme power can be established.
This holds true for own and other children, if you get other parents to trust you with their children.
And children are often not believed nor taken seriously when they are victims and dare to come forward.
So, if exercise of power/authority is your thing, children can be most easy as well as extremely satisfying targets.
Their evil
Pure sick 🤢
So proud of her for not only escaping, but getting clean and then going back to help others. She is an amazing person!
Hi, Amanda's story was hard for me to watch. I wish her and her kids the best. My heart goes out to her and the others that had to endure these schools. I was raised as a JW and last week I faced something that was done to me, it was the fact that they starved me, I didn't emotionally or mentally acknowledge that. Thanks this channel at 65 I am unpacking my religious trauma. Thanks wishing you and your family the best on your journey of being parents.
I'm 65 too. We lasted this long 😅 it's all downhill from here 💙
I really love the rawness of this experience. Healing is not glamorous and it's not linear! I know you wish that you learned certain things sooner but, what's important is that you're getting there Amanda!
These interviews must have been hard while pregnant.
Thanks for giving these voices a platform! And thank for raising your voices.
I have thought that. Blessings on Shelise!
I agree...tiring when you are pregnant.
I’m so glad you’re bringing light to the troubled teen industry. Many of the abusive programs are founded on religion, although there are many that just exist to gouge money from desperate families.
Break the silence. Break the cycle.
Love this sentence :)
Exactly kat.
It's so beautiful to hear that she's still in contact with the other girls/ women and that all that abuse didn't break their bond to each other ❤
Omg, I also started with deep dive into the "crazy" Mormons-- sand realized in my 60s now that my whole Christian indoctrination is also "crazy"!
I knew a guy who left the Mormon religion you cannot think for yourself it’s all control
Hey I'm 6 decade's in as well and felt the call to leave xtian program ming in 2006, but the layers that had to be shed took 6 yrs,I Church hopped during that time or worshipped at home,it was 2012 when I was told by my higher self to put the bi bul down All of it had to go....a loving god would never be jealous or vengeful or a bi polar lunatic that demands blood sacrifice 😢the cast of characters in that book are POS IDK how they got that program over me, every church out there is a cult 😢we are more than our physical bodies ❤❤ time to step into our power..Dog bless us all ❤️
The strength this woman has, not only to leave, but to keep on fighting for herself and others after everything that's happened.
Amanda was amazing. I was overwhelmed by her candidness, that leaving IFB didn’t automatically lead to the perfect life. I feel this is such an important message. To hear that there were substance abuse and difficult personal relationships. I would like to see more on the daily struggle people like Amanda have to overcome and how this can affect life choices and hopefully lead a better life. This can give hope to others who may be at a low point in their life and who need to see how small steps can help give back control.
To train up a child is horrendous. The patriarchy and purity culture surrounding relationships is so toxic. A toxic dynamic...so important to teach boundaries also.
I finally got out of my 18 year marriage after my daughters got older, and my sons. I had to wake up and realize that my marriage was more detrimental for my children than trying to hold my dysfunctional family together. It took me longer than it should have, but we got out!!! We are all much better for it now! I so admire you for what you are doing to help others get out of similar situations❤️💯 Thanks so much for your courage and actions!!!
Thank you Amanda and Shalise for this beautiful episode! I'm having an analogous experience of having to go up against my father because I observed his abusive behavior in the past, and Amanda's story is making me feel less alone in that.
❤️❤️❤️
I hope she also understands it’s very hard not to fall into controlling and manipulative relationships after leaving high control groups because while in those groups we are indoctrinated to believe that behavior is love. It takes a lot of time and healing to rewire our brains to choose healthy partners over toxic ones
Agree
“The key is in learning how to live a healthy, satisfying and serene life without being dependent on another person for happiness.” Robin Norwood.
“The key is in learning how to live a healthy, satisfying and serene life without being dependent on another person for happiness.” Robin Norwood.
Amanda, thank you so much for sharing your story and caring so much about other children and young people who are suffering in silence. I wish you continued healing, success and happiness!
Wishing you all well with your baby. Thank you for keeping us up to date with your pre-recordings❤
Thanks for listening❤️
About the deconstruction not being "pretty" - if there's one thing I've learned from these stories it's that deconstruction is usually incredibly messy and full of ups and downs, and so many people Shelise has interviewed had to hit total rock bottom before they could begin the actual healing process. It's so sad but also so understandable - coming out of a situation like this with so much trauma and so little understanding of the outside world, how is anyone supposed to just slip into a "normal" routine right away... It also makes me wonder how many people out there are still in the throws of the whole "it has to get worse before it gets better" - in case you're one of them, I'm sending you all the love ❤ I hope stories like this can show them that it IS possible to come out the other side!
IFB gets it's name from the notion that there is no governing body over the churches, such as the Southern Baptist Convention, the General Association of Regular Baptists, etc. (Thus, "independent") Each church/pastor does their own thing. Churches are generally "pastor-led" with very limited ability for elders to intervene. So, there are no safeguards (however minimal the conventions have) against an individual church/pastor "going off the rails." This is also what makes IFB abuses difficult to track.
The "doctrines" around child-raising are VERY similar to IBLP. In fact, there was a TON of overlap between the IFB churches and IBLP, until Gothard started teaching that, if a pastor didn't align fully with IBLP, families should leave the church. Many IFB pastors considered this an affront to pastoral authority/autonomy and led to many church splits. But MUCH of the underlying teaching regarding child-rearing is the same; "Growing Kids God's Way", the Pearls, extreme patriarchy, "spare the rod, spoil the child," breaking the child's will, "carrot and stick," arranged marriages for the girls (either actual or virtual), etc.
I watched this. I adore her! Such STRENGTH! Turning the anger outside is the hardest part and she's doing it! ❤❤❤❤❤
I went to a Baptist school and paddling plus exercise punishments were prevalent. Not to the extreme that this woman went through but I feel for kids still going to the school I went to.
A friend of mine who was later diagnosed with Tourette's and ADD. Was paddled constantly for being disruptive. When he finally went to a public school they were able to realize he had these issues and he was given treatment instead of punishment.
I went to a Christian school that did paddling. I only got it once but it was the weirdest, creepiest experience I've ever had and it's part of the reason I'm no longer a Christian today
Power to Survivors, Survivors United ❤️
I can totally relate to the parental control factor. Even when you walk away from it, it stays with you. After I left home I was in a very controlling relationship & found myself in the same role of going out if my way to please someone.
It isn't just on the survivors of these situations. Narcissists constantly probe those around them to look for signs that a person can be manipulated. To a practiced manipulator, survivors of controlling relationships may as well have a flashing neon sign over them,.
@@grimlock1471 absolutely. Like a therapist once told me "they can smell it on you"
BOOSTING THE ALGORITHM WHILE WE WATCH!!! ✨
Thanks for coming on Amanda, glad to have the honor to hear more of your story!! Thank you for speaking up and speaking out 😸🖤
You're the best!
Thank you for telling your story! It's so important to bring these things to light. Too many people feel like bad things don't happen in religion
Because the religous community handles "everything@ home". What goes on behind closed doors stays behind the doors - whether those doors be your home, the church, your school, etc
At this point they would have to be EXTREMELY sheltered to believe that. Like sheltered to the point where they're living the same kinds of lives as the people in these cults
I think more evil happens in Religion than non believers
It’s becoming more that ppl think these things ONLY happen in ‘religious’ communities.
There are messed up psychopaths everywhere
This is such an important podcast. The work, the interviews, the platform are just top notch. It would be so helpful to interview a knowledgeable lawyer to have an in-depth discussion about how the 1st Amendment (freedom of religion) jurisprudence restricts police , and CPS workers (and other state actors) from intervening in these abuse cases that are underpinned by religious belief. The constitutional mandate not to restrict the practice of religion inhibits action, which is so incredibly frustrating. It would be important to hear from legal activists trying to navigate this space given the restrictions of the 1st Amendment. A good resource might be The Freedom From Religion Foundation. They deal with separation of church and state issues, but have staff attorneys who would be able to have a conversation to flesh out this part of these stories. This podcast is just so impressive. Thank you for this very fine work.
Wasn't Paris Hilton at Agape?
She is helping pass legislation against these camps.
She went somewhere in Utah.
Provo Canyon School, Utah
Liked. Shared. Commented. Up the algorithm!!
Robert and debi pearl are very infamous for the teachings of “training up a child” or “created to be his helpmeet” the part where Amanda mentions that book my skin starts to crawl. I’m so sorry Amanda, I hope you’re doing better!
When I heard about the beatings with the belt, my response was: "This stinks of the Pearls." Then, Amanda mentioned the helpmeet book and I grimly thought. "Ah, confirmed." Anyone who grew up in an environment like this is lucky to be alive.
Michael Pearl
My parents used to buy boxes of those books. I burned the one they gave me before any of this stuff came out. I knew in my spirit it wasn’t right, even as a kid.
I have had her exact experience with realizing I was raised in a cult. And I wasn’t able to really look at it until my kids were raised and I had space to deal with that. It’s strange how long you can be walking around with that inside of you.I wish you all the luck on your healing journey!! I’m just a little bit jealous, because I really want to be interviewed on this podcast!! I’m setting that as my intention on my own healing journey. I’m so happy you’re in a better place now.
I'm sorry I'm just so fecked off with these horrific people sending their poor kids to these sorts of places - this, the Hildebrand woman - so called wilderness camps - and none of them giving one tiny toss about any child and their care
Thank you for continuing to break the silence
12:00 that sounds like the Duggar philosophy
24:09 this is absolutely enraging!! Childrens' lives literally depend on CPS doing their job!!
"How To Be His Helpmeet" is by Debi Pearl who is married to THE Michael Pearl who wrote "To Train Up A Child," the manual Kendra's parents used.
And still available on Amazon, people have tried repeatedly to get them removed
Yes, and it's disgusting that Amazon hasn't removed it. I knew people who loved both of those books. I was a child who grew up in a strict Christian home and I was still appalled by the books. My former friend's parents actually highlighted and underlined the parts in "To Train Up A Child" where Michael Pearl lists exact dimensions for switches and other so-called rods. My friend and I were teens at the time. Her father beat her until she bruised and I wish I had reported them but I was brainwashed by my parents to believe that CPS was evil and wanted to ruin families.
Your so brave!! I had a pretty awful childhood with two drug addicted parents and sometimes when I feel really hopeless about things I watch videos like this and it gives me strength to carry on bc there’s ppl who have had things worse than I did and they are thriving!! It’s not easy for anyone but it just gives me that little push to keep going so THANK YOU for sharing ur story and thank you for making these videos!! They’re so important!! ❤
My dad worked at a place like this, but for boys, in Oregon for a while when I was in high school. Mind you, he had no qualifications at all; he was a high school dropout who served a few years in the military and has bounced from job to job to job my whole life. I wonder what this boys had to go through because I know my sisters and I were being physically and emotionally abused at home, so that's the type of person my dad was. One thanksgiving, my dad brought 5 or 6 of the boys to our house for the holiday and we were instructed/warned not to be alone with them, but they seemed like nice boys. None of them tried to reach out for help or anything while they were there, so who knows
Wow! What a powerful story that needs more attention. Having an abusive childhood from which I totally dissociated, I was so glad to hear you be open about how the leaving a miserable situation can be a Ricky path. It’s an important need in the community of survivors to have support systems. This was a really great episode. Thanks for making it.
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so so so appreciate you sharing, Amanda. The doom loop of deconstructing + still holding on to some of the things you learned + the dizzying questions of where the things you actually believe came from (and are they "real" or just a reaction against what you grew up with)?!?! PLUS THE LACK OF FAMILY OF ORIGIN AND ATTACHING YOURSELF TO FAMILIAR PEOPLE AND PATTERNS. Girl, so thankful you shared
God bless this sweetheart. I cannot watch her fidget another second. She is doing a great job. I will listen
YES. Breaking cycles of trauma while parenting your own children is so healing.
Thank you for continuing to give a voice to survivors!
Amanda, you are doing amazing things. Please keep loving yourself and your children, and breaking the chains that bound you. You rock!
Thank you for sharing your story Amanda and for advocating for the other survivors to get to be listened to and tell their story as well ❤
I had ACE education too! In our school the education was college prep level and I can tell that in some areas my education was better than others in my age group. But the education was *heavily* whitewashed and Christian washed. I am still having to do the work to correct the gaps in my education and the blatant miseducation of certain aspects.
I'm so glad she was willing to come on and share! i hope you're able get in touch with others and they can tell their story!
We are working on it!❤️
Thank you so much Shelise for sharing this video, and thank you Amanda for speaking up about your story! 😎 Amanda you are a brave human being, you lived so much and watched so much that could have hit you in the wrong way, but you decided to break the cycle, leave and be there for your children and their safety! Keep living, enjoy life and take it easy, you deserve it.
I left the Catholic church a while ago, it's taking me sometime to understand my feelings, I hear often that this church is not a cult, but I'm not entirely sure, as they make the masses think a certain way, manipulate people from a very young age and just force their believes under the reasoning that if you don't do or say XYZ, you will go to hell. 👿 I don't have anyone to talk to about what it feels to leave the church, so I'm open to discussion if anyone feels like it.
I know this is an early video a month ago but I want to say young lady don’t be ashamed of things you did that made you feel good. The important thing is you accept and take accountability, you deserve the very best.
We are all works in progress, Amanda. One step at a time. Check into the concept of 'splitting' and how it works in narcissistic abuse. Big hugs xx
This is a great show. You both really understand cults and patriarchy and abuse as well as the effects of it, the aftermath. Amanda householder is such a beautiful soul, inside and out. You gals are amazing!
This is a honest, loving and real interview. Brava Amanda🎉 You are so incredibly powerful; thank you for your time and sharing this with us ♥️☮️🫂
Say you’re doing whatever you’re doing for religion and you can get away with nearly anything.
Stockton is less then hour from from where I grew up and currently live had no idea there was such a place or that this is going on.
I would love to speak with you if you ever do another episode with homeschooling
Trigger alert-
through the lens of cult nebulous with Baptist Indepent upbringing. It led to home imprisonment and starvation with my mom going down to weighing 80 lbs. I am so thankful to meet other kids like me through this channel. It's priceless and so precious to hear our stories.
Feel free to reach out through or guest app! Link in about section
Kudos! Your strength is inspiring. It takes so much courage to leave our own "status quo" and move forward when things are difficult. So much easier to give in and surrender yourself.
My father raised us in Southern Baptist Church. He would tell me that he owned the land, the house, all the belongings, us children and his wife. It was all his property and he was in charge as the Man of the household. I would watch him beat my siblings. He would fold his belt in half and snap it together to make this really loud sound to scare his children before giving them a whipping. He loved seeing the fear in his children. He had gotten so angry with me that he would pick me up and throw me across the room. Damn nearly went through a tv! I stopped talking to him in 2005. It has been so peaceful! Watching all of these stories on this channel has been a blessing. I wish every single person that has been on or is reading this much healing and peace!
Wow, how scary! Thanks for sharing. I’m happy the channel has been helpful ❤️
What your father got wrong is that he was supposed to love his wife as Christ loved the church. The Bible never says men are to be tyrants. I hate people that abuse biblical teachings.
I think a lot of people are going to appreciate the honesty with which you describe the many years and the cycles of getting back into difficult situations and out again, that deconstruction and recovery take thank you for your bravery and openness x
Love having guests suggest other guests especially with ghe channel growing!
The system does not protect the children. She is so right. The system needs to be reset. She is so right. These little children man. I can't even hit my cat dude. I couldn't imagine. But when no one is there to stop you, man you can hype yourself up to do some terrible things. This is awful.
The system absolutely needs to be completely re-done. Children can't protect themselves and if parents aren't doing it or are the perpetrators, then we as a society should be protecting them
These stories are so important to tell!! Thank you for sharing your story!
Thank you for sharing your story. Much love to you xxx
Thank you for sharing, Amanda 💛
Thanks Amanda! I can't even imagine what you went through. Glad that you made it through and are trying to help others, in multiple ways!
Amanda, you made me smile, you are inspiring and I love the way you added humour into the dark soup of unbelievable harm done to you kids.
Shelise this is another wonderful interview, I enjoyed every bit of it and it does get me thinking and considering all sorts of deep human programming, history, evolution, cultures, religions and I get to a point where it gets too big and scary (states being run by crazies stoning their women), or back into childhood (eg. being forced to finish up a dinner plate, without my dad even questioning his after-war-program...), all very interesting stuff 👍🍀💫
Thank you for telling your story. ❤
Thank you for having the courage to tell your story. I am so sorry you suffered so much! I wish you happiness in your life!!!
Thanks so much for sharing your story, Amanda. You're really brave and inspiring!
Im so glad you were able to interview her, I've been following her and her story on tik tok for years
I'm in awe of your inner strength and your willingness to share from your perspective. I know how much courage it takes to break the silence to give space for others to find their freedom to. You're an amazing person. Keep growing! ✨️
Thanks so much for bringing all this stuff up❤❤
Thank you for sharing this story. Children definitely need to learn boundaries at a young age. 😢💝
Another shout out to Shelise for prerecording these interviews! Legend behaviour.
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Thank you for sharing your story. You are worthy. I'm glad that your parents are under scrutiny for their actions.
You are an amazing person! Thank you for being so brave and telling your story.
Such a brave girl to share this I fully understand how you must have felt read so much about this kind of stuff how it messes up people takes a long while to heal but you will get there ❤️
Great interview! I hope she gets justice.
This makes me so sad because the Bible doesn't condone any of this 😔 They took it all out of context and put their own meaning to it.
The STRENGTH, BRAVERY, FIGHT & BEAUTIFUL DETERMINATION YOU SHOW IS ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE!!! YOU ARE A HERO IN MY EYES FOR SO MANY REASONS!!! One of my very favorite creators with yet another powerful interview!!! THANK YOU BOTH!!!
Thank you so much
You are a beautiful person. Good job putting your kids first especially since you didn't experience that. You are a good mom! I wish you all the love and light life has to offer.
Thank you for sharing!
Thanks for these informative videos very helpful especially for those who are in these secluded religious cults. Keep up the good work
A five point restraint sounds like what the police did to George Floyd, only difference might be the amount of pressure.
That is exactly what they did to him. Those kids are lucky to still be alive!
Great interview. So strong and brave of Amanda to pursue justice and accountability against her own parents who abused so many. I did watch the documentary.
I have also watched a few other documentaries about the troubled teens industry - boarding schools and wilderness camps - and though there are a few different organizations and not all overtly religious based, they seem to have a lot in common with each other in terms of inhumane, traumatizing treatment. Hell Camp on Max and The Program on Netflix, and I saw a few others on youtube about Elan School and Hyde School. Even when the specific school or camp is shut down, it's alarming that there are so many and that they are unregulated. It seems like a large proportion of the parents who send their kids to such programs are evangelical Christians and it seems like desperate parents fall victim to cons, not realizing the damage they are inflicting on their kids. I was a parent of a troubled teen myself and remember seeing such programs promoted on Dr Phil and Maury, and even had people suggest "tough love" to me, but that notion ran contrary to my beliefs, it didn't smell right to me, I felt that approach would cause psychological damage and ruin the open communication between my son and me. I didn't have the financial means anyway, and never seriously considered such a program, but I could relate to parents not knowing how to deal with rebellious teens who don't respect their authority and think organizations that they don't recognize as culty may hold the solutions. So sympathetic to everyone who has suffered from such abuse, and appreciate what brave survivors are doing to raise awareness of the dangers of these secretive groups.
I’m so sorry that your community didn’t stand up for you more.
I had to watch this in parts because it’s so horrible. Lots of love to you-thank you for sharing your story and making it less likely to happen to others
You do a really good job with each video you do. Thank you and I love your channel!
Thank you so much!
My parents used ACE workbooks too. Any time I meet someone who was "educated" with ACE I ask them how therapy is going. I have never once had someone reply that they weren't in therapy. Its been panned by every educational authority, even the Christian ones, as an insufficient education and borderline mental @bu$e.
You said you aren't proud of what you did between 2009-2012. I hope it is ok if I speak up for younger you!
I was isolated and sheltered from the world by my abusive/neglectful hippie parents until 15, being told I was too disabled to ever be an adult, yada, then discarded, just like that. They threw everything I owned out in the rain and I wasn't to come back. As such, I was wasted from 15-25 years of age, any drug I could get, all the booze.
We didn't even have full brain development yet when we were thrown away. Younger you did with they could with what they had. People under 20 can't process abuse. The brain needs to grow more before it can do any of that.
My 15 year old self was brave. She lived on the street, in seedy hotels and drug and punk houses. Drugs helped her and now that we are all grown up, we don't need those old coping strategies anymore.
Younger me made it, despite all the stats on death for youth at risk. My 15 year old self has me writing this. We need to love the whole kit and kaboodle. I certainly deeply respect you as you are. You kicked ass and took names! The whole of you did.
Brave story, thank you for sharing. And thanks for prerecording videos so we still have content.
Thanks for watching! We still have a couple weeks of videos left before we hit real time interviews again
I am a recent subscriber and I have to say I like what you are doing with this channel helping survivors and maybe opening the eyes of others going through the same.
Thank you for your support! And welcome to C2C 😁
A great interview and congratulations to you, Jonathan and Rhea! You'll be a great mother, Shelise! Much love. (a Pisces...good catch)
So proud of you both!
These stories are important.