Dear Katie: Survivor Stories

S4E15 Phantom’s Opera Remembered

Chloe was in the house of the man she was seeing when his landlord came down the stairs completely naked. Their intentions were clear. “Not gonna happen,” she said, but she could tell it was all planned. The two men cornered and raped her. Like many other survivors, she repressed the memories of the abuse until they became too loud to ignore. One day, the word RAPE flashed in her head and she decided to get help.

Today, she shares her experiences living with PTSD and how trauma affected her sexuality and relationships. Now, her journey is about learning who she is and what makes her happy, whether by lying on the grass, singing opera, or supporting other survivors of trauma. 

Hosts: Claire Kaplan and Katie Koestner

Editor: Benter Oluoch

Producers: Emily Wang and Luiza Leite

S4E14 Acting Up and Out

Neglected and abused by her parents, child Emma finds solace in the housekeeper. Her mother is violent towards her, and her father sexually abuses her; knowing that husbands and wives have sex with each other, young Emma assumes that when her parents divorce she is next in line. Her misunderstanding of sexuality and external pressure to be normal pushes her to navigate the world without boundaries and she comes into her adulthood through chaos and instability. Emma Goldman-Sherman, an accomplished playwright and holistic health coach, shares her experiences with autism and healing with us today. 

Hosts: Claire Kaplan and Katie Koestner

Editor: Benter Oluoch

Producers: Emily Wang and Luiza Leite

S4E13 Popping Taylor, Rapping NF

Like any other seven-year-old, Simi teases her bus conductor and annoys him, playfully pointing out that he is unmarried. He hits her in front of other students and teachers, and she apologizes. But his resentment grows, and he later follows her into the bathroom and rapes her. Simi cleans herself up as best as she can, goes home, and goes to bed, coping with her pain in silence. Worried about her family's honor, she stays quiet, until she finds strength and support in her new friends and community. 

Hosts: Katie Koestner and Claire Kaplan

Editor: Benter Oluoch

Producers: Emily Wang and Luiza Leite

S4E12 Goalkeeper on All Fields

Meeting by chance on a flight, Katie is joined by Brad Friedel, who played all over the world for the US national soccer team as a goalkeeper. Now, he works in media and consulting for professional teams and represents players. Because of his career, Brad offers an interesting perspective on the issues facing women in sports. In this episode, he discusses the differences he witnessed for women and other minorities as players, referees, and commentators in contrast to what he lived and saw as a man.

Host: Katie Koestner

Editor: Benter Oluoch

Producers: Emily Wang and Luiza Leite

 

S4E11 Triple Strength Olympian

At 11, Margaret begins to understand and come to terms with new feelings from her childhood; during a class on child abuse, she realizes that she was molested. In a painful journey of vulnerability, she shares her experience with her parents and best friend but doesn't feel perfect enough to share her story with the world. An Olympic swimmer who sought solace in the water, Margaret eventually realizes that everyone has a right to tell their story, good or bad. Today, Margaret Hoelzer speaks out to advocate for survivors and shares her healing journey. 

Hosts: Claire Kaplan and Katie Koestner

Editor: Benter Oluoch

Producers: Emily Wang and Luiza Leite

S4E10 Sloping Scales of Justice

“No one ever regrets fighting the good fight, whether it is for yourself or for your children.”

In this episode, Amanda Lee (Bubbles & Bubbly in a Bottle) discusses her experience with justice. To bring an expert perspective into the conversation, we invite Michael Lesher, a lawyer and writer, to discuss the American justice system. Michael has authored publications focused on the experiences of protective parents going through divorces where the other parent is the child’s abuser. The family court might be looking out for the child's best interests, but in cases like this, conventional practices can be dangerous - whistleblowers can face incredible scrutiny from the justice system, an added trauma to the struggle to protect their children. Today, we bring to light an often overlooked aspect in the fight to prevent sexual violence and seek justice for survivors. 

Hosts: Claire Kaplan and Katie Koestner

Editor: Benter Oluoch

Producers: Emily Wang and Luiza Leite

S4E9 Soul Singing and Psychotherapy

As a boy, Greg was groomed by an older friend, who showed him pornography for the first time and pushed him to engage in sexual acts. He struggled to accept that this abuse happened to him as a man and couldn’t share his experience for a decade.

As a young adult, Marcel suffered intense physical and sexual abuse after being held at gunpoint by an invader. His faith allowed him to survive the traumatizing experience that left him hospitalized. 

Greg and Marcel are bound by survivorship; today, they both are advocates for male victims of sexual assault and use their voices to shatter the stereotypes about sexual violence. In this special episode, we share two different stories to spark a discussion about the shared steps in their journeys of pain and healing.

Host: Katie Koestner

Editor: Benter Oluoch

Producers: Emily Wang and Luiza Leite

S4E8 All My Favorite Men are Dead

Struggling to find community in her first year of college, Kate finds support in her sister's ex-boyfriend, who had been friends with her since her high school years. He takes her to a concert, an experience she had been yearning for, only to pull her away to the school jacuzzis. After an uncomfortable pushing of boundaries, she asks to be taken home, only for him to take her to his house. Kate tries to re-establish her own space multiple times, only for her supposed friend to continue to push his way in. The night is a blur - and life itself becomes surreal. 

Today, Kate finds her power through poetry, expressing vulnerability and authenticity in her work. Her healing journey has taken her through many forms of artistic expression, and she shares her story and her voice with us today. 

Host: Katie Koestner

Editor: Benter Oluoch

Producers: Emily Wang and Luiza Leite

S4E7 Tennis String Strength (Part 2)

Drinking himself to sleep every night as a young teen, we rejoin Isaac at the beginning of his journey toward healing. In the second part of his powerful interview, he shares more about the psychological toll of sexual violence and the progressive decline in his mental health. Turning toward recovery in the hospital, Isaac talks about coping mechanisms, looking for help, and learning the language of survivorship. With the guidance of an advocate, he was able to find himself beyond trauma, transform suffering to power and positivity, and become a speaker for sexual assault awareness.

Host: Katie Koestner

Editor: Benter Oluoch

Producers: Luiza Leite and Emily Wang

S4E6 Tennis String Strength (Part 1)

“I could not tell another living person about what happened to me.”

Invited to a house party by his older boyfriend, 14-year-old Isaac is used to sneaking out to enjoy the college scene. His sense of youthful invincibility is quickly sabotaged by a man who targets him when he is alone. Overpowered by the scent of Old Spice and smothered by a pillow, his experiences become entangled with feelings of shame and self-blame that clamor through his mind. After two years of silence and repression, he was able to acknowledge his pain and seek help from a sexual assault advocate. In the first episode of a two-part series, Isaac Andrade shares his story of survivorship, a story he thought he would never tell. 

Host: Katie Koestner

Editor: Benter Oluoch

Producers: Luiza Leite and Emily Wang