Send us a text Shigeko Ito, is an educator, mental health advocate, and author of THE POND BEYOND THE FOREST: Reflections on Childhood Trauma & Motherhood. She grew up in Japan and immigrated to America in her twenties to pursue higher education, earning a PhD in Education from Stanford University. Drawing on cross-cultural experiences and academic expertise, she explores themes of trauma, resilience, and healing, with a particular focus on childhood emotional neglect, and severe an...

Send us a text Severn Lang is a talented, driven director from Urbandale, Iowa. Growing up in a small town in the Midwest, life was a constant struggle for him. At a young age, Severn's brother passed away and he was diagnosed with extreme dyslexia with other life changing events, making school much harder for him than his peers. Severn, he turned to other, more creative outlets to learn, grow and find his voice. Severn preferred hands on learning to the classroom, and was able to find solace...

Send us a text This week we are thrilled to chat to Gil Merrick, author of the powerful memoir Haunted Victory: Healing From Childhood Sexual Abuse and the Decades of Addiction That Followed. His story is raw, deeply personal, and ultimately one of resilience and redemption. In Haunted Victory, Gil recounts his experience as a survivor of childhood sexual abuse and how that trauma fueled a decades-long battle with addiction. His memoir isn’t just about pain, it's also about healing. With stri...

Send us a text CONTENT WARNING, GRAPHIC CONTENT, VIOLENCE, SEXUAL VIOLENCE, MURDER, TORTURE, SEXUAL ABUSE, CHILD ABDUCTION: YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED PLEASE OBSERVE: When Shasta Groene was eight years old, she and her 9-year-old brother Dylan were abducted from their Idaho home by serial killer, Joseph Edward Duncan. After a forty-eight-day ordeal, she was rescued, her brother wasn’t. Surviving those weeks in the woods was only the beginning of her harrowing journey. In the following years she str...

Send us a text Gina Horan, is a terminal lung cancer survivor and author of The Dead Girl’s Guide to Terminal Cancer, Gina joins us to share her story and an uncensored survivor’s perspective on cancer, immunotherapy, and why the modern medical system is failing itself and its patients. In 2019, Gina was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer and given just 72 hours to live after a year of declining health and mistreatment by some medical professionals. Nearly six years later, she is cance...

Send us a text In this episode, we meet Ian Fee, and discuss his story from alcoholism to sobriety! After losing everything due to over-drinking from a very young age, Ian reached a breaking point and began his journey to reclaim his life. Today, Ian is a successful author and entrepreneur. Proudly sober since 2017, he has dedicated himself to personal growth, family, and living a life of purpose and clarity. His journey from addiction to empowerment has become his mission: to help others tra...

Send us a text Dr Kate Lund is a psychologist, TEDx speaker, and podcast host of The Optimized Mind, and she spends her days helping people turn those "what now?" Moments into genuine resilience.. Her work centers on translating over 20 years of research into simple, science-backed habits that real humans can use during in their hardest of times, whether they're navigating parenthood, setbacks, or that feeling of life falling apart. Dr Kate talks about her early childhood with hydrocephalus, ...

Send us a text WARNING: VERY GRAPHIC AND GORY DESCRIPTIONS OF HARROWING MOMENTS. Jay Setchell has been dead 3 times. In 1969 in the Marines, in 1973 by a DUI driver, and then a third time in 1981, a swimming pool incident, involving drowning, multiple broken vertebrae in neck, and paralyzed from shoulders down.This really is an insane episode and not for the faint hearted, but Jay is HERE to tell his ongoing story! Beyond this, Jay was close to dying from blood borne MRSA staph infection in 2...

Send us a text This is an episode like nothing we have ever experienced before. Here at WTFMU, we like to show the journey through the darkness, and how we have navigated through our traumas and experiences. Yousef's story, was focusing on his burnout from relationships and business, and how he started to turn a corner. It quickly transpired that Yousef is using AI to turn his hopes, dreams, fortunes and entire life around! Yousef hit a brutal wall, a devastating breakup, total burnout, and f...

Send us a text Join us this week for the amazing and extraordinary episode with Jenny Brandemuehl, who lost her husband in a plane crash just a few years ago. Jenny takes us back to the fateful day, the phone call, the initial hope that her husband, Mark, had survived although badly burned, and the ultimate and tragic ending a few weeks after the crash. The worst day of Jenny's life, as it transpired, became the beginning of the rest of her life. As she grieved and found support, she built st...

Send us a text Calix Lewis Reneau is the author of Dancing with the Black Dog: A Survivor’s Guide to Depression, a book that’s equal parts survival manual and storytelling companion for anyone navigating depression. As a long term sufferer of depression, Calix has been through the darkest of times on many occasions, and joins us this week to talk about his depression in a way that’s real, not clinical. Storytelling is Calix’s background, he works in Hollywood as a writer/producer, which has h...

Send us a text Victoria Lenormand has a personal story that fits the heart of our show. She spent nearly 30 years as a police detective and public servant—work that left her carrying years of unprocessed trauma. Things really hit a breaking point when the very systems she’d worked to uphold began failing her own family, especially as she tried to support her neurodivergent child. That was the moment everything shifted. She walked away from the career that had shaped her identity and started a...

Send us a text Weston’s journey began after the unthinkable: his wife passed away just days after their son was born prematurely—at only 26 weeks. In the aftermath, he faced overwhelming grief, spiritual disorientation, and the pressure to keep moving forward. Through that crucible, he discovered that clarity doesn’t come by waiting—it comes through committed movement. That revelation became the foundation of the D.R.I.V.E. Framework—a practical, spiritually grounded system for helping high p...

Send us a text Julio Rivera is a writer and mental health advocate who has lived with bipolar disorder, CPTSD, and ADHD. When he was around eight years old, he witnessed a murder that triggered all his disorders. The murderer was his best friend's dad. Julio grew up in a very dangerous neighborhood in Brooklyn in the 80's, gangs, drugs, and violence were all around him. He was scared, and began a journey to rise above the danger, and take control of his fears. Now, decades o...

Send us a text Meet Monica Cox was stuck in the cycle of the fertility industry for years, spending huge amounts of money and living a life of false hope and disappointment as treatment after treatment failed. She started to seek alternative options, and went on an amazing, enlightening, and ultimately successful journey! Monica now helps high-achieving women break free from control addiction and endless fertility protocols so they can shift their energy, trust their intuition, and finally cr...

Send us a text At 14, Nick suffered a traumatic, life-threatening snowboarding accident and was put in a coma. His parents were told he wouldn't ever walk, talk, or eat on his own again. He did and set a personal goal of not walking, but running out of the hospital. Nick does a lot of speaking work to help those suffering from brain injuries. Today, Nick is a 7-figure business owner, Rhode Island-based real estate investor, speaker, and Partner of Smart Real Estate Coach. Nothing more to add,...

Send us a text Masati experienced 'near death' twice. The second time, changed him forever. Join us for a very compelling, original and mind-bending episode as he delves into quantum physics and Dimensional Consciousness, redefining potential and transforming trauma into triumph. We have have guests on who have used multiple tools for trauma recovery, from faith, to medicine, therapy to sound waves! This is a first, as Masati talks about life's potential through consciousness, and harnessing ...

Send us a text Buckle up for this one, its a really amazing, and extraordinary story of courage, will power, and total inspiration. Lindsay Boudreau had a very rare underlying illness, CMT Disease, that meant she had weakened sensations in her feet, and so she couldn't feel the pain of an infection caused by a nail she had stepped on, one day while walking. Over many weeks, she became very ill, and very weak, and doctors simply couldn't find what was wrong with her until it was too late. Even...

Send us a text It is an absolute pleasure to have Dr Maurice Turmel on the show for a candid, relatable, and inspiring chat. Dr. Moe’s path wasn’t a straight one—it was hard-won. His father was physically abusive, and he grew up surrounded by strict Catholic indoctrination. Emerging from a childhood marked by emotional trauma, religious repression, and self-doubt, he forged a transformative journey of healing and self-emancipation. His life’s work is a testament to the power of the human spir...

Send us a text This week Sydney Curtin joins us for an amazing episode that shows just how trauma can affect choices, and that it is possible to use our own traumatic experiences for good as we continue to recover. At just 13 years old, Sydney lost her Mother to suicide, after years of drug addiction. Her father became abusive in the aftermath, and Sydney would continue to dive into unhealthy relationships though her teens and into adulthood. At 20, she became pregnant by a man that was viole...