243. The Barbie Doll

The Secret Room | True Stories

Ben Hamm

Storytelling, Personal Journals, Story, Podcast, Stories, True, Society & Culture

4.4 • 2.5K Ratings

🗓️ 22 April 2025

⏱️ 42 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

When Isabella was growing up in Zambia she started a chain of events that led to an accident. An accident that would disfigure her mom’s hand. Three decades later no one knows it was her.

HERS HAIR

Start your initial free online visit today forhers.com/SECRET for your personalized hair loss treatment options. Individual results may vary. Compounded products are not FDA-approved or verified for safety, effectiveness, or quality. Prescription required. Price varies based on product and subscription plan. See website for full details, restrictions, and important safety information.

SHADY RAYS

Thanks, Shady Rays. Get 35% off polarized glasses at shadyrays.com - code SECRET.

PICTURES

See pictures of Isabella, her mom, aunt Jeanne and Dad.

They are waiting for you on Threads, Facebook, Instagram and X. Handle: @secretroompod.

THE SECRET ROOM | UNLOCKED

You remember Rae from our recent episode Scratching the Surface? She married a charismatic man in Belize who turned her life inside out and became her abuser. Her friend Hannah, who stood by her side at every turn joins Susie on the next The Secret Room | Unlocked. She tells us more about the lead up to Rae’s marriage, her unbreakable friendship with Rae and the incredible moment when Rae threw her engagement ring from Venice’s Rialto bridge into the canal below. Host: Susie Lark.

The Secret Room | Unlocked is yours when you support your favorite indie podcast that could with a membership at patreon.com/secretroom, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. There’s a free trial!

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PODCAST TEAM

Producer: Susie Lark. Story Development: Luna Patel. Music and Theme: Breakmaster Cylinder.

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Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Hi, Ben. My name is Isabella, and my secret is that when I was a kid, I did something that caused my dear mom to be disfigured and to bear a permanent injury. It's been more than 30 years, and I want to apologize, but I am too ashamed to face her with the truth.
0:27.5	Today, The Secret Room presents The Barbie Dawn. Get ready for your next adventure with shades that are built to last.
0:47.4	Go to shady rays.com and use code secret for 35% off polarized sunglasses.
0:57.9	Thank you. secret for 35% off polarized sunglasses. Hey everyone. Thanks a lot for joining the secret room today.
1:01.4	My guest Isabella joins me with a story of a secret shame. When she was growing up in Zambia,
1:06.8	she did something a little girl could hardly be faulted for. But it had a disastrous impact on her mom,
1:11.8	and she's carried the burden of her childhood folly,
1:14.2	not telling a soul for over three decades.
1:17.2	That's until now.
1:20.3	Let's get started.
1:26.0	Hi, Isabella, and welcome to the secret room.
1:28.3	Hi Ben, thank you for having me.
1:31.3	Thank you so much for joining me.
1:34.3	Your secret is about a childhood regret, to put it mildly, right?
1:38.3	Yes.
1:40.3	And it's about something that still haunts you to this day?
1:44.6	Yes, absolutely.
1:46.6	More than 30 years on.
1:48.8	For the purposes of your story, can I ask where you live now?
1:52.8	I live in the Floridian Panhandle.
1:56.2	But your secret takes place somewhere else, right?
1:58.9	Yes.
	...

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