375: What if you had to fight your way out of the jungle?

This Is Actually Happening

Wondery

True Crime, Tiah, Documentary, Society & Culture

4.6 • 9.9K Ratings

🗓️ 16 September 2025

⏱️ 71 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

After a prominent life filled with passion and adventure ends with the death of her brilliant but volatile husband, a woman journeys to Guatemala to heal, only to be captured, and her fight to survive transforms her life forever.

Today’s episode featured Brenda Coffee. You can email Brenda at [email protected]. She is on Instagram @1010ParkPlace. Visit her website at brenda-coffee.com.

Brenda is the author of MAYA BLUE: A Memoir of Survival, published 05/25, a memoir that reads like a thriller. It is Working Girl meets Taken. A true story of love, cocaine, Big Tobacco, abduction, and survival. Nominated for the 2025 Kirkus Prize and included on Maria Shriver's 2025 Summer Reads list.

Producers: Whit Missildine, Andrew Waits, Aviva Lipkowitz

Content/Trigger Warnings: parentification, domestic violence, intimate partner abuse, drug making and using, addiction, gun violence, sexual assault/attempted rape, child exploitation, cancer & illness, death & grief, explicit language

Social Media:

Instagram: @actuallyhappening

Twitter: @TIAHPodcast

Website: thisisactuallyhappening.com

Website for Andrew Waits: andrdewwaits.com

Website for Aviva Lipkowitz: avivalipkowitz.com

Support the Show: Support The Show on Patreon: patreon.com/happening

Wondery Plus: All episodes of the show prior to episode #130 are now part of the Wondery Plus premium service. To access the full catalog of episodes, and get all episodes ad free, sign up for Wondery Plus at wondery.com/plus

Shop at the Store: The This Is Actually Happening online store is now officially open. Follow this link: thisisactuallyhappening.com/shop to access branded t-shirts, posters, stickers and more from the shop.

Transcripts: Full transcripts of each episode are now available on the website, thisisactuallyhappening.com

Intro Music: “Sleep Paralysis” - Scott Velasquez

Music Bed: Ambient Themes

Services

If you or someone you know is struggling with the effects of trauma or mental illness, please refer to the following resources:

National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline: Text or Call 988

National Alliance on Mental Illness: 1-800-950-6264

National Sexual Assault Hotline (RAINN): 1-800-656-HOPE (4673)

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Wondry Plus subscribers can listen to exclusive episodes of This Is Actually Happening
0:05.0	by joining Wondry Plus in the Wondry app or on Apple Podcasts.
0:10.0	This Is Actually Happening features real experiences that often include traumatic events.
0:15.0	Please consult the show notes for specific content warnings on each episode and for more information about support services.
0:33.6	Hi listeners. Today, as we launch season 15 of the show, I wanted to share how deeply grateful we are to continue this work. In a world overflowing with competition for your
0:38.4	attention, the media so often prioritizes the lowest, cheapest, and most divisive content it can
0:43.9	deliver. And that trend only seems to be accelerating. But here on this show, we're able to carve out
0:49.2	a small corner that remains dedicated to long-form storytelling, cultivating deep empathy, and restoring
0:55.3	dignity to the human experience.
0:57.5	We thank you all for gathering in this small corner with us, and for your continued love and
1:02.0	support as we dive into a brand new season of triumphs and transformations.
1:07.0	We have a lot of exciting evolutions of the show coming up this season that we'll
1:10.4	be sharing over the next couple months,
1:12.2	including an illustrated book of stories from the show
1:14.6	will be releasing in October.
1:16.6	So stay tuned for upcoming announcements over the next few weeks.
1:20.4	But now, without further delay,
1:22.4	we bring you the first episode of Season 15.
1:25.7	What if you fought your way out of the jungle?
1:30.4	At some point in our lives, we're all going to face something that we fear is going to break us,
1:37.1	but I'm here to tell you it won't. Because you are stronger, you're stronger than you could
1:43.7	ever possibly imagine.
	...

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