402: What if a deadly tornado helped to heal old wounds?
This Is Actually Happening
Audible
4.6 • 10.4K Ratings
🗓️ 14 April 2026
⏱️ 56 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
After narrowly surviving one of the deadliest tornados in US history, a woman is driven to confront a long-buried harm, finding in the aftermath a deeper sense of purpose, forgiveness, and service.
Today’s episode featured Nanda Nunnelly. If you’d like to contact Nanda, you can email her at Nandanunnelly@gmail.com. Nanda’s episode is part 1 of a 2 part series.
Nanda’s cause and organization, Minnie Hackney Community Service Center of Joplin, is on Facebook, or you can visit the website at Minniehackneycommunityservicecenter.com.
Today’s episode was produced in collaboration with Pauline Bartolone, and was funded in part by UC Berkeley's Greater Good Science Center, as part of its ""Spreading Love Through the Media"" initiative, supported by the John Templeton Foundation.
Pauline can be reached at paulinebartolone.org and on Instagram @pmbartolone
Producers: Whit Missildine, Pauline Bartolone
Content/Trigger Warnings: racism, racial terror, forced psychiatric commitment, bullying, physical assault, tornado and disaster trauma, injury, death, grief, loss of home, mental health crisis, substance use, and homelessness, explicit language
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Read more about Whit’s insights into each episode on Beyond The Story Substack: whitmissildine.substack.com. On the Substack, Whit will be sharing personal reflections on the deeper themes that emerge from each episode and from across the conversations he’s been immersed in for years, including the psychology of radical transformation, the power of storytelling, the lessons of trauma and healing, and how we die to an old Self and are reborn. He’ll share behind-the-scenes glimpses into the making of the show and his own personal journey in creating it.
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Intro Music: “Sleep Paralysis” - Scott Velasquez
Music Bed: Pure_Ambience_APM
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
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| 0:00.0 | Audible subscribers can listen to all episodes of This Is Actually Happening, |
| 0:04.4 | ad free right now. |
| 0:06.4 | Join Audible today by downloading the Audible app. |
| 0:09.5 | This Is Actually Happening features real experiences that often include traumatic events. |
| 0:13.7 | Please consult the show notes for specific content warnings on each episode, |
| 0:17.0 | and for more information about support services. |
| 0:19.7 | Hi listeners. |
| 0:39.2 | Today's episode is the first of a two-part series about personal and community and for more information about support services. U.S. history. These two stories were brought to us by and co-produced with Pauline Bartolone, and was funded in part by UC Berkeley's Greater Good Science Center, as part of its spreading love through |
| 0:44.4 | the media initiative, supported by the John Templeton Foundation. Today we will hear from |
| 0:49.3 | Nanda Nunnally, and next week we'll hear from Christy Davis, who you'll hear referred to in today's episode. |
| 0:55.5 | And now onto Nanda's story. |
| 0:57.6 | What if a deadly tornado help to heal old wounds? |
| 1:03.9 | When you truly think you're going to die, it's really strange, the things that come into your head. |
| 1:13.0 | But you truly believe this is your last breath. |
| 1:16.7 | You're going to die. |
| 1:18.5 | And just, I am never going to be able to tell her, I'm sorry. |
| 1:32.3 | Music I'm sorry. From audible originals, I'm Whitnesledine. |
| 1:36.2 | You're listening to This Is Actually Happening. |
| 1:42.6 | Episode 402. What if a deadly tornado helped to heal old wounds? I'm My parents are both from Springfield, Missouri. |
| 2:20.1 | My mother descends from some of the very first white people that came into that area. |
| 2:26.2 | They were given land grants from fighting in the war of 1812. |
| 2:30.2 | My father descends from some of the very first African Americans who were brought by force into Southwest Missouri area. |
... |
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