And so growing up into a woman was very confusing, you know, since I was sexually abused, I didn't want to look like a woman.

I didn't want to attract men, I didn't want to get attention.

And I remember, you know, listening to things like, what to try this dress and with a little cleavage.

No, like I didn't want that, I didn't want to get attention because attention meant being beaten or being sexually abused, right?

So I had to deal with all of those feelings and, you know, and growing up and seeing that I'm turning into a woman was awkward.

I had a lot of insecurities around my body.

Welcome to how my parents raised me. I'm Dawn Chitty. When we are born, we arrive here as pure and perfect souls.

And the direction our life takes from that moment is deeply connected to what our parents bring to our lives.

And what our parents bring to our lives is deeply connected to what their parents brought to their lives.

And that's the cycle of families. I have always craved connection with real and raw stories to understand what makes you you, what makes you the absolutely unique human that you are.

Stories are medicine for the soul. They can connect us and they can change the world. And so in this podcast, I'm listening to beautiful souls sharing their story.

What happened to them, how they got through and how they have healed and thrived despite everything to arrive right here in this moment?

Content warning, if you are triggered by the themes of this podcast, please seek a help line in your city.

Hey beautiful souls. This week we're hearing a story from Erica.

Erica received a text message recently from her brother with some family pictures. And one of them made her heart stop.

It looked like any happy family picture anyone might have in a box of treasures.

There was her stepdad smiling away with a baby on his knee, such a happy picture, such a wonderful family.

But the picture triggered Erica. She found herself standing there and staring at the picture, waiting until the feelings of trauma began to subside.

Because this happy family picture was an illusion. Just like so many families, there were secrets.

And Erica had spent years and years working through and healing the trauma from those childhood years after the abuse she suffered by her stepfather.

In her own home, when nobody came to help her, nobody said stop. Nobody said enough. Nobody took her hand and told us she was beautiful and worthy and lovable.

Everything was hard. Erica's story is difficult and yet it is just one of so many, many stories that are all the same.

...