Smoke Alarm | Lou's Story Part 1

You Probably Think This Story’s About You

Brittani Ard

True Crime, Documentary, Society & Culture, Personal Journals, Relationships

3.5 • 1.4K Ratings

🗓️ 7 January 2025

⏱️ 35 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

This episode references domestic violence and other mature themes. [Lou’s Story Part 1/3] Lou's story isn’t just about survival—it’s a battle cry of reclamation. In this chapter she unravels the deeply personal account of her entanglement with John, her manipulative and abusive ex-boyfriend. The emotional wounds of their relationship left scars that refused to fade, but it was the unexpected moment of seeing him again years later that pulled her back into the shadows of her past. As the trauma resurfaced, Lou found herself grappling with questions she thought she had buried. In retracing the steps of her formative years and confronting the weight of generational trauma, Lou begins to piece together a path toward recovery. But healing isn’t a straight line — it’s a labyrinth of pain, resilience, and startling realizations that could change everything. All chapters are available ad free on Patreon: https://patreon.com/BrittaniArd Share your story with Brittani. Production of BDE Unlimited Sponsor information at https://brittaniard.com/sponsors ___ RAINN Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network Helpline https://rainn.org/about-rainn Suicide & Crisis Lifeline Call or Text 988 https://www.988lifeline.org Childhelp Call or Text 800.422.4453 https://www.childhelphotline.org/ National Drug Helpline call 844.289.0879 https://www.drughelpline.org/ National Domestic Violence Hotline www.thehotline.com Narcissist Abuse Resource https://www.helpguide.org/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	True Story Media
0:05.5	Some names and details have been changed.
0:10.1	This episode contains mature themes and can be difficult for some listeners.
0:15.9	Please see the show notes for details and resources.
0:20.1	So I got a message from a woman named Lou.
0:26.6	Fuck that guy. Very scary stuff to think that humans are capable of creating such multiple levels of
0:34.2	manipulation and careless but careful chaos to those around them.
0:38.3	I was in a similar situation with a guy who I now know to have gone under other aliases,
0:44.3	so I had some time to kill.
0:48.3	My friend was taking me for lunch because I had gotten engaged like two weeks ago. So I lit a smoke and went
0:55.5	for a walk. And I walked past this barber shop and there he was in the window, trimming someone's
1:05.4	hair like this far away from my face just on the other side. My heart stopped. My body screamed.
1:13.5	Just, you know, you can feel it.
1:16.0	You think it's going to pop out.
1:18.1	I can breathe.
1:21.2	It's like running around the corner from a monster.
1:23.7	You're like trying to hide behind the wall.
1:25.6	Like in a movie, my body was a smoke alarm, but I couldn't see the fire.
1:31.4	You probably think this story's about you.
1:35.6	I'm Brittany Ard.
1:37.1	This story belongs to Lou. That was the first time I actually sat down with my partner and I was like,
1:52.4	so maybe this is why I had that reaction.
	...

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