Refined, Not Ruined: When Survival Turns Into Building
“You are not what came to break you.”
Those words weren’t just spoken on stage—they were lived.
In this powerful episode of Bent Not Broken, we explore the moment everything shifts. The moment when survival ends and building begins. It’s that split second when you realize the fire didn’t destroy you—it refined you.
When Love Erases You: Reclaiming Your Voice After Emotional Manipulation
Emotional abuse doesn’t always show up as bruises or yelling. Sometimes it arrives dressed as poetry, rose petals, and the promise of devotion. In my conversation with author, filmmaker, and survivor Nikki Allen, she shared a truth many women know intimately: the most damaging relationships are often the ones that feel like love at first… until they don’t.
Acquired, Not Courted: Surviving a Covert Narcissist — A Conversation with Mia J. Hanks
In this week’s powerful episode of Bent Not Broken, I sat down with award-winning author Mia J. Hanks, whose memoir Bridemaid exposes the hidden and devastating reality of surviving nearly 30 years with a covert narcissist.
One sentence from her book has already struck a deep chord with so many listeners:
“I hadn’t been courted—I had been acquired.”
This wasn’t just a line on a page.
It was the truth she had been living for decades.