173. Beth: When “Normal” was Actually Rape and Sexual Assault
Sexual Assault Survivor Stories Podcast - SASS
Release Date: 01/20/2026
175. Amy Watson & HASSL: What You Allow Is What Continues
Sexual Assault Survivor Stories Podcast - SASS
There are some episodes of this show that don’t revolve around a single survivor story, but they still land just as hard—because they force us to look at ourselves. This is one of those conversations. It’s not about recounting trauma; it’s about what allows harm to keep happening in everyday spaces, and what it actually takes to interrupt that. This episode asks questions most people would rather avoid, and it does so in a way that’s direct, practical, and impossible to brush off. My conversation with Amy Watson was exactly that kind of dialogue. We talked about prevention,...
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174. Gemini: First the Assault. Then Saprea.
Sexual Assault Survivor Stories Podcast - SASS
There’s a distinctive aspect to this show that makes it different from most podcasts in this genre, and I consider it a privilege and honor to recognize those of you who make it that way. Sexual Assault Survivor Stories is not built around celebrity guests, polished talking points, or rehearsed narratives. It exists because of something far more rare and far more meaningful—trust. Again and again, people who begin as listeners reach out, not to be heard for the sake of attention, but because they’re finally ready to speak their truth in a space that feels safe enough to hold it. What...
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173. Beth: When “Normal” was Actually Rape and Sexual Assault
Sexual Assault Survivor Stories Podcast - SASS
Beth is a survivor who reached out to me after realizing that memories she once believed were long buried were anything but inconsequential. As she explains, those memories began resurfacing as she engaged in EMDR—Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing—with her therapist, opening the door to a deeper understanding of what she had endured. (It’s amazing what a good sexual assault/rape therapist can do for clients!) Beth shares her experience inside a coercive and controlling relationship that ultimately included rape, and how that environment systematically eroded her self-image,...
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172. Erica: When a Husband’s Power Became Sexual Violence
Sexual Assault Survivor Stories Podcast - SASS
In this episode I sit down with Erica, a survivor whose experience exposes the devastating reality of coercive control, rape, and sexual assault within a marriage. Erica reached out to share not only what she endured, but the long and difficult process of recognizing abuse, breaking free from it, and beginning her healing journey. This conversation examines how power and control can operate quietly and persistently—how manipulation, exploitation, and sexual violence are often obscured by relationship roles, social expectations, and silence. Erica speaks candidly about what it took to escape...
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171. Dave Markel: When Showing Up Means Slowing Down
Sexual Assault Survivor Stories Podcast - SASS
Today, this episode is a brief reflection from me, recorded as a pause in the regular rhythm of the show. Rather than a guest interview, I’m speaking directly to you, my listeners, about the weight of trauma-informed work, the importance of rest, and what it means to show up honestly when the work feels heavy. For survivors, professionals, and advocates alike, this episode is a reminder that healing is not linear, strength is not measured by endurance alone, and slowing down is sometimes the most responsible choice. Regular guest episodes of Sexual Assault Survivor Stories will resume next...
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170. What Stayed With Us: The Conversations From 2025 We Couldn’t Shake
Sexual Assault Survivor Stories Podcast - SASS
As this year comes to a close, I wanted to take a moment to pause and reflect, not with a countdown or a highlight reel, but with intention. This episode brings together a handful of powerful moments from conversations released in 2025 that truly captured what Sexual Assault Survivor Stories is about: survivor courage, hard truths, clarity around trauma, and the willingness to sit with conversations that don’t offer easy answers. The clips you’ll hear were chosen using a hybrid approach—listener engagement, impact, and significance. They include moments from conversations with Rachel...
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169. Shannon Porter: "What They Don’t Say" Is in The House...and The Social Media Reels People Can’t Ignore
Sexual Assault Survivor Stories Podcast - SASS
I’m happy to announce that I’m joined once again by Shannon Porter, host and co-founder of the What They Don’t Say podcast. Shannon returns to talk about the evolution of her work, her growing presence on social media, and what’s driving her to speak more openly, and more frequently, about the realities of surviving rape and sexual assault. Our conversation centers on the reels and posts Shannon is producing to help shed light on what survivors face every day: how people respond when a survivor shares their story, the misunderstandings that follow trauma, and the emotional labor...
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168. Marina Lacerda: When Epstein Power, Money, and Rape Collided — and She Survived
Sexual Assault Survivor Stories Podcast - SASS
For decades, Marina was known only as “Minor Victim-1” in legal documents — a label that stripped away her humanity while protecting those responsible. In this conversation, Marina reclaims what was taken from her: her voice, her story, and her identity. She speaks not just about what happened, but about what it costs to survive abuse at that scale — the trauma that lingers, the mistrust that settles in the body, and the long road back to agency and truth. This episode is not sensational, and it is not speculative. It is grounded in lived experience and courageous truth-telling....
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167. Erin Williamson: Love146 — Pulling Children Back from the Darkness
Sexual Assault Survivor Stories Podcast - SASS
Erin Williamson joins me for an incredibly important conversation about her work with Love146, a nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting children from human trafficking and walking alongside young survivors on their path to healing. Erin shares what this work truly looks like — not the headlines, but the day-to-day reality of survivor care, long-term recovery, and prevention education — and how essential it is to understand trafficking as a real issue affecting real children in communities across the country. We discuss the profound impact trafficking has on children’s brains,...
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166. Jason Patrick Berry: Secrets Beneath a Perfect Childhood
Sexual Assault Survivor Stories Podcast - SASS
This week on Sexual Assault Survivor Stories, I sit down with Jason Patrick Berry, author of the brave and unflinchingly honest memoir Secrets Beneath. Jason’s story is one that quietly breaks your heart and then slowly helps rebuild it. On the outside, his childhood looked perfectly normal, even picturesque. But behind closed doors lived a painful reality of abuse, secrecy, and survival that no child should ever have to experience. In Secrets Beneath, Jason pulls back that veil and walks us through the lasting impact of trauma, including post trauma stress, anxiety, and emotional...
info_outlineBeth is a survivor who reached out to me after realizing that memories she once believed were long buried were anything but inconsequential. As she explains, those memories began resurfacing as she engaged in EMDR—Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing—with her therapist, opening the door to a deeper understanding of what she had endured. (It’s amazing what a good sexual assault/rape therapist can do for clients!) Beth shares her experience inside a coercive and controlling relationship that ultimately included rape, and how that environment systematically eroded her self-image, autonomy, and ability to function long before she had language for what was happening.
This deeply personal and sometimes difficult conversation explores how coercive control operates quietly and persistently—how manipulation, exploitation, and sexual violence can become normalized within relationships and obscured by expectation, loyalty, and silence. Beth speaks candidly, boldly even, about the long process of recognizing abuse for what it was, the internal conflict that came with that realization, and what it took to begin disentangling herself from a relationship designed to keep her powerless. We also talk openly about healing, therapy, and the ways Beth has reclaimed her voice and sense of self through intentional, transformative work.
This is a difficult but necessary episode—one that sheds light on the realities of coercive control and affirms the experiences of survivors who may still be questioning their own. Beth’s story is not only about survival; it is about clarity, courage, and the strength it takes to speak when silence feels safer. If any part of this conversation resonates with you, please know that you are not alone, and that what you experienced matters.
Important information: If you’re finding value in this show and these conversations, please take a moment to leave a 5-star rating on your podcast platform. It makes a real difference. I’d also greatly appreciate for you to follow Sexual Assault Survivor Stories on Instagram and send me a note of support. I can’t tell you how much your emails mean to me—they truly fuel my passion to keep this podcast going.
And if you’re a victim or survivor who feels ready to share your story—whether to help yourself heal or to help someone else—you’re welcome to reach out. You can email me at dave@sasstories.com, and we can start a conversation about the possibility of you being on the show. Please include a phone number where I can reach you, because I prefer to talk directly with people who are interested in guesting. Thank you to all of you who have already reached out, and please keep those emails and texts coming—I genuinely look forward to hearing from you.
Here are some websites for you to peruse, and if you can make a donation where a donation is asked for, thank you! If not, no worries…just you being aware makes a difference!
https://time.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/repeat_rape.pdf?utm_source=chatgpt.com
As mentioned, and emphasized, it’s time to Normalize the Conversation.™ And please remember to Start by Believing…because we all know someone whose life has been impacted by rape or sexual assault. (Check out https://evawintl.org/ & https://startbybelieving.org for more information on “Start By Believing”!)
Thank you for tuning in.
--Dave
It is with gratitude and deep appreciation that I publish Beth’s poem:
Everything at Once
My 1 st boyfriend, and I’m in love.
Naïve, trusting and inexperienced, coerced onto the bed.
He knows I not ready, I don’t want to
But he makes his move anyway
Forced on my back, he’s in between my legs
The pain is excruciating
My words – NO, NO, NO!
His silence
My words – YOU’RE HURTING ME!
His silence
My words begging him – STOP, STOP!
His CHOICE to keep going
Everything hits me all at once.
I’m overwhelmed -
Confusion,
Panic,
Why is he not responding to me?
The pain
He won’t look at me
I don’t exist to him
I’m not a person
I’m an object
Ignored, used – violated
The pain
Why won’t he stop?
He is my boyfriend.
How could he be doing this to me?
Shocked, betrayed – terrified.
The pain
I freeze, my body won’t move
I can’t make it stop
Please make it stop
OH GOD – HE’S NOT GOING TO STOP!
The pain
My first time is against my will
My first time – rape
The excruciating pain
Despair consumes me.
My body says don’t fight, don’t move, don’t breathe.
It is wise and it takes over.
I’m detached now
and no longer feel
the pain.
There is a window on the wall behind the bed.
To the left, a closet door.
It’s brown with 6 horizontal panels,
each the same size running down the length of the door.
The doorknob is old fashioned –
An ivory knob with a decorative plate.
We are in an odd position on the bed.
Not at the top by the pillows but close to the bottom.
Soft, white sheets are pushed up and
wrinkled to my left instead of by our feet.
In front of the bed, the bedroom door
but I can’t get to it.
Trapped beneath him,
on the right side of the mattress,
I stare at the brown closet door
With the 6 panels and
The ivory doorknob . . .