The Life After Podcast
Spiritual Abuse
Episodes
Thursday Sep 02, 2021
The RED Flags of Ted Dekker (Christian Celebrity x Grooming) with Emily Dukes
Thursday Sep 02, 2021
Thursday Sep 02, 2021
Content Warning: This episode includes mentions of sexually predatory behavior and the retelling of a racial, anti-fatness comment
Emily Dukes joins The Life After to tell how her love for Christian fiction put her on the path to be groomed (use of privileged relationships to normalize exploiting a young person's body) by novelist Ted Dekker, what she's discovered about herself, and how she's pushing back.
This episode begins with Brady retelling his experience of being groped by a trusted church friend during the beginning of his deconstruction.
Bookended with music by Nightlightr (CDBaby, iTunes, and Spotify) | Find links for The Life After Community (our secret Facebook group), subscribing, rating, and/or reviewing on iTunes here: linkin.bio/thelifeafterorg
Wednesday Aug 18, 2021
Chuck‘s Goodbye (Reflection x Show‘s Future) with Chuck Parson
Wednesday Aug 18, 2021
Wednesday Aug 18, 2021
Welcome to The Life After Podcast Season 3!
Chuck Parson joins the show one last time as co-host to catch up, announce his departure, and tease his next steps.
Stay tuned this season of The Life After Podcast for more important conversations with courageous people about deconstructing Christian beliefs!
Transitional music by Nightlightr | CDBaby, iTunes, and Spotify
Links for connecting with The Life After Community (secret Facebook Group), rating, reviewing, and/or subscribing on iTunes can be found here: linktr.ee/thelifeafter
Thursday Apr 30, 2020
We Were Sanctified Holy Rollers (Trauma-Informed x Forgiveness) with Suandria Hall
Thursday Apr 30, 2020
Thursday Apr 30, 2020
Denver-based counselor and coach, Suandria Hall, joins Chuck and Brady to unpack her Life After.
Suandaria's father was a preacher. So much of her life was entrenched in church culture, filled with rules and expectations. After learning beyond what the Bible could offer, she became interested in why people do what they do. She landed on counseling with an emphasis on religious trauma. Though her religious trauma experience didn't begin until leaving the community, she became a mental health provider for those leaving the faith. She helps people set boundaries, have healthier relationships with forgiveness, and become empowered to be who they are without indoctrinated expectations.
In this episode, they also discuss:
what it means to be "trauma-informed"
growing up in a black church community
forgiveness culture
why it's okay not to forgive and forget
community building after church
To get in touch with Suandaria, visit her website, mychoicemypower.com.
Bookended with music by Nightlightr (CDBaby, iTunes, and Spotify) | Find links for The Life After Community (our secret Facebook group), subscribing, rating, and/or reviewing on iTunes here: linkin.bio/thelifeafterorg
Thursday Jan 23, 2020
Bye Jesus (Post-Christian Spirituality x Spiritual Abuse) with Carrie Maya
Thursday Jan 23, 2020
Thursday Jan 23, 2020
CW: This episode includes mentions of race-based physical abuse, racial slurs, sexual abuse, and mention of childhood violence.
Carrie Maya, calling from Australia, opens up to Chuck and Brady about her life after leaving a high-demand Charismatic community, spiritual abuse, and life-long conditioning to submit to authority.
A very tumultuous childhood and extreme Fundamentalism positioned Carried to be victimized by self-seeking authoritative voices. First, it was family. Then her pastor. And finally, an intimate partner. Carrie retells how she changed the narrative and discovered help in finding spirituality outside of Christianity.
To learn more about Carrie and her book, visit her insta @Hexvangelical.
Bookended with music by Nightlightr (CDBaby, iTunes, and Spotify) | Find links for The Life After Community (our secret Facebook group), subscribing, rating, and/or reviewing on iTunes here: linkin.bio/thelifeafterorg
Wednesday Dec 11, 2019
Black Nonbelievers (Religious Family x Black Church Culture) with Elle Reneé
Wednesday Dec 11, 2019
Wednesday Dec 11, 2019
Elle Reneé of St. Louis Chapter of Black Nonbelievers joins Chuck and Brady in the studio.
Elle's step father was a pastor for multiple churches of varying denominations and current pastor of a nondenominational church, and some of their church services would go all day long. All of this made church a very foundational part of Elle's childhood. Along with the good side of closely-knit church communities also brought the bad, including lot of unwanted touch.
Elle got married during the same week she graduated high school and turned 18. After two failed marriages, she learned to stand up for herself. As she started to pull away from the faith, many church people would report back to her family. She set boundaries to protect herself and hasn't looked back since.
Chuck and Elle share experiences of being People of Color, and in the finale segment, Brady and Elle discuss parenting after religion.
Elle is the Chief Organizer of the St. Louis Chapter of Black Nonbelievers, a friendly, informative secular community connecting People of Color (and allies). Learn more on their website, blacknonbelievers.com.
Bookended with music by Nightlightr (CDBaby, iTunes, and Spotify) | Find links for The Life After Community (our secret Facebook group), subscribing, rating, and/or reviewing on iTunes here: linkin.bio/thelifeafterorg
Wednesday Nov 27, 2019
Ambiguous Loss (Grieving x Counseling) with Janice Selbie
Wednesday Nov 27, 2019
Wednesday Nov 27, 2019
Counselor ("counsellor" for the Canucks) Janice Selbie joins Chuck and Brady for a insightful, practical conversation on grieving God.
Janice came from a ultra-Fundamentalism background that became hyper-charged after marrying her now ex-husband. While working at a bookstore, she befriended a group of Mennonite (Anabaptist) women and began wearing head coverings like they did out of a obedience to the Bible.
Around the time of her divorce, Janice encountered traumas that shook her from her cognitive dissonance, and she left the faith. Next, she pursued a counselor degree, met Dr. Marlene Winell, and now specializes in freeing people from the mental grips of Fundamentalism.
In this episode, Janice shares practical ways to recover from religion healthily, the importance of rituals to symbolize the end of one's Fundamentalism, and how cognitive behavioral therapy can be very useful.
Janice is organizing the first-of-its-kind Conference on Religious Trauma in Vancouver from April 24-26, 2020.
Visit CORT2020.com to learn more! Learn about Janice's online workshop, Divorcing Religion at divorcingreligion.com.
Bookended with music by Nightlightr (CDBaby, iTunes, and Spotify) | Find links for The Life After Community (our secret Facebook group), subscribing, rating, and/or reviewing on iTunes here: linkin.bio/thelifeafterorg
Tuesday Oct 08, 2019
Unloose (Queer x Creativity) with Nightlightr
Tuesday Oct 08, 2019
Tuesday Oct 08, 2019
Nightlightr (Leighton Pustejovsky, rap artist) cuts loose with Chuck and Brady about leaving Christian Fundamentalism after decades of repressing his homosexuality. The three discuss how they had reframed their sexualities to fit within the faith and how discussions on the "unchanging" characteristics of God didn't fit their experiences.
Leighton masterfully wrote (and produced) a rap album that nails deconstruction and living honestly as gay.
Find Unloose by Nightlightr now on CDBaby, iTunes and Spotify.
CW: Description of sexual assault (non-violent)
Connect with the Life After Podcast & Community here: linktr.ee/thelifeafter
Tuesday Sep 17, 2019
Many Love (Polyamory x Authenticity) with Katelyn Boyles
Tuesday Sep 17, 2019
Tuesday Sep 17, 2019
Some people don't fit into the boxes. Katelyn Boyles (she/them/he) joins Chuck and Brady to tell their story of self-discovery after living in a home plagued by rigid Fundamentalism. Now married and practicing ethical polyamory, Katelyn encapsulates the importance of living with authenticity.
Connect with the Life After Podcast & Community here: linktr.ee/thelifeafter
Tuesday Jul 30, 2019
Parenting Forward (Raising Kids x Ethical Values) with Cindy Wang Brandt
Tuesday Jul 30, 2019
Tuesday Jul 30, 2019
Cindy Wang Brandt, author of Parenting Forward, joins the show to discuss how deconstructing parents can pass values to their children without relying on fear and indoctrination.
Find out more about Cindy's work, including her book and podcast, on her website, cindywangbrandt.com.
Connect with the Life After Podcast & Community here: linktr.ee/thelifeafter
Special Show Note:
We apologize to our friend, Chrissy Stroop, for using the incorrect pronouns in the last episode. Since we had recorded the episode in May, Chrissy has begun transitioning and prefers she/her pronouns. At the time of the recording, they/them were preferred.
We fully support and affirm Chrissy. Read more about her inspiring journey here:
http://ow.ly/ar3350vj4ug
Find links for The Life After Community (our secret Facebook group), subscribing, rating, and/or reviewing on iTunes here: linkin.bio/thelifeafterorg
Friday Jun 07, 2019
You Are Your Own (Embodied Trauma x Healing) with Jamie Lee Finch
Friday Jun 07, 2019
Friday Jun 07, 2019
Fan-favorite Jamie Lee Finch returns to the show! She joins Chuck and Brady to discuss her new book on Religious Trauma Syndrome from Christian Evangelicalism, "You are Your Own." They discuss her experience writing, the unresolved trauma held by our bodies, instilled fear of hell, needs they had as Evangelical children, generational responses to Fundamentalism, cycles that keep people locked in the faith, wanting to die for a cause (thanks, Jesus Freaks!), healing through storytelling, and how trauma responses manifested recently in the post-evangelical online community.
Visit Jamie's website to buy "You Are Your Own" as an ebook or audiobook: https://jamieleefinch.com
Find links for The Life After Community (our secret Facebook group), subscribing, rating, and/or reviewing on iTunes here: linkin.bio/thelifeafterorg