Beyond the Monsters

Summer grew up in a severe hoarder home (level 5) where rooms became inaccessible, utilities stopped working, and over 30 animals lived in extreme neglect inside the house. Behind the scenes, she was dealing with chronic bullying, isolation, domestic violence, emotional abuse, and the impossible pressure of protecting her family while trying to survive her own childhood. She opens up about what it was really like going to school embarrassed by the conditions she was living in, being removed by CPS, couch surfing as a teenager, and realizing in college that the life she grew up in was never normal.

Summer shares the long-term impact of growing up with parents who have hoarding disorder, narcissistic family dynamics, parentification, and severe animal hoarding, along with the complicated grief that comes from loving parents who were unable to provide safety or stability. She talks about the shame children of hoarders carry, the survival behaviors that follow them into adulthood, and the difficult process of learning basic self-care, relationships, and normalcy after years of living in chaos.

Summer’s Links:
https://www.instagram.com/summerjoy.cptsd_survivor
https://www.tiktok.com/@summerjoy4
https://youtube.com/@summerjoy4
https://linktr.ee/summerjoy4
Collaborations/Media: [email protected]

Resources:
International OCD Foundation (Hoarding)
https://iocdf.org/hoarding

Children of Hoarders
https://childrenofhoarders.com

Institute for Challenging Disorganization
https://challengingdisorganization.org

NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness)
https://nami.org

Hoarding Cleanup Directory
https://hoardingcleanup.com

Crisis Text Line
741741

Beyond the Monsters Socials:
https://www.instagram.com/beyondthemonsters
https://linktr.ee/BeyondtheMonsters

Disclaimer: This podcast shares personal experiences and educational discussion. It is not medical or mental health advice. Always consult a qualified professional regarding your own care.

Topic: Hoarding Disorder, Animal Hoarding, Childhood Trauma, Family Dysfunction, Childhood Neglect, Complex PTSD (CPTSD)
If you have a story you'd like to share on the podcast, please fill out a form here:
https://form.jotform.com/243366933402153

Please contact [email protected] for any business inquiries!
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this follow-up to episode 18, Sarah is joined by her stepdaughter Avery more than 20 years after Avery’s mother was murdered when she was just five months old. After spending most of their lives carrying the weight of the case, they received the call that the execution date had finally been set for the man responsible. Sarah and Avery share what it was like preparing for the execution, traveling to Texas together, and walking into a situation neither of them truly knew how to process until they were living it in real time.

Avery opens up about growing up without her mother and later losing her father to suicide in 2023, while Sarah reflects on the years of grief and emotional survival that followed both tragedies. What they expected would bring closure instead forced them to confront layers of trauma, family pain, suicide loss, and the emotional reality of watching a case that shaped their lives finally come to an end. Together, they talk about the complicated emotions surrounding the execution, the unexpected moments that stayed with them afterward, and the difficult process of figuring out who they were once this chapter of their lives was finally over.

Sarah’s Links:
https://www.instagram.com/skyvisions333

Sarah’s Podcast - All The Things Shoals:
https://www.instagram.com/allthethings.shoals
https://www.youtube.com/@allthethingsshoals
https://open.spotify.com/show/65FFAsKIBmYj3sEocu9eXQ?si=c8973a65da1a49bf

Resources:
Project Unbroken
https://projectunbroken.org

Crisis Text Line
741741

Beyond the Monsters Socials:
https://www.instagram.com/beyondthemonsters
https://linktr.ee/BeyondtheMonsters

Disclaimer: This podcast shares personal experiences and educational discussion. It is not medical or mental health advice. Always consult a qualified professional regarding your own care.

Topic: true crime, grief, murder case, family trauma, healing after loss, capital punishment
If you have a story you'd like to share on the podcast, please fill out a form here:
https://form.jotform.com/243366933402153

Please contact [email protected] for any business inquiries!
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Darlene Lekowski was sexually abused by two of her older brothers beginning at just 7 years old, carrying the trauma in silence for more than five decades while building a life that looked perfect from the outside. She shares the long-term reality of sibling sexual abuse, PTSD, perfectionism, fear of abandonment, and what happens when trauma is buried instead of healed. After finally confronting one of her brothers, he responded by suing her for defamation, forcing her into a two year legal battle where she was made to relive the abuse publicly in court.

Darlene breaks down the family dynamics that kept her silent, the threats and manipulation used against her as a child, and the emotional toll of protecting everyone else while destroying herself in the process. She talks about raising children while carrying hidden trauma, how PTSD showed up throughout her life, and the moment she realized surviving wasn’t the same thing as healing. After winning the lawsuit and being validated by a jury, she began rebuilding her life, writing her book Shattering Silence, and speaking publicly to help other survivors break the shame and secrecy surrounding sibling sexual abuse, trauma, and family betrayal.

Darlene’s Links:
darlene-lekowski.com
https://www.instagram.com/darlenelekowski
https://www.facebook.com/darlenelekowski

“Shattering Silence” book
https://a.co/d/003yCIaB

Resources:
RAINN
24/7 confidential support, online chat & hotline
1-800-656-HOPE
https://rainn.org/help-and-healing/hotline/

Crisis Text Line
741741

Beyond the Monsters Socials:
https://www.instagram.com/beyondthemonsters
https://linktr.ee/BeyondtheMonsters

Disclaimer: This podcast shares personal experiences and educational discussion. It is not medical or mental health advice. Always consult a qualified professional regarding your own care.

Topic: sibling sexual trauma and abuse (SSTA), childhood trauma, family abuse, PTSD recovery, sexual abuse awareness, court trauma
If you have a story you'd like to share on the podcast, please fill out a form here:
https://form.jotform.com/243366933402153

Please contact [email protected] for any business inquiries!
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hope’s estranged husband murdered their two young children in an act of filicide after being granted unsupervised custody, despite clear warning signs of instability, prior abuse, and escalating mental health concerns. Just before their deaths, he made suicidal and homicidal statements, was hospitalized, and still walked out of court with 50/50 custody. Hope’s story exposes the reality of how quickly systems can fail, how mental health is misunderstood in legal settings, and how lethal risk is often missed until it’s too late.

Hope shares what led up to that moment, including years of coercive control, psychological abuse, gaslighting, and physical violence that she kept hidden while trying to survive and protect her children. She breaks down the timeline of events, the court decisions, and the warning signs that were overlooked, while also speaking to the unimaginable reality of losing both of her children and what it means to live after that level of loss.

Hope’s Links:
Fill out the link to pass The Alec and Lydia Act!
https://rallystarter.com/rally/2948/please-pass-the-alec-and-lydia-act-in-the-arizona-senate

https://www.instagram.com/hope_in_the_pain
https://www.tiktok.com/@hope.in.the.pain
https://www.facebook.com/people/Hope-In-The-Pain
https://linktr.ee/hopeinthepain

Voices Against Filicide - Hope’s Podcast
https://tr.ee/4zExkNUIYi

Resources:
Crisis Text Line
741741

Beyond the Monsters Socials:
https://www.instagram.com/beyondthemonsters
https://linktr.ee/BeyondtheMonsters

Disclaimer: This podcast shares personal experiences and educational discussion. It is not medical or mental health advice. Always consult a qualified professional regarding your own care.

Topic: filicide, family court failure, coercive control, domestic violence (DV), custody system failure, true crime
If you have a story you'd like to share on the podcast, please fill out a form here:
https://form.jotform.com/243366933402153

Please contact [email protected] for any business inquiries!
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jess Patz was 18 when she entered an abusive relationship that quickly escalated from love bombing into domestic violence, coercive control, and manipulation. The first physical assault happened during her first pregnancy, followed by years of emotional abuse, gaslighting, sexual assault, and financial control that caused her to question her own reality. She breaks down what intimate partner violence actually looks like behind closed doors, including how someone can be conditioned to stay, how abuse escalates over time, and how early warning signs are often missed or dismissed.

After leaving, she was pulled into a 10 year custody battle where family court systems failed to recognize patterns of abuse, allowing continued exposure for her children. During that time and years after, her body began to break down with severe health complications, including recurrent pulmonary embolisms, chronic pain, autoimmune disease, and eventually a stroke that forced her to relearn how to walk. Jess shares the reality of post separation abuse, child custody in abusive relationships, and how trauma doesn’t just stay mental, it shows up physically in ways that can change your life. She is now a speaker, advocate, and TEDx presenter using her story to raise awareness about domestic violence and its long term impact.

Jess’ Links:
https://www.instagram.com/_jesspatz
https://www.tiktok.com/@_jesspatz
https://www.jesspatz.com

Resources:
Crisis Text Line
741741

National Domestic Violence Hotline
800-799-7233
Find local resources: https://www.thehotline.org/get-help/domestic-violence-local-resources/

Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault Center
https://dvsacenter.org

Beyond the Monsters Socials:
https://www.instagram.com/beyondthemonsters
https://linktr.ee/BeyondtheMonsters

Disclaimer: This podcast shares personal experiences and educational discussion. It is not medical or mental health advice. Always consult a qualified professional regarding your own care.

Topic: DV, coercive control, family court system, SA, trauma recovery, narcissistic abuse, autoimmune disease, lupus, stroke recovery, chronic illness
If you have a story you'd like to share on the podcast, please fill out a form here:
https://form.jotform.com/243366933402153

Please contact [email protected] for any business inquiries!
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.