Welcome to The Lionhearted, a podcast featuring stories by the brave and badass people who spend their lives fighting the one thing absolutely no one wants to talk about - child sexual abuse.
In this episode, we feature two people, a lionhearted couple named Kevin and Tashanna McNeil, who share the very hard truth that you cannot outrun trauma.
As they write so perfectly in their new book, “We meet on dates. Our trauma meets in relationships.” We dive into that big topic and how we need each other to heal.
We also discuss the often ignored crisis, which is that first responders, such as Kevin, who was a special victims detective, and Tashanna, who is an Pediatric Urgent Care nurse, carry so much vicarious trauma and are woefully under supported. The helpers need help too. The good news is that there is hope yet and it can be found in their new book called Sound the Alarm: The Challenges First Responders Face and the S.A.F.E.R. Method to Overcome Them.
Trigger Warning:
Please note that this episode contains depictions of sexual violence that some people may find disturbing. If any of the content in this podcast has brought anything up for you, please reach out or speak to someone you trust.
Darkness to Light, a leading nonprofit focused on child sexual abuse prevention, also provides links to resources for support. Full disclosure: Andrea Harner is currently Board Chairperson of Darkness to Light.
Email us your thoughts!
lionheartedpod@gmail.com
Host: Andrea Harner
Guest: Kevin McNeil, Tashanna McNeil
Producer: Andrea Harner and Amanda Kelso
Editing: Kevin Tosi
Resources mentioned on the show:
Additional resources: