And Then Everything Changed is on hiatus for a bit while I work on two new limited series podcasts. I've enjoyed these last two years of creating this show and meeting so many guests who remind me that we can survive and learn and grow after contending with challenges we never thought we'd have to face.

My two new podcasts are The Body Myth and Let's Talk Memoir which do have similar themes to And Then Everything Changed. I'll be interviewing guests and getting to the heart of their personal experience and their creative work.

If you have struggled with feeling good in your body and wonder why after all these years you still can't find peace, you will like The Body Myth. And if you are a memoir lover, reader, or writer you will enjoy Let's talk memoir.

If the trailers for these shows sound intriguing to you please head over to your podcast platform, search for The Body Myth and Let's Talk Memoir and hit subscribe.

The first episodes drop in just a few weeks.

Thank you for being an And Then Everything Changed listener. I hope you'll join me for Let's Talk Memoir and The Body Myth podcasts, too!

Follow me on Instagram: @ronitplank

Subscribe to Let’s Talk Memoir: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lets-talk-memoir/id1612365112

Subscribe to The Body Myth: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-body-myth/id1613426285

Laura Formentini was in Ethiopia when her son Blaise died by suicide. An empath like her, he had difficulty connecting to the material world and day to day life often felt overwhelming for him. Though it took years and has been painful, she has come to accept and honor her son’s choice to no longer be here. Humanitarian work and sponsoring more than 40 kids in 18 years enabled her to survive her grief and transform it into a healing force in the world. She truly believes it is possible to turn dark into light even while experiencing loss. Laura joins the last episode of And Then Everything Changed to tell Blaise’s story and talk about her new book Twentyone Olive Trees: A Mother’s Walk Through the Grief of Suicide.

About Ronit‘s book When She Comes Back: https://ronitplank.com/book/

Connect with Laura:

Laura's Website: www.lauraformentini.com

Laura's Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorlauraformentini

Laura's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authorlauraformentini/

Connect with Ronit:

For more about this episode click here! https://andtheneverythingchangedpodcast.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ronitplank/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RonitPlankCreative/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAlSZFpcksgdHopmBLUXfLA

About Ronit‘s book When She Comes Back: https://ronitplank.com/book/

When Shelly Snow Pordea reached out to church leaders about the sexual abuse she suffered as a child she found no support, no advocacy; instead the process of telling her story to church elders revictimized her. She would come to discover her experience was all too common. In the Independent fundamental baptist movement her family was part of, patriarchy was in full force and misogyny ran rampant. There was a dress code, gender roles were rigid, and women had to be submissive. Shelly was taught that as a girl she was inherently dangerous, the sexualization of women and children was their own fault, and that she was responsible for the way men treated her. Without any education but the curriculum the church offered and isolation from the outside world, it took her and her siblings years to break away from the community in which she was raised. She has now made it her mission to speak out about the church’s harmful practices. In this episode she shares her story and her advocacy work, her thoughts on the Josh Duggar case, and reflects on how being an artist helped save her.

About Ronit‘s book When She Comes Back: https://ronitplank.com/book/

Connect with Shelly:

Shelly's Website: www.shellysnowpordea.com

Shelly's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shellysnowpordea/

The Hug Who Had No Arms: https://www.amazon.com/Hug-Who-Had-No-Arms/dp/1735012017

Tracing Time: The Past Outlines A Legacy: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1943526532

Connect With Ronit:

For more about this episode click here! https://andtheneverythingchangedpodcast.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ronitplank/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RonitPlankCreative/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAlSZFpcksgdHopmBLUXfLA

About Ronit‘s book When She Comes Back: https://ronitplank.com/book/

Keema and Tekla Waterfield were raised by a young single mother in Southeast Alaska after their father left the family. With very little money but a passion for music and art, their mother moved them frequently in pursuit of her education, gigs, and new relationships. “Music festival brats” from a young age, Keema and Tekla reveled in summer trips to watch their mother perform with her friends and also sing beside her; those gatherings would become the most stable facet of their childhoods.

As the sisters grew, art and their at-times traumatic childhood led each of the sisters on different paths. Keema wrote Inside Passage, a new memoir about her nomadic Alaskan childhood, the toll her upbringing took on her, and the effect it had on her relationship with her mother. Tekla became a singer-songwriter whose most recent release, "New Skies" landed in the NACC Top 30 Folk Album Charts in October of 2021.

On this episode of And Then Everything Changed they share their perspective on their childhood, how each of them grappled with their father leaving, and why art has always been central in their lives.

About Ronit‘s book When She Comes Back: https://ronitplank.com/book/

Connect with Keema:

Keema's Website: https://keemawaterfield.com

Link to Keema’s memoir Inside Passage:

Ronit’s review of Inside Passage: https://therumpus.net/2021/08/inside-passage-by-keema-waterfield/

Connect with Tekla:

Tekla's Website: www.teklawaterfield.com

Tekla's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/teklawaterfieldmusic/

Connect with Ronit:

Connect With Ronit:

For more about this episode click here! https://andtheneverythingchangedpodcast.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ronitplank/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RonitPlankCreative/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAlSZFpcksgdHopmBLUXfLA

About Ronit‘s book When She Comes Back: https://ronitplank.com/book/

Limi Marie Bauer was born into the cult where her parents met via an arranged marriage. They raised Limi in the Unification Church, known as the Moonies in popular culture, and Limi knew from a young age she would grow up and have an arranged marriage herself. As she got closer and closer to her wedding day she began to rebel and step away from church, but at 19 she married a man she’d met only three days before her wedding. It wasn’t until she heard her children talking about being in the cult that she realized she could no longer stay. In this episode Limi shares her experience of the Unification Church’s power dynamics, dogma, and how because of its many front organizations it is able to hide in plain sight. Today she’s working on a memoir about growing up in and leaving the Moonies and active in the #IGotOut movement for cult survivors.

About Ronit‘s book When She Comes Back: https://ronitplank.com/book/

Connect with Limi:

"The Champion" a short story for #igotout (high-demand group survivor stories) https://youtu.be/m1TP-ZMhfMg

Website: www.limimariebauer.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/limibauer

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/writingwithlimi/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@writingwithlimi?

Cult resources: https://janjalalich.com

Connect With Ronit:

For more about this episode click here! https://andtheneverythingchangedpodcast.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ronitplank/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RonitPlankCreative/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAlSZFpcksgdHopmBLUXfLA

About Ronit‘s book When She Comes Back: https://ronitplank.com/book/

Laura Davis, celebrated author and advocate, joins And Then Everything Changed for episode 100! When Laura’s groundbreaking first book, The Courage to Heal was released decades ago it was the first of its kind to document hundreds of women’s stories of sexual abuse. In it, Laura shared her own story of being sexually abused by her grandfather, showed women it was possible to heal from this trauma, and called out the patriarchy. As she helped hundreds of thousands of women and her star rose, a rupture began in her own family. Her mother refused to believe Laura about the abuse she’d suffered, and when Laura came out as lesbian her family rejected her.

Laura relocated across the country and found a supportive community, a loving relationship, became a mother, and wrote and published many more books. Then, toward the end of her mother’s life, she told Laura she was moving to live near her and Laura faced the prospect of caring for and being in relationship again with her mother who had hurt her so many years before. In this episode Laura shares what it was like to write her new memoir, The Burning Light of Two Stars: A Mother-Daughter Story about how she reconciled with the mother who betrayed her and came to care for her in her final days.

Also in this episode: Laura’s tips for writing about traumatic experiences, where the boundaries are when writing about family experiences, and what all memoir writing needs.

Connect with Laura:

You can buy The Burning Light of Two Stars wherever books and audiobooks are sold.

You can also read the opening chapters of The Burning Light of Two Stars at: www.lauradavis.net/chapters

If you’re an aspiring writer or want to use writing as a tool for healing or self-discovery, you can learn about Laura’s online writing workshops and in-person domestic and international retreats here: www.lauradavis.net

Direct links to buy The Burning Light of Two Stars:

Bookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/books/the-burning-light-of-two-stars-a-mother-daughter-story-9781954854161/9781954854161

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Burning-Light-Two-Stars-Mother-Daughter/dp/1954854218/

Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-burning-light-of-two-stars-laura-davis/1139198069

Indiebound: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781954854161

Get Your Signed Copies Through Bookshop Santa Cruz: https://www.bookshopsantacruz.com/burning-light-two-stars-get-it-signed)

Want a Discount When You Buy in Bulk for Your Book Club or Organization?

For bulk sales: https://www.porchlightbooks.com/product/burning-light-of-two-stars-a-mother-daughter-story--laura-davis?variationCode=9781954854161#full-description

Other info can be found in her press kit: https://bit.ly/3illC9Y

Connect With Ronit:

About Ronit‘s book When She Comes Back: https://ronitplank.com/book/

For more about this episode click here! https://andtheneverythingchangedpodcast.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ronitplank/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RonitPlankCreative/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAlSZFpcksgdHopmBLUXfLA

This week is the 100th episode celebration for And Then Everything Changed! I started the podcast on Halloween of 2019 with my first guest, Paul who took a chance on a new show and a new host, and we created one of my favorite episodes to date. Since then, I've gotten to interview people in recovery, survivors, social justice leaders, and so many talented authors. On my website ATECpodcast.com you can go check out and listen to my previous episodes, each categorized by topic, so you can listen to what moves you first! Thank you for tuning in and for being a part of the ATEC community!

Below are links to the 15 most listened-to episodes:

1. 1. A Living Person Among the Dead featuring Paul Boardman
2. 36. From Downward Spiral to the Other Side featuring Ashlee Brown
3. 3. Everybody Knew featuring Christine McLean
4. The COVID-19 Experience- Surviving Coronavirus, Bonus Episode 3
5. 59. Living Through the Loss of a Spouse featuring Mark Schutter
6. 61. A Family Survival Story: Prosthesis, Recovery, and Resilience featuring Rosalie
7. 93. My Salinger Year and a Second Chance at Love featuring Joanna Rakoff
8. 58. Mother to a Child Born with Differences: From Pain to Advocacy featuring Jaclyn Greenberg
9. 60. The Power of Advocacy After Childhood Trauma featuring Johnny Crowder
10. 23. The Duality of the Gift of Coming to America Baktash Ahadi
11. 27. Unschooling OUrselves Akilah Richards
12. 45. The Toll of Mental Illness and Finding A Path Forward featuring Debbie Lechtman
13. 40. Hollywood Park Mikel Jollett
14. 97. Becoming the Person You’re Meant to Be After Childhood Violence, Drugs, and Neglect ft. Treveal Lynch
15. 90. A life of Meaning After Profound Loss Jacqueline Genovese

About Ronit‘s book When She Comes Back: https://ronitplank.com/book/

Connect With Ronit:

For more about this episode click here! https://andtheneverythingchangedpodcast.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ronitplank/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RonitPlankCreative/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAlSZFpcksgdHopmBLUXfLA

When Jen Kiaba was growing up in the Unification Church, known as the Moonies in popular culture, a main mantra was “absolute faith, absolute love, absolute obedience” which did not leave most people much room to question authority. Violence was not condoned but children were often hit, and as she came of age and noticed other contradictions, she didn’t have a safe space to process her feelings or make decisions that were right for her. Finally, when she faced an arranged marriage like that of her parents, she knew she had to leave. And when she did, she lost everything: her community, her family, and the only structure she had ever known. Slowly, slowly, she rebuilt her life and today she is an artist and activist who educates others about cults, coercive control, and high control groups. Jen believes cult education is vital because people from a broad range of backgrounds and experiences are vulnerable and she sees similarities between cults and American workplaces, such as amazon, everywhere. In this episode she shares her story, helps identify cult tactics, and offers an inside look at how these groups take root.

Connect with Jen:

https://jenkiaba.com

https://instagram.com/jenkiaba

https://facebook.com/jenkiaba

https://twitter.com/jenkiaba

Cult expert Janja Lalich and resources: https://janjalalich.com

Buy Cults in Our Midst by Janja Lalich: https://www.amazon.com/Cults-Our-Midst-Continuing-Against/dp/0787967416

About Ronit‘s book When She Comes Back: https://ronitplank.com/book/

For books and information on cults visit Dr. Janja Lalich's site: http://cultresearch.org

Connect With Ronit:

For more about this episode click here! https://andtheneverythingchangedpodcast.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ronitplank/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RonitPlankCreative/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAlSZFpcksgdHopmBLUXfLA