In Part 2 of our conversation with Brooke Deanne, we get into the moment the whole thing finally cracked wide open: the knife incident that became her final straw, the divorce that followed, and the painfully familiar push-pull of leaving a trauma-bonded relationship. Brooke also shared how the Jehovah’s Witness elders protected the wrong person, why the system kept men in power, and how shunning can make you feel like you’ve been erased by your own people.
We follow Brooke through the aftermath: PTSD, panic attacks, therapy that didn’t have the right language for religious trauma, and the very relatable “oops, I traded one cult for another” detour into New Age spirituality. Along the way, she talks about rebuilding trust in her body, learning to spot red flags, exploring somatic work and psychedelics, and finding safer, saner ways to heal—because apparently the nervous system did not sign up for any of this nonsense.
Be sure to pick up Brooke’s book, Shattered, Broken, and Beautiful: Losing My Religion and Finding Faith, or follow her on her website, brookedeanne.com, or social media.
Trigger warning: This episode contains frank discussion of cults, coercive control, emotional, physical, and sexual abuse, shunning, trauma bonding, religious trauma, PTSD, panic attacks, and discussion of psychedelics.
Also…let it be known that:
The views and opinions expressed on A Little Bit Culty do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the podcast. Any content provided by our guests, bloggers, sponsors or authors are of their opinion and are not intended to malign any religion, group, club, organization, business, individual, anyone or anything. Nobody’s mad at you, just don’t be a culty fuckwad.
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CREDITS:
Executive Producers: Sarah Edmondson & Anthony Ames
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Co-Creator: Jess Tardy
Audio production: Will Retherford
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Writer: Sandra Nomoto
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Theme Song: “Cultivated” by Jon Bryant co-written with Nygel Asselin
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