In this episode of Let's Talk About Healing, host Yvonne Pierre has a conversation with the minister, life coach, and author Inez Riley about healing from trauma. Inez shares her experience of growing up with abandonment, rejection, physical abuse, sexual abuse, and emotional abuse. This trauma caused her to experience PTSD, as it was so prevalent and started so early on in her life. Inez emphasizes that her story is not uncommon and that she has a memory from being two or three years old of a man walking into her room. Yvonne and Inez then discuss how to heal from these experiences, providing concrete advice and steps to those who have gone through similar trauma.

Yvonne and Inez in the conversation both experienced trauma in different forms during their childhoods. Yvonne experienced abandonment due to her father's murder when she was a young child and sexual abuse by her babysitter. Inez experienced similar feelings of abandonment due to having an addicted mother who never showed up. Yvonne discussed how these experiences caused her to be silent and internalize her feelings during her preteen and teenage years. The conversation concluded with the question of what type of influence the trauma had on Inez.

Inez's relationship with their family was strained, so they found respite and refuge in other places. As a result, she found refuge in a church, not necessarily for religious reasons, but to get away from the conflict at home. This eventually became an issue too, as the family would question why she was in church all the time. As a result, Inez ended up finding a group of friends that were the opposite of her family, and they would go out and do things together.

Inez recalls being a 15 or 16-year-old and trying to escape her reality by going to nightclubs, getting high, and being rebellious at the home. However, by the time she was 19 or 20, she had grown tired of carrying around so much anger, shame, and guilt. She decided to go back to church, seeking something else beyond just a refuge from home. Inez then relates to Yvonne's story of drinking and partying in middle school, leading to rebellion and feeling lost. Inez suggests that there are several shifts that one must go through to get back on track, and going to church was the start of her journey.

About the host: Yvonne Pierre is a wife, mom of two (one with Down syndrome), storyteller, producer, advocate, and host of Let's Talk About Healing. To connect with Yvonne, visit www.Linktr.ee/Yvonne.Pierre

About Inez Reilly: Inez is a minister, life coach, and author. To connect with Inez Reilly, visit www.Linktr.ee/InezReilly

Intro/Outro by Zyair "Statik" Pierre, check him out on IG at www.instagram.com/statik_arcadejunkiez/