Ep 101 - Her Side of the Story Thru the Undertow

Ep 101 – Her Side of the Story – Show Notes
Episode Summary:
Hello and welcome to Thru the Undertow. I’m your host Nicole Lowell. This week’s episode is Her Side of the Story, so come join us as we wade Thru the Undertow.
Thank you so much for joining us today on our premiere episode of Thru the Undertow. (music fade out) For those of you who don’t know, thru the undertow is a podcast that hopes to provide a place of support, education and information for those who seek to assist and advocate for victims of child sexual trauma.
In the coming weeks you’ll hear about different healing and diagnostic tools that can be used for survivors that have experienced trauma. There will also be episodes dedicated to helping navigate the legal system. What happens once you’ve discovered your child is a victim? Other episodes will be more focused on how parents can heal along with their children when faced with this unimaginable discovery.
While this particular podcast is definitely geared towards parents and those directly involved with children who were victims, I believe that many of the topics will be helpful to a wide range audience. I hope you’ll join us.
Because of the nature of the show we will provide trigger warnings and content warnings on each episode page on our website. That can be found at www.thrutheundertow.com. That’s www dot thru t-h-r-u the undertow dot com. See the latest episodes on our home page, or as time goes on, click on the Episode link to take you to a more comprehensive list.
As I said previously, I’m your host Nicole Lowell. Today’s episode is titled Her Side of the Story which is actually my side of the story, because I’m not just your host, I’m the creator of this podcast, and I’m a mother who discovered that her children were severely sexually abused by their father. This episode is my story.
TW/CW: Childhood sex*al ab*se, tr*ffick*ng, m*lest*tion, child p*rnogr*phy, trauma, trauma responses, alt*rs
Timecode points of interest:
1:35 – Today’s episode is Her Side of the Story
1:49 – Let me introduce you to my family
2:48 – My story begins 7 years ago
3:45 – A call from the Sheriff
4:54 – Arrived home to so many police cars
7:06 – My husband was arrested
10:59 – My husband takes a plea deal
12:04 – It was difficult when he went to prison
17:19 – My kids had struggles after their dad went to prison
18:32 – I started to have doubts about my husband’s “innocence”
20:50 - I tried reconnecting with my family, but it went badly
24:20 – My son calls to discuss dreams he’s having. It’s the final piece of the puzzle
27:30 – Disclosure came in levels. Things happened to sister, too. Therapy wasn’t working for a reason
29:51 – Daughter now discloses
31:27 – DA decides not to prosecute
35:00 – What’s been happening with my children since disclosure
36:28 – Covid impacts my children
39:16 – Their father abused my children from their birth until he went to prison. My children were impacted greatly due to the duration and severity of the abuse.
44:06 – My daughter has an NMT assessment (Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics Assessment). It’s an amazing tool.
45:47 – How I look at guilt.
55:20 – The situation isn’t just traumatizing to my kids, it’s also traumatizing to me, too.
1:00:12 – I started this podcast because of how commonplace sexual abuse is in children.
1:01:24 – Let’s talk – future episode topics.
Resources/Links to information discussed:
www.neurosequential.com – for more information about the NM Network, the...