Trauma Uncensored

Brooke Scherer
  • 5.0 (20)
  • Mental Health
  • Updated Weekly

Trauma Uncensored is a weekly trauma and grief podcast about what life actually looks like after everything changes. Hosted by Brooke Scherer, the show begins with the loss of her 9-year-old son Logan, who was killed by a distracted driver in 2016. What followed wasn't closure. It was courtrooms, headlines, and years of trying to survive something no one prepares you for. This is the unfiltered side of trauma recovery: Real survivor stories, honest conversations about grief and healing, and the tools that actually help.

  1. 6d ago

    A Cut Toe Turned Into an Unthinkable Tragedy | Melanie Brockmeier-Jordy

    Grief support, complicated grief, and what it takes to fight for the truth while planning a funeral. Melanie Brockmeier-Jordy joins Brooke this week, and her husband's death started with something as small as a cut toe. Editor's Note: This episode originally aired earlier in the season and returns this week as a Best of Trauma Uncensored selection, newly tightened and re-edited. Whether it's your first listen or your second, Melanie's story is one worth sitting with again. The Season 1 finale drops next week. Content Note: This episode discusses sudden death, medical negligence, sepsis, pregnancy shortly after loss, wrongful death litigation, and complicated grief. Listener discretion is advised. 0:00 "I Do Not Give You Permission to Release His Body" 2:30 Labor Day Weekend, 2012: The Accident on the Sandbar 4:20 Surgery, Home Health, and an IV Antibiotic Called Vancomycin 5:10 "The Doctor Thinks You Have the Flu" 7:35 The Night Everything Changed 9:40 A Gut Feeling and a Pregnancy Test at Her Husband's Funeral 12:20 Red Man Syndrome: How an Undiluted Antibiotic Poisoned Him 13:15 Depositions, and Learning How He Actually Died 15:10 Mac Greco and the Autopsy That Came Back Wrong 16:45 "I Knew None of Those Three Things Were True" 17:30 "I Do Not Give You Permission to Release His Body" 19:30 A Medium's Message and the Nurse's Note That Proved the Cover Up 21:00 Disciplinary Action, Intimidation, and Deciding to Sue 22:15 "It Wasn't About the Money. It Was That This Can't Happen Again" 23:45 Rage, a New Baby, and the Hospital's Own Defense 26:35 Three Years in Court 27:15 A Settlement, and a Request No One Expected 29:30 "Look Me in the Eyes and Tell Me You Didn't Murder My Husband" 30:20 The Nurse Who Was Trained on Melanie's Own Story 31:35 Was Her Grief Hijacked by the Fight for Justice? 32:35 What Three Years of Fight or Flight Does to a Body 34:00 "I Did the Best I Knew How" Website: traumauncensored.com Instagram: @traumauncensored TikTok: @traumauncensored Email the team: hello@traumauncensored.com Email Brooke: brooke@traumauncensored.com About the Guest Melanie Brockmeier-Jordy has walked her own version of sudden, preventable loss. In 2012, her husband Leon died after a minor boating injury turned into a fatal medical error, one that home health staff spent a week dismissing as the flu. What followed was a three year fight to prove what actually happened, a fight she won. About the Host Brooke Scherer is the creator and host of the Trauma Uncensored Podcast, where she leads honest, unfiltered conversations about trauma, grief, mental health, and healing. She is also a mother to Logan, Mallory, and Mila. In 2016, Brooke's world was shattered when her son Logan was killed by a distracted driver. In the silence that followed, she found a culture unequipped to talk about child loss, grief, and trauma in any honest way. That silence became her mission. Brooke built Trauma Uncensored to offer what she once needed most: a space to speak openly, without judgment, timelines, or expectation. Through her own story and conversations with survivors, mental health professionals, and others whose lives have been permanently altered, she reminds listeners they are not alone. She believes trauma permanently changes us, but it does not have to define the limits of our lives. If this episode hit home: Subscribe, leave a review, and share it with someone who needs to know their gut is worth trusting. It helps more people find these conversations. Want to share your story? Reach out at hello@traumauncensored.com or email Brooke directly at brooke@traumauncensored.com. If you're struggling with thoughts of suicide or know someone who is, please call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline for free, confidential support, 24/7. Content Notes:Timestamps:Connect with Trauma UncensoredResources Mentioned in This EpisodeAbout the GuestAbout the Host

  2. Jul 14

    She Sits With Dying Children Every Day. Then She Got Pregnant. | Alisha McGuire

    Grief support, trauma healing, and the nervous system cost of being the helper. Pediatric palliative care social worker Alisha McGuire returns, and this time the grief followed her home. What happens when the person who holds space for dying children finds out she is pregnant? This is a conversation about provider grief, compassion fatigue, and secondary trauma. About the wreath ritual her team uses to honor every child they lose. And about the self-awareness that keeps your nervous system bucket from overflowing before you even notice it is filling, whether you work in healthcare or you are simply the person everyone leans on. Content Notes: This episode discusses pediatric death, terminal illness, pregnancy anxiety, miscarriage statistics, COVID-19 healthcare trauma, grief, compassion fatigue, caregiver burnout, and child loss. Listener discretion is advised. 0:00 "You Were Pregnant the Last Time I Saw You. How's Your Baby?" 1:16 What It Costs to Hold Space for Dying Children 3:35 Pregnant in Palliative Care 4:03 "1 in 4 Women Have a Miscarriage" 7:59 Hiding a Pregnancy from Grieving Mothers 8:59 "How Was Your Baby?" The Moment That Proved Her Fears Wrong 13:06 Countertransference 20:47 Provider Grief and Secondary Trauma 21:33 "I Feel Like I'm Doing Long-Term Trauma to Myself" 22:00 COVID in New Jersey 24:22 The ProQOL Tool 25:26 "We Round the Next Day" 27:06 What Happens When Burnout Goes Unaddressed 37:41 "The Way I Was Doing It Was Not Sustainable" 39:09 Long-Term Families, Professional Boundaries, and Ambiguous Grief 43:20 Brooke's Gratitude: Caregivers as First Responders 47:15 What Grieving Caregivers Most Need to Hear: Give Yourself Grace Website: traumauncensored.com Instagram: @traumauncensored TikTok: @traumauncensored Email the team: hello@traumauncensored.com Email Brooke: brooke@traumauncensored.com Resources Mentioned in This Episode• ProQOL (Professional Quality of Life) https://proqol.org/• "We Still Round the Next Day" (Morrison, Pediatrics, 2020): https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32029682/• Stanford Medicine: https://med.stanford.edu/news/insights/2019/07/stillbirth-linked-to-more-childbirthcomplications-for-mom-stanford-study-finds.html• Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep: https://www.nowilaymedowntosleep.org/ About the Guest Alisha McGuire is a pediatric palliative care social worker with nearly a decade of experience sitting alongside families in the most devastating moments of their lives. In her first Trauma Uncensored conversation, she shared the loss of her mother to stage four lung cancer. This time, she opens up about the grief she carries as the helper. About the Host Brooke Scherer is the creator and host of the Trauma Uncensored Podcast, where she leads honest, unfiltered conversations about trauma, grief, mental health, and healing. She is also a mother to Logan, Mallory, and Mila. In 2016, Brooke's world was shattered when her son Logan was killed by a distracted driver. In the silence that followed, she found a culture unequipped to talk about child loss, grief, and trauma in any honest way. That silence became her mission. Brooke built Trauma Uncensored to offer what she once needed most: a space to speak openly, without judgment, timelines, or expectation. Through her own story and conversations with survivors, mental health professionals, and others whose lives have been permanently altered, she reminds listeners they are not alone. She believes trauma permanently changes us, but it does not have to define the limits of our lives. If this episode hit home: Subscribe, leave a review, and share it with someone who spends their days caring for everyone but themselves. It helps more people find these conversations. Want to share your story? Reach out at hello@traumauncensored.com or email Brooke directly at brooke@traumauncensored.com. If you're struggling with thoughts of suicide or know someone who is, please call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline for free, confidential support, 24/7.

  3. Jul 7

    Stage Four Cancer Taught Me to Stop Asking “Why Me” and Start Asking “What Now” | Troy Frostad

    Troy Frostad was a corporate executive living a normal life when a stage four colon cancer diagnosis stopped everything. What followed was 12 rounds of chemo, a 16-hour surgery, and a five-year fight he’s still in. This conversation is about what it actually costs to survive the unsurvivable — and what you do with the life you get back. Troy and Brooke talk about the shift that changes everything: not “why me,” but “what now.” Content Notes This episode discusses stage four cancer diagnosis, chemotherapy, major surgery, terminal prognosis, grief, identity disruption after serious illness, and suicidal ideation (briefly referenced by Brooke in the context of her own healing journey). Listener discretion is advised. Timestamps & Chapters 02:05  Life before cancer (BC): corporate exec, no symptoms   04:01  How COVID delayed the colonoscopy that might have caught it sooner   06:29  April 23rd, 2021 07:03  The diagnosis: “stage four colon cancer and it is the worst that we’ve seen”  07:52  Two days later: Kim says “You’re not dead. Get ready.”   11:39  Chemo begins; Troy never loses his hair; his eyesight actually improves   12:49  The CaringBridge blog: why controlling the message mattered   14:37  “Cancer is what I had. It didn’t define me.”   21:22  The 16-hour HIPEC surgery explained  22:12  Five years out — “You’ve beaten all the odds”   25:27  THE TURN: his wife and son knew he had 2–3 months to live and never told him  25:51  “I found that out after I survived the surgery”   26:23  Troy’s tribute to Kim: the invisible weight of caregiving  37:29  “It is a fantasy to live thinking you are immune from anything”  39:47  “I fight because of all the people who lost the fight”  41:25  The “what if vs. what now” reframe  Connect with Trauma Uncensored Website: traumauncensored.com Instagram: @traumauncensored YouTube: @traumauncensored TikTok: @traumauncensored Email the team: hello@traumauncensored.com Email Brooke: brooke@traumauncensored.com About the Guest Troy Frostad is a stage four colon cancer survivor, Desert Storm veteran, and founder of Pinnacle Leadership — a coaching practice built on 25 years of corporate leadership and the emotional resilience program he developed, in his own head, while lying in a chemo chair. Troy works with executives, teams, and individuals navigating crisis, identity shifts, and the question that follows every hard season: what do I do now? He is a licensed Purpose Factor coach and speaks publicly about resilience, survival, and building a life that honors the fight. Connect with Troy Frostad Website: www.mypinnacleleadership.com Connent on Linkedin: LinkedIn.com/in/troyfrostad About the Host Brooke Scherer | Creator and Host Brooke Scherer is the creator and host of the Trauma Uncensored Podcast, where she leads honest, unfiltered conversations about trauma, grief, mental health, and healing. She is also a mother to Logan, Mallory, and Mila. In 2016, Brooke’s world was shattered when her son Logan was killed by a distracted driver. In the silence that followed, she found a culture unequipped to talk about child loss, grief, and trauma in any honest way. That silence became her mission. Brooke built Trauma Uncensored to offer what she once needed most: A space to speak openly, without judgment, timelines, or expectation. Through her own story and conversations with survivors, mental health professionals, and others whose lives have been permanently altered, she reminds listeners they are not alone. She believes trauma permanently changes us, but it does not have to define the limits of our lives. IF THIS EPISODE HIT HOME: Subscribe, leave a review, and share it with someone who has ever asked “why me” and hasn’t yet found their “what now.” It helps more people find these conversations. WANT TO SHARE YOUR STORY? Reach out at hello@traumauncensored.com or email Brooke directly at brooke@traumauncensored.com.

  4. Jun 30

    EMDR Works on What's Happening NOW—Here's Why That Changes Everything | Alice Stricklin

    Your nervous system was never working against you. Every survival response you developed -- the freeze, the shutdown, the hypervigilance -- served a purpose. It helped you make it. EMDR therapist Alice Stricklin joins Brooke to break down how trauma actually gets stored in the body, why it gets stuck, and what it really takes to process it. This is not a conversation about reliving the past. It's a conversation about finally being free in the present. Content Notes This episode discusses PTSD, complex trauma, childhood trauma, nervous system dysregulation, survival responses, dissociation, and suicidal ideation (briefly referenced by Brooke in the context of her own healing journey). Listener discretion is advised. Timestamps 00:00  EMDR is not about the past 01:37  Meet Alice Stricklin 02:24  What EMDR is and how it was discovered 09:51  Your nervous system's survival responses: fight, flight, freeze, collapse 20:32  How trauma gets stored and stuck in the body 25:17  How EMDR works: the two memory networks explained 37:30  Bilateral stimulation: what actually happens in a session 44:50  The key to EMDR: staying in the present moment 47:27  What Alice wants every listener to know Connect with Trauma Uncensored Website: traumauncensored.com Instagram: @traumauncensored YouTube: @traumauncensored TikTok: @traumauncensored Email the team: hello@traumauncensored.com Email Brooke: brooke@traumauncensored.com About the Guest Alice Stricklin is a licensed EMDR therapist with 17 years of clinical experience specializing in complex PTSD, trauma, and nervous system dysregulation. She works with individuals who carry the weight of both early childhood trauma and adult traumatic experiences, helping them build the internal resources needed to process what got stuck. Alice approaches healing with deep respect for the ways people learned to survive, and her work centers on honoring those adaptations while helping the nervous system find new options. She is one of the practitioners recommended by Brooke's own EMDR therapist, Lori Hoven. Connect with Alice Stricklin Website: https://www.alicestricklin.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063789169941#  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alicestricklincounseling/?hl=en  YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQGPlsE834R0hUlh-2gYedA About the Host Brooke Scherer | Creator and Host Brooke Scherer is the creator and host of the Trauma Uncensored Podcast, where she leads honest, unfiltered conversations about trauma, grief, mental health, and healing. She is also a mother to Logan, Mallory, and Mila. In 2016, Brooke's world was shattered when her son Logan was killed by a distracted driver. In the silence that followed, she found a culture unequipped to talk about child loss, grief, and trauma in any honest way. That silence became her mission. Brooke built Trauma Uncensored to offer what she once needed most: A space to speak openly, without judgment, timelines, or expectation. Through her own story and conversations with survivors, mental health professionals, and others whose lives have been permanently altered, she reminds listeners they are not alone. She believes trauma permanently changes us, but it does not have to define the limits of our lives. IF THIS EPISODE HIT HOME: Subscribe, leave a review, and share it with someone who has ever been told their anxiety or reactions are "too much" without anyone asking what made them that way. WANT TO SHARE YOUR STORY? Reach out at hello@traumauncensored.com or email Brooke directly at brooke@traumauncensored.com. CRISIS RESOURCES: If you're struggling with thoughts of suicide or know someone who is, please call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline for free, confidential support, 24/7. If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 (SAFE) or text "START" to 88788.

  5. Jun 16

    I Trusted Him for 30 Years. His Secret Life Gave Me Cancer. | Eileen McGill Fox

    HPV-related cancer diagnoses, all linked to his choices, all arriving while she was still processing the betrayal. In this episode, Eileen shares what it actually looks like to carry layered trauma in your body, why she refused to stay silent, and what she wants every woman to know about HPV before it’s too late. Content Notes This episode discusses marital infidelity, sexual betrayal, HPV and HPV-related cancers, cancer treatment, complex PTSD, betrayal trauma, EMDR therapy, suicidal ideation (brief reference), and the pressure to stay silent after abuse. Listener discretion is advised. Connect with Trauma Uncensored Website: traumauncensored.com Instagram: @traumauncensored YouTube: @traumauncensored TikTok: @traumauncensored Email the team: hello@traumauncensored.com Email Brooke: brooke@traumauncensored.com About the Guest Eileen McGill Fox  |  HPV Awareness Advocate Eileen McGill Fox is a marriage and family therapy professional turned HPV cancer advocate who, after uncovering 30 years of deception in her marriage, was diagnosed with three HPV-related cancers linked to her husband’s secret life. She holds a master’s degree in marriage and family therapy and has chosen to speak publicly about her experience because she believes silence is the second betrayal. Eileen is dedicated to HPV awareness, early detection, and reminding women that their story belongs to them. Connect with Eileen Facebook: Eileen McGill Fox Instagram: @eileenfox_1 X: @LilaFox14 TikTok: @lilafox1011 About the Host Brooke Scherer  |  Creator and Host Brooke Scherer is the creator and host of the Trauma Uncensored Podcast, where she leads honest, unfiltered conversations about trauma, grief, mental health, and healing. She is also a mother to Logan, Mallory, and Mila. In 2016, Brooke’s world was shattered when her son Logan was killed by a distracted driver. In the silence that followed, she found a culture unequipped to talk about child loss, grief, and trauma in any honest way. That silence became her mission. Brooke built Trauma Uncensored to offer what she once needed most: a space to speak openly, without judgment, timelines, or expectation. Through her own story and conversations with survivors, mental health professionals, and others whose lives have been permanently altered, she reminds listeners they are not alone. She believes trauma permanently changes us, but it does not have to define the limits of our lives. IF THIS EPISODE HIT HOME: Subscribe, leave a review, and share it with someone who has ever been told to stay quiet about something that was done to them. It helps more people find these conversations. WANT TO SHARE YOUR STORY? Reach out at hello@traumauncensored.com or email Brooke directly at brooke@traumauncensored.com. CRISIS RESOURCES: If you’re struggling with thoughts of suicide or know someone who is, please call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline for free, confidential support, 24/7. If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 (SAFE) or text “START” to 88788.

  6. Jun 9

    She Lost Her Son to a Broken System. Now She's Changing It. | Mandy Hamlin

    Mandy Hamlin sent her 20-year-old son Cooper to a licensed, accredited rehab facility in California, charging $4,200 a day. She vetted it. She FaceTimed him the night before he died. The next afternoon, she found out he was gone through a voicemail. What followed wasn't just grief. It was the unraveling of a system that failed Cooper at every level, and a mother who refused to let it stay that way. Content Notes: This episode discusses fentanyl poisoning, substance use and addiction, the death of a child, rehab facility negligence, grief, trauma, the criminal justice system, and parental loss. Listener discretion is advised. 00:00 Meet Mandy Hamlin  00:02:03 Who was Cooper?  00:06:58 When things started to change  00:10:02 A nervous system with no outlet: trauma, Covid, and the quiet  00:17:20 Cooper and Mandy vet the facility together  00:20:25 Inside the facility: what $4,200 a day actually looked like  00:24:50 The voicemail  00:26:25 What Cooper's MacBook revealed  00:31:22 Blowing up California: Mandy contacts the state investigator  00:32:37 Tracking down the dealer for $14  00:40:29 The federal indictment and the plea deal  00:44:04 A $2,500 fine and a facility that never closed  00:44:54 The scam hiding in plain sight: rehab fraud and your insurance  00:46:10 Parenting him now: how advocacy became Mandy's mission Website: traumauncensored.com Instagram: @traumauncensored TikTok: @traumauncensored Email the team: hello@traumauncensored.com Email Brooke: brooke@traumauncensored.com About the Guest Mandy Hamlin is a mother and advocate. In 2023, she lost her youngest son Cooper to fentanyl poisoning while he was a patient at a licensed residential rehab facility in California. Rather than accepting a $2,500 fine as the system's final answer, Mandy launched a relentless pursuit of accountability, working with federal investigators, the DEA, and state agencies to see the drug dealer responsible sentenced to 25 years in federal prison. She now advocates for federally mandated transparency standards for rehab facilities so no family has to vet a program blindly again. Cooper was 20 years old. About the Host Brooke Scherer is the creator and host of the Trauma Uncensored Podcast, where she leads honest, unfiltered conversations about trauma, grief, mental health, and healing. She is also a mother to Logan, Mallory, and Mila. In 2016, Brooke’s world was shattered when her son Logan was killed by a distracted driver. In the silence that followed, she found a culture unequipped to talk about child loss, grief, and trauma in any honest way. That silence became her mission. Brooke built Trauma Uncensored to offer what she once needed most: a space to speak openly, without judgment, timelines, or expectation. Through her own story and conversations with survivors, mental health professionals, and others whose lives have been permanently altered, she reminds listeners they are not alone. She believes trauma permanently changes us, but it does not have to define the limits of our lives. If this episode hit home: Subscribe, leave a review, and share it with someone who has ever felt failed by a system that was supposed to help. It helps more people find these conversations. Want to share your story? Reach out at hello@traumauncensored.com or email Brooke directly at brooke@traumauncensored.com. If you’re struggling with thoughts of suicide or know someone who is, please call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline for free, confidential support, 24/7.

  7. Jun 2

    Trauma Changes You: Learning to Live After the Unthinkable | Kelly Guay

    Grief support and trauma healing take on a whole new dimension when you meet someone who has survived what most of us can barely imagine. Kelly Guay has lost her mother, her brother, a stillborn son, her husband, and her father — five profound losses spanning 17 years. And she is still standing. In this conversation, Kelly and Brooke explore what happens when grief keeps coming before you've finished grieving the last loss, how watching her own mother model resilience after tragedy became a blueprint Kelly didn't know she had, and why Kelly refuses to become "a miserable shrew" — even though nobody would blame her if she did. This episode is a masterclass in what it looks like to feel it fully, then ask: now what? Content Notes: This episode discusses multiple losses, stillbirth, spousal loss, grief resilience, faith, spirituality, and intergenerational healing. Listener discretion is advised. Timestamps: 0:00 "It does not matter what your trauma is. It sucks." 2:29 Walking through 25 years of loss 2:50 Losing Mom and Brother (2001–2003): the depression Kelly didn't see coming 4:37 Searching for healing: therapists, faith, and a skeptic's first visit to a medium 11:12 The stillbirth of son at 36 weeks (2011) 12:42 The dream that brought peace: Mom finally had a grandchild 14:20 "At this point, I think I could lead the support group" 16:20 Do prior losses prime you for future grief? Brooke and Kelly explore 17:40 Losing Dad in 2018: the hardest one — "my last cheerleader" 19:41 Brooke shares her own grief evolution and spirituality 24:17 Kelly's mother lost her son David in 1971: "Good things can happen from bad things" 26:34 How watching a grieving mother model joy shaped Kelly's entire foundation 28:03 The parenting philosophy: feel it, then "now what?" Connect with Trauma Uncensored Website: traumauncensored.com Instagram: @traumauncensored YouTube: @traumauncensored TikTok: @traumauncensored Email the team: hello@traumauncensored.com Email Brooke: brooke@traumauncensored.com About the Host Brooke Scherer | Creator and Host Brooke Scherer is the creator and host of the Trauma Uncensored Podcast, where she leads honest, unfiltered conversations about trauma, grief, mental health, and healing. She is also a mother to Logan, Mallory, and Mila. In 2016, Brooke's world was shattered when her son Logan was killed by a distracted driver. In the silence that followed, she found a culture unequipped to talk about child loss, grief, and trauma in any honest way. That silence became her mission. Brooke built Trauma Uncensored to offer what she once needed most: A space to speak openly, without judgment, timelines, or expectation. Through her own story and conversations with survivors, mental health professionals, and others whose lives have been permanently altered, she reminds listeners they are not alone. She believes trauma permanently changes us, but it does not have to define the limits of our lives. IF THIS EPISODE RESONATED Subscribe, share it with someone who's been carrying grief longer than they'd like to admit, and leave a review — it helps more people find these conversations. WANT TO SHARE YOUR STORY? Reach out at hello@traumauncensored.com or email Brooke directly at brooke@traumauncensored.com. CRISIS RESOURCES If you're struggling with thoughts of suicide or know someone who is, please call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline for free, confidential support, 24/7. If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 (SAFE) or text "START" to 88788.

  8. May 26

    Grief on Grief: The Weight of Being the Helper | Alisha McGuire

    What happens when the person helping families through death is quietly carrying grief of her own at home? Alisha sat with families in their most devastating moments while simultaneously managing a long-distance caregiving role for her mother—diagnosed with stage four lung cancer and given months to live. She lived two and a half years. This is a conversation about grief layered on grief, the weight of being the helper, generational trauma patterns, and what it actually looks like to protect yourself when your job is to hold other people’s worst days. Content Note: This episode discusses terminal illness, pediatric death, grief, compassion fatigue, caregiver burnout, childhood trauma, complicated family relationships, and end-of-life decision-making. Listener discretion is advised. Website: traumauncensored.com Instagram: @traumauncensored TikTok: @traumauncensored Email the team: hello@traumauncensored.com Email Brooke: brooke@traumauncensored.com Resources Mentioned in This Episode What Is a Genogram? https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-a-genogram-5217739 Alisha McGuire is a pediatric palliative care social worker with nearly a decade of experience sitting alongside families in the most devastating moments of their lives. She entered the field during one of the hardest seasons of her own—simultaneously managing long-distance caregiving for her mother, who had been diagnosed with stage four lung cancer with multiple metastases and given only months to live. Her mother chose palliative radiation over aggressive treatment, and defied expectations by living two and a half years—time that allowed Alisha to do something she hadn’t been able to do before: let go of the pain in their complicated relationship and be truly present. What she calls “the knowing”—a deeper empathy earned through living through profound loss—has fundamentally changed the way she shows up for grieving families. As a new mother herself, Alisha is now navigating the same generational patterns she helps others recognize, and speaking openly about what witnessing pediatric death every day is doing to her nervous system. Her work is a reminder that the helpers grieve too, and that there is no sustainability without honest reckoning with what this work costs. Brooke Scherer is the creator and host of the Trauma Uncensored Podcast, where she leads honest, unfiltered conversations about trauma, grief, mental health, and healing. She is also a mother to Logan, Mallory, and Mila. In 2016, Brooke’s world was shattered when her son Logan was killed by a distracted driver. In the silence that followed, she found a culture unequipped to talk about child loss, grief, and trauma in any honest way. That silence became her mission. Brooke built Trauma Uncensored to offer what she once needed most: a space to speak openly, without judgment, timelines, or expectation. Through her own story and conversations with survivors, mental health professionals, and others whose lives have been permanently altered, she reminds listeners they are not alone. She believes trauma permanently changes us, but it does not have to define the limits of our lives. If this episode hit home: Subscribe, leave a review, and share it with someone who is carrying the weight of caregiving, grief, or a job that asks too much of their heart. It helps more people find these conversations. Want to share your story? Reach out at hello@traumauncensored.com or email Brooke directly at brooke@traumauncensored.com. If you’re struggling with thoughts of suicide or know someone who is, please call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline for free, confidential support, 24/7.

See All (64)

5
out of 5
20 Ratings

About

Trauma Uncensored is a weekly trauma and grief podcast about what life actually looks like after everything changes. Hosted by Brooke Scherer, the show begins with the loss of her 9-year-old son Logan, who was killed by a distracted driver in 2016. What followed wasn't closure. It was courtrooms, headlines, and years of trying to survive something no one prepares you for. This is the unfiltered side of trauma recovery: Real survivor stories, honest conversations about grief and healing, and the tools that actually help.

Information

  • Creator
    Brooke Scherer
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    64
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Brooke Scherer
  • Show Website
    Trauma Uncensored

You Might Also Like