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Note: This episode was originally released when the podcast was called Biggest Best Life. The show has since been rebranded to She’s Got the Mic, where we focus on helping women speakers and entrepreneurs use their voice to grow their business and step on more stages.

In this powerful episode of Biggest Best Life, Lauren sits down with author, speaker, and advocate Michelle Jewsbury to explore the hidden realities of domestic violence, psychological abuse, and the long road to healing.

This conversation dives deep into the early signs of emotional manipulation, why survivors struggle to leave abusive relationships, and how reclaiming your voice can become the turning point toward freedom. Michelle shares her personal story—from childhood trauma to an abusive relationship that nearly cost her everything—and the exact moment that shifted everything and set her on a path to healing, advocacy, and global impact.

Michelle is the founder of Unsilenced Voices, a nonprofit serving survivors of domestic violence and human trafficking internationally. She also leads the bestselling book series Breaking the Silence, helping survivors share their stories and transform their pain into purpose.

This episode is a must-listen for anyone who has experienced trauma, supports survivors, or wants to understand the deep psychological patterns behind abusive relationships. It’s also an empowering reminder that healing is possible, your story matters, and you are never alone.

What We Cover in This Episode

• Childhood trauma and early experiences with family separation
How early abandonment shaped Michelle's beliefs about herself and created patterns that later influenced her relationships.

• The subtle red flags of emotional and psychological abuse
The early warning signs survivors often miss, including love bombing, fast attachment, isolation, control around money, and manipulation disguised as care.

• Why survivors stay
A clear and compassionate explanation of the brainwashing, bonding, trauma cycles, financial abuse, fear, and psychological conditioning that keep victims trapped.

• The first act of physical violence and how abuse escalates over time
How one moment becomes a pattern, and how survivors learn to minimize danger to survive it.

• The breaking point and what finally made her leave
The shocking discovery that snapped her into clarity and began her healing journey.

• How storytelling became a tool for healing and empowerment
The therapeutic act of writing her experience, her solo play, and why telling the truth is essential for reclaiming identity.

• Founding Unsilenced Voices and creating global impact
How Michelle began working in Ghana, Sierra Leone, Rwanda, and the US to support survivors of domestic violence, human trafficking, and extreme poverty.

• Financial abuse and why it must be part of the domestic violence conversation
How abusers use credit, money, and debt to trap victims, and what needs to change.

• Advice for anyone who feels trapped in an abusive relationship
Practical steps, documentation strategies, safety planning, and how to take the first brave step forward.

• What the world misunderstands about domestic violence survivors
Why victim-blaming is still widespread and the mindset shift society desperately needs.

• How Michelle rebuilt her life and found healthy love
Her new relationship, her boundaries, and the

To be played at opening of all SGTM episodes, this is a promo for the Speakers Collective.

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