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

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 [https://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 [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.

27 Years of Abuse Before She Had Nothing Left to Lose | Marla Grant's Story

Childhood trauma doesn't just shape your past; it shapes who you think you deserve to become.  For Marla Grant, it shaped 27 years of surviving domestic violence, PTSD, complex trauma, and the calculated plan it took to finally leave. This isn't a trauma healing story with a clean arc. It's a real-life story about staying because leaving felt more dangerous, dealing with grief you're not allowed to name, and the healing journey that starts when you finally have nothing left to lose. Content Notes: This episode discusses domestic violence, sexual assault, childhood trauma, emotional abuse, alcoholism, generational trauma, and survival. Listener discretion is advised. Connect with Trauma Uncensored Website: traumauncensored.com [https://traumauncensored.com] Instagram: @traumauncensored TikTok: @traumauncensored Email the team: hello@traumauncensored.com Email Brooke: brooke@traumauncensored.com About the Guest Marla Grant is a crisis counselor, grief coach, and domestic violence survivor who spent 27 years in an abusive marriage before leaving at age 48 with nothing but her life, her children, and $16,000 in debt. Her story isn't about one breaking point. It's about the slow accumulation of control, violence, and hypervigilance that defined her adult life, and the childhood patterns that set her up to accept it all as normal. At 21, Marla married a man fresh out of Vietnam with unaddressed trauma, alcoholism, and a sex addiction she didn't yet have the language to name. Over nearly three decades, she learned to manage his volatility, protect her children, and calculate when it would finally be safe enough to leave. That moment came after a sexual assault, weeks after he threw a leaded crystal glass at her shoulder hard enough to send her to the emergency room. Today, Marla uses her lived experience to help others navigate grief, loss, and the long road to acceptance after trauma. She works as a crisis counselor and supports clients through the kind of pain she once carried alone. Her approach is grounded in the belief that acceptance doesn't mean condoning what happened. It means refusing to let it rule your life. Marla's work is a reminder that healing doesn't follow a timeline, survival takes many forms, and you don't owe anyone an explanation for how long it took you to save yourself. 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 (fill in specific content). 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.

Big T vs Little T | Why Every Trauma Matters—A Therapist's Confession | Jarrod Hoffman

We've all heard it: 'He's just being a boy' or 'He'll grow out of it.' But what if he doesn't? What if that 'phase' is actually deeply rooted shame? Today, therapist Jarrod Hoffman joins us to pull back the curtain on the silent epidemic facing teen boys. At 11 years old, Jarrod found pornography. Or more accurately, it found him. What started as curiosity quickly became a numbing mechanism after his parents divorced, a pattern that followed him for years. In this raw conversation, Jarrod shares his journey from a boy desperate to be seen, through years of hidden shame and addiction, to becoming a therapist who now helps other teen boys break the same cycle. If you're raising a son, mentoring a teen, or carrying this story yourself, this conversation is a roadmap for healing before the patterns become permanent. Content Notes: This episode discusses divorce, pornography addiction, childhood trauma, shame, mental health challenges, and sexual behavior. Listener discretion is advised. Connect with Trauma Uncensored * Website: traumauncensored.com [https://traumauncensored.com] * Instagram: @traumauncensored * TikTok: @traumauncensored * Email the team: hello@traumauncensored.com * Email Brooke: brooke@traumauncensored.com Resources Mentioned in This Episode * Unwanted by Jay Stringer - https://a.co/d/0ji7xUyS [https://a.co/d/0ji7xUyS] * Fight the New Drug - fightthenewdrug.org [https://fightthenewdrug.org]. * 20 Questions to Evaluate Sexual Addiction https://www.sa.org/ [https://www.sa.org/] * Free Parent Quiz - https://jarrodhoffman.com/does-my-teen-need-therapy/ [https://jarrodhoffman.com/does-my-teen-need-therapy/] * Newsletter: https://jarrodhoffman.com/ [https://jarrodhoffman.com/] About the Guest: Jarrod Hoffman is a licensed therapist in Tennessee who specializes in working with teenage boys navigating pornography addiction, unwanted sexual behavior, and trauma. His work is deeply personal: at 11 years old, Jarrod was exposed to pornography shortly after his parents' divorce, and what started as curiosity became a numbing mechanism that followed him into adulthood. After years of wrestling with shame in isolation, Jarrod found healing through therapy, EMDR, and the realization that his story could help others break the same cycle. Today, Jarrod works with adolescent boys in person and virtually across Tennessee, helping them understand the root stories behind their behaviors rather than just treating symptoms. He uses play therapy, curiosity-driven exploration, and evidence-based modalities to meet teens where they are, not where adults want them to be. Jarrod also created a free quiz for parents called 'Does Your Teen Need Therapy?' to help families identify when typical adolescent behavior has crossed into something deeper. His approach is rooted in the belief that shame thrives in secrecy, and that the question isn't 'What's wrong with you?' but 'What happened to you?' For Jarrod, helping teen boys heal means helping them feel seen, often for the first time. Connect with Jarrod at jarrodhoffman.com [https://jarrodhoffman.com]. 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. 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 hear it. 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.

She Lost Her Husband to ALS, Then His Brother 4 Months Later | Rita Peters

Rita Peters lost her husband Shawn to familial ALS in February 2022. Four months later, she lost his younger brother to the same disease. In this conversation, Rita walks Brooke through what it actually feels like to grieve someone every day for months before they are gone, why year two of widowhood broke her body in ways she never expected, and the moment her son told her she had “made a museum” out of their home that finally cracked her open to healing. This episode is for anyone navigating anticipatory grief, caregiver burnout, sudden identity loss, or the messy nonlinear work of rebuilding yourself after the person who shaped you is gone. Rita is a prosecutor, mother, and now first-time author whose honesty about therapy, shopping addiction, chronic pain, and figuring out “what kind of eggs she likes” will stay with you long after the credits roll. Connect with Trauma Uncensored * Website: traumauncensored.com * Instagram: @traumauncensored * TikTok: @traumauncensored * Email the team: hello@traumauncensored.com * Email Brooke: brooke@traumauncensored.com Content Warning: This episode discusses terminal illness, caregiving, anticipatory grief, death, and genetic disease risk. About the Guest Rita Peters is a career prosecutor, mother of two, and author whose life was upended in 2021 when her husband Shawn was diagnosed with familial ALS, the same disease that had taken his father and would take his younger brother just months after Shawn's death in February 2022. Rita served as Shawn's primary caregiver while continuing to prosecute sex crimes and human trafficking cases, then walked a four-year road through grief, identity loss, and what she calls reinvention. She wrote a book about her ALS journey as her own form of therapy and now speaks openly about anticipatory grief, caregiver trauma, and the lifelong reality of carrying genetic risk forward to her children. 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 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.

Active Shooter PTSD: The Call That Broke a Boston Police Officer | Chris Carr

Brooke sits down with Chris Carr, a 20 year Boston Police officer whose career spans patrol, special operations, SWAT, and now the academy. Chris shares how law enforcement ran in his family, then walks through the moment his “normal day” in 2021 turned into gunfire through a door and an image that still lives in his body. From there, the conversation moves into what happened after the scene cleared, panic attacks, night terrors, drinking, and the fear of losing control. Chris and Brooke also talk about the stigma of being seen as weak, why peer support can feel risky even when it exists, and how the job can desensitize you in ways your family feels first. Brooke connects that to her own dad, and what she misunderstood for years after Logan’s death. This episode is a grounded look at what trauma does over time and what changes when you finally let someone in. In This Episode We Explore * Family legacy and the path into policing; * A 2021 barricaded call that changed everything; * Panic attacks, night terrors, and the cost of holding it in; * Stigma, peer support, and the fear of looking weak; * Desensitization and the impact on families. Connect with Trauma Uncensored * Website: traumauncensored.com * Instagram: @traumauncensored * TikTok: @traumauncensored * Email the team: hello@traumauncensored.com * Email Brooke: brooke@traumauncensored.com Content Warning: This episode includes discussion of gun violence, an officer involved shooting scene, workplace trauma, panic attacks and night terrors, alcohol use, strong language, and the impact of cumulative trauma on families. About the Guest Chris Carr is a 20-year veteran of the Boston Police Department, with experience in patrol, SWAT, Special Operations, and now the Police Academy. Coming from a multi-generational law enforcement family, Chris built what many would see as a dream career, while quietly carrying the weight of cumulative trauma. In 2021, a call where three teammates were shot in front of him forced everything to the surface. What followed were night terrors, panic attacks, and emotional collapse. With the support of his wife and team, he sought help and began healing through EMDR. Today, Chris has stepped away from SWAT, prioritizes his family, and serves as an academy instructor, using his story to mentor the next generation. 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 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 you are 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.