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How a marriage slowly tightened into coercive control. We sit down with Manisha to trace the subtle beginnings of abuse, rules about food and clothes, isolation disguised as tradition and the long arc toward reclaiming safety, dignity and voice. What starts as cultural expectation becomes gaslighting, invisible bruises and sexual coercion designed to leave no evidence. The most searing image arrives when her eight-year-old stands between parents, arms wide and Manisha decides to change the story.

Across this conversation, we unpack how abusers test limits, how communities can unknowingly enable harm and why “why didn’t she just leave?” misses the complexity of risk, finances, visas and the law. Manisha shares the quiet tactics that kept her children safer, the calculated steps to rebuild employability and savings, and the strategic move to a country where protection was possible. Freedom, she explains, wasn’t a finish line. After the move came the crash of CPTSD, depression and the hard work of therapy that shifted shame back to the perpetrator and named sexual violence for what it was.

What emerges is a grounded roadmap for survivors and allies to recognise patterns of narcissistic abuse, document and plan, learn your legal options and build a discreet support web. We talk about raising strong kids after violence, reclaiming identity beyond roles and finding meaning through advocacy. Manisha’s lens is clear and hopeful, if 20 years were taken, the next 20 can be lived at full volume. Listen for practical insight, hard-won wisdom and a reminder that safety, healing and autonomy are possible.

If this story resonates, subscribe, share with someone who needs it, and leave a review to help more listeners find Everyday Warriors. Your support helps amplify voices that save lives.

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Music Credit: Cody Martin - Sunrise (first 26 episodes) then custom made for me.

Disclaimer: The views, opinions, and stories shared on this podcast are personal to the host and guests and are not intended to serve as professional advice or guidance. They reflect individual experiences and perspectives. While we strive to provide valuable insights and support, listeners are encouraged to seek professional advice for their specific situations. The host and production team are not responsible for any actions taken based on the content of this podcast.

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A single slip on a wet morning changed everything. Rosie spent 42 years as a research nurse, then a head injury, a misdiagnosis and an atypical stroke forced a brutal reset. What followed wasn’t a neat comeback arc, rather a slow, honest rebuild guided by hope, intuition and the surprising medicine of art.

We dive into the reality of post-concussion syndrome, the pressure to perform while your brain says no and the fear that comes with losing a professional identity you’ve held for decades. Rosie shares the 12 days she spent in hospital after a silent stroke disrupted her vestibular system, the months of being housebound and the moment she asked the question that opened a new path. Why am I still here? From there, she began listening inward, funding an intuition course by selling a painting in 24 hours and discovering intentional creativity as a way to transmute trauma into tangible remedies.

You’ll hear how medicine painting became nervous system tools, how childhood programming and perfectionism gave way to self-trust and why neuroplasticity and spiritual practice belong in the same sentence. Rosie co-generated a bestselling book chapter with the Empowering Women Alliance, then stepped into leadership to help more women become authentically expressed and unapologetically powerful. We connect the dots between science and spirit, software updates for your beliefs and the practical steps that turn a whisper of hope into daily change.

If you’re navigating loss, burnout, or a life transition, this conversation offers a grounded blueprint for starting again, one small, compassionate choice at a time. Subscribe, share with someone who needs a nudge toward their own reboot, and leave a review to help more Everyday Warriors find us. What part of your life is ready for an update?

Connect with Rosie on Facebook or LinkedIn

See Rosies website here

Support the show

Thanks for listening in!

Contact me directly at https://everydaywarriorspodcast.com.au or head to
Instagram https://www.instagram.com.au/_trudie_marie or
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/trudie.dwyer

Support the Podcast - Buy me a Coffee

Buy my Book here

Apply to be a guest here

Music Credit: Cody Martin - Sunrise (first 26 episodes) then custom made for me.

Disclaimer: The views, opinions, and stories shared on this podcast are personal to the host and guests and are not intended to serve as professional advice or guidance. They reflect individual experiences and perspectives. While we strive to provide valuable insights and support, listeners are encouraged to seek professional advice for their specific situations. The host and production team are not responsible for any actions taken based on the content of this podcast.

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A house build in Cape Town changed everything. Christopher had the degrees, the London job and the momentum. Yet one day volunteering added two dimensions to travel that a corner office never could, genuine connection with local people and the joy of making a lasting difference. We explore how that spark became Hands Up Holidays, a tailor-made way for families to blend adventure with meaningful service, and why parents say these journeys raise kinder, braver kids.

We dig into the early years, delaying the business launch to scout projects worldwide, learning to ask networks for help and discovering that families, not just time-poor professionals, were hungry for purpose-led travel. You’ll hear the stories that stay with you from children who played with classmates in rural Morocco who then chose to send their Christmas gifts to the school to a family so changed by the Sunderbans in India that they returned for a full year to volunteer. We talk practicalities too and how bespoke itineraries work with local guides, what to consider when planning around peak seasons and why accommodation often sets the timeline.

This episode is a little different showcasing standout projects with real impact. How recycled-bottle solar heaters in Argentina cut costs and waste, how eco-stoves in Belize reduce burns and asthma and how a long standing partnership with a forward looking Maasai community supporting girls’ education and safety. We also unpack intergenerational travel (grandparents, parents and kids) and how service abroad often inspires service at home.

If you want travel that forms character, strengthens family bonds and benefits the communities you visit, this conversation is your map. Christopher is creating a world of Everyday Warriors!

Explore Hand Up Holidays here

Connect with Christopher on Instagram here

Support the show

Thanks for listening in!

Contact me directly at https://everydaywarriorspodcast.com.au or head to
Instagram https://www.instagram.com.au/_trudie_marie or
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/trudie.dwyer

Support the Podcast - Buy me a Coffee

Buy my Book here

Apply to be a guest here

Music Credit: Cody Martin - Sunrise (first 26 episodes) then custom made for me.

Disclaimer: The views, opinions, and stories shared on this podcast are personal to the host and guests and are not intended to serve as professional advice or guidance. They reflect individual experiences and perspectives. While we strive to provide valuable insights and support, listeners are encouraged to seek professional advice for their specific situations. The host and production team are not responsible for any actions taken based on the content of this podcast.