Stop Child Abuse Now (SCAN) - 1570

Tonight's special guest is Winnie Anderson from Lewiston, New York, an abuse survivor, author, podcaster, livestreamer, and business coach / trainer. Winnie tells me her mother was the chief abuser, saying, "She made it clear to us throughout our lives that she never wanted any of us and hated being a mom." Winnie goes on, "My earliest memories are of her telling me as I was ugly, stupid, worthless, and would never amount to anything." She was also neglected. "As I got older, even though I never had a boy express any sort of interest in me, my mom would constantly accuse me of being a slut and a whore." Winnie's adult life wasn't a lot better. "The few emotional relationships I had with men were just completely screwed up. I was terrified of becoming a bitch like my mother (who verbally abused my dad). So I rarely if ever voiced an opinion and was prey for manipulative men." In 1999 Winnie was in a bad car accident in 1999 that left her with a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). The recovery was slow and frustrating. "The belief that I was inadequate and worthless just flooded me." She realized that the strategies she'd adopted to survive her childhood were actively holding her back. In therapy Winnie began to get better. "While I wish I hadn't grown up in such a hurtful, abusive environment I'm able to recognize the gifts I developed specifically because of that environment. It laid the foundation for me becoming the person I am today." She explains, "I've decided that my mission is to help other survivors who are solopreneurs / entrepreneurs to recognize how the strategies they developed as children to survive the toxic stress of their abusive childhood is no longer serving them and actively holding them back."