April 7, 2025 • 47 mins
In 2019 Tracy Otto was a college student in Tampa, and a fitness fanatic. Then a violent attack by an ex-boyfriend changed her life forever. She was left paralysed from the chest down, and lost her left eye.
But that’s only the beginning of Tracy’s story. In the aftermath of the attack, she rebuilt her life through sheer force of will, and discovered a passion for archery. That passion would take her all the way to the very top of elite sport: the 2024 Paris Paralympics.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey, listener, I just wanted to give you a heads
up that this episode contains some mentions of violence and
abuse and a very brief mention of suicidal ideation. But
it's also full of hope and joy and it's a
testament to the power of finding your passion. Plus there's
a baby, So do skip if you need, and if not,
(00:24):
I hope you love this chat as much as I did.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
I'm just looking at the target with this little dot
on it, and it's fifteen meters away. I'm so in
this headspace that I'm not paying attention to what's going
on around me. It's almost like tunnel vision.
Speaker 1 (00:43):
Traciotto is at the shooting line of an archery range
holding a bow and arrow.
Speaker 2 (00:49):
We're getting ready to shoot the seventy two euros for qualification.
The venue's beautiful. It's just kind of out in this
field in the middle of the Czech Republic. Weather was great.
It was a little hot, but luckily I had the tent,
so I had a little bit of shade that was
barking me.
Speaker 1 (01:06):
Her wheelchair is carefully planted at just the right angle.
On either side of her are the other competitors. They're
so close that they could almost bump elbows. It's twenty
twenty three and this is Tracy's first international archery competition,
and so she's feeling a little nervous.
Speaker 2 (01:27):
My first shot, I kid you, not my first shot.
I let the arrow go and all of a sudden,
I hear this loud thing and everyone turns and looks
at me, and I realized I hit not the target,
but the number above the target, like that tells you
(01:48):
your which target number you have. And it was so
loud and everyone just stared at me. It was incredibly embarrassing.
Speaker 1 (01:57):
But Tracy isn't going to let that false start throw
her off. Her boyfriend Ricky passes her another arrow and
she reloads. She takes aim again. The arrow soars over
the field, and this time Tracy hits her target.
Speaker 2 (02:17):
It's such a rush and it feels so good. It's
almost a very addicting feeling because you're like, oh, I
have to do it again. I want to do it again.
I have to have that feeling again.
Speaker 1 (02:27):
So she does it again and again and again.
Speaker 2 (02:33):
In that moment when you realize that you've hit the
bull's eye and everything has just kind of come to
fruition and your goal of what you're trying to do.
Everything feels right in the world, everything feels in harmony
between you and your equipment. Everything just kind of all
(02:55):
encompassing works.
Speaker 1 (03:01):
Tracy Otto was born to be an athlete. She's not
just a wicked shot. She's also one of the most
determined people that I've ever met, and she's had to be.
To say that the universe has thrown a hell of
a lot of crap at Tracy would be a massive understatement.
(03:22):
That passion for archery you can hear in Tracy's voice
helped her reclaim her life after a violent attack, and
it took her to the very top of competitive sport.
Now she's blazing a trail to inspire people all over
the world, and it's almost enough to make me want
to pick up a bow and arrow and myself. I'm
(03:45):
Anna Sinfield and from the teams at Novel and iHeart Podcasts,
this is the Girlfriend's Spotlight, where we tell stories of
women women today. Tracy hits the Ball's Eye in January
(04:18):
twenty eighteen. Tracy is in her early twenties and she's
living in Chicago. She's just got out of a relationship
and is definitely not in a hurry to meet someone,
but when a new bar opens up nearby, Tracy's friend
can't resist pointing out one of the bartenders.
Speaker 2 (04:35):
She's like, oh, look at look at that guy. He's
super cute. Because she was single too, I wasn't super interested.
I was like, yeah, he's cutea yeas like whatever, just
kind of let it brush by.
Speaker 1 (04:48):
A couple of weeks later, Tracy and her friend are
back at the same spot and they see the bartender again.
Speaker 2 (04:54):
He was running back and forth doing his thing, and
we were just sitting at the bar, and I just
remember him passing notes back and forth to me, just
trying to get to know me a little bit. But
he was so busy he couldn't sit down and.
Speaker 1 (05:09):
Talk like a real school tactic.
Speaker 2 (05:12):
Yeah. It kind of made me think of like middle
school or something. Yeah, and he asked for my number.
I gave it to him, so he's passing the notes,
got his number, and then things just kind of went
from there.
Speaker 1 (05:23):
Frank the balltender doesn't want to type things slur with Tracy.
In fact, he's a bit full on.
Speaker 2 (05:29):
He was kind of love bombing me and like giving
me all these little trinkets and these little things like
from Walmart or little gifts or whatever. Afterward, we would
go to Ihop with his mom actually, and he knew
somebody there, I guess, and he would write little love
notes and the pancakes for me, and I'm like, this
(05:52):
is it. This is what it's supposed to be. I
thought at the time, this was my person. We ended
up moving to Florida in August of twenty eighteen.
Speaker 1 (06:02):
That's very quick, yeah, moving all the way away from family.
Speaker 2 (06:07):
Yeah, But there was part of me that was just
ready to go do it. And I was like, Okay,
let's just go. Let's take a chance, Let's live life
and see what happens.
Speaker 1 (06:20):
The two of them move into a rental house in Florida.
Tracy dreams of being a doctor. She starts a pre
med course at the University of Tampa and joins the
local gym. At this point in her life, Tracy is
able bodied and a fitness fanatic.
Speaker 2 (06:37):
I was meeting so many new people, making my girlfriends, like,
you know, building my little tribe. And he didn't like
that very much, especially because I remember some of my
friends that I was making telling me I don't really
like him. They never was like oh he's abusive, or
like he's this horrible person. But they're like, something's a
(07:00):
little bit off about him, I guess you can say.
And I started to see it.
Speaker 1 (07:04):
Frank isn't the affectionate, romantic she met in Chicago anymore.
He's more withdrawn and always wanting to look at her phone.
Tracy is constantly having to pick up extra workshifts to
cover their bills, and understandably, it starts to wear on her.
Speaker 2 (07:20):
I ended up having to drop out of the University
of Tampa because I was working so much, Like I
was working almost twelve hour shifts and had no time
for school. And I was in the car on the
phone with him, and I said, I was screaming. I
was like, I am twenty two, twenty three years old,
and I'm not living my life. And it's like, why
(07:41):
aren't you taking some of this responsibility, Why aren't you helping.
Speaker 1 (07:46):
One day, a year after their move to Florida, something
happens which makes it crystal clear to Tracy that Frank
isn't the person she thought he was.
Speaker 2 (07:55):
We were fighting and he smashed my phone, I remember,
and he was about to smash my laptop, so that
I couldn't get a hold of anybody, and he grabbed
me and threw me across the room. He threw me
so hard that I landed really weird and like I
got a bunch of bruises and it was just really bad.
(08:15):
I ended up calling the police on him a few
days later to make a statement because I'm like my
friends that were with me at the time, they were like,
that's not normal.
Speaker 1 (08:25):
The police arrest Frank, but someone close to him convinces
Tracy to drop the charges.
Speaker 2 (08:31):
She told me not to tell anybody that everything was fine,
that it was just you know, a moment in time
that we just had a bad fight, that he wasn't
that person. I guess you could say I actually I
picked him up from jail.
Speaker 1 (08:49):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (08:50):
Yeah, I was the first person that he saw when
he came out of jail.
Speaker 1 (08:55):
And why did you do that? I don't know.
Speaker 2 (08:58):
I remember just feeling he's so guilty, not guilty, but
like guilt's not the word. I don't even know how
to explain it, but I just I felt horrible that
he went to jail because of me, Like I felt
like it was my fault that he was being violent
and not able to control himself. I guess.
Speaker 1 (09:20):
After Frank's violent outburst, Tracy knows she needs to end things.
Speaker 2 (09:25):
I kicked him out. He gathered all of his stuff
and left the house.
Speaker 1 (09:30):
Tracy is determined to build her life back up. She
works as shifts at the local golf club bar and
tries to focus on herself, but then when she least
expects it, she meets someone new.
Speaker 2 (09:43):
It's another bar story, but this time I was the bartender.
Speaker 1 (09:47):
You got to stop hanging out at bus I know
what the heck?
Speaker 2 (09:50):
I just I got to stop doing that. But I'm
at work and I'm bartending a celebration of life. And
Ricky came in for the of life because he knew
the person that passed away, And he tells me that
as soon as he walked in the room, he's like,
I'm going to marry that girl. That girl's mind smooth.
(10:11):
Yeah right. He comes to the bar and all night
he keeps trying to go to me. I noticed, like
him ordering the same thing over and over again. He
kept getting Miller lights. But I, like, I had everything
going on with Frank, and I just I wasn't in
that headspace to necessarily open myself up to another relationship
just given everything that was going on. Later, we end
(10:34):
up talking and I hung out with him all night
and we FaceTime all the time going from that day
and we talk all day every day.
Speaker 1 (10:45):
Ricky makes Tracy smile and he's totally smitten all day.
He keeps sending her country love songs a little cheesy maybe,
but sweet. It turns out that he lives in Chicago,
where Tracy grew up, so they're right to have their
first date there when she's home visiting family.
Speaker 2 (11:04):
We went to a rooftop bar over the city and
had a glass of wine and we saw someone getting engaged.
It was magical.
Speaker 1 (11:12):
When Tracy returns to Florida, Ricky comes to. They spend
a couple of days hanging out at her place, doing
all those typical new couple things.
Speaker 2 (11:21):
We go grocery shopping to grab some stuff. We're gonna
have a little date night at my house. He's gonna
cook me dinner because Ricky, they're really good cook. I
have you know, a bottle of wine, have a super
cute night that evening. A friend stops by unexpectedly. Ricky
makes pasta for them all. It's a totally normal night.
Speaker 1 (11:39):
But after the friend leaves, Ricky starts to feel a
little bit strange.
Speaker 2 (11:45):
I remember him saying, should we spend the night at
one of my friend's houses, because I guess he had
a weird feeling I don't know, And I was like, well,
I don't. I don't want to leave the dogs again
because I had just gotten back from that trip and
I had no I need to watch them because Frank
had alienated me from all my friends. And then we
(12:05):
go in the room. We flip on the TV, and
I took my last sip of wine and I put
the wine glass down on my nightstand and I turn
over and we're getting ready for bed, and we said
good night, and I just remember the feeling of the
cool sheets on my body, and I drifted off to sleep.
(12:26):
And then I was woken up by a really really
bright flashlight and someone's screaming at me to get out
of bed. And I was like, what is going on?
Because I was dead asleep, and I realized it was Frank.
He wakes us up, screaming at us to get out
of bed. I take the covers off, I slowly get
out of bed, and I start to walk towards him,
(12:49):
and I saw the gun, and I just I remember
that feeling of my heart falling out of my chest
and be like, okay, this is how I die.
Speaker 1 (13:11):
After the break, Tracy wakes up. The first thing Tracy
hears when she wakes up in hospital is the sound
(13:32):
of a camera shutter. A detective is standing over her
bed taking pictures of her body.
Speaker 2 (13:39):
When I came into consciousness, I knew something bad had happened,
and I knew who did it, but I didn't know
exactly what. My body felt different. It's almost like have
you ever had work done on your teeth? Yes, yeah,
how they numb you. Yeah, that feeling of it just
(14:02):
being numb is what my whole body feels like.
Speaker 1 (14:05):
Kind of alien.
Speaker 2 (14:07):
Yeah, not pressure or buzzing, but just different.
Speaker 1 (14:14):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (14:14):
So I knew something was wrong, but like I said,
I just I didn't know what. And my thought was
just Ricky. And I remember just calling out for him,
like not even being able to speak. I'm just like,
where's Ricky? Like what happened.
Speaker 1 (14:32):
When the doctors realize she's awake, they tell Tracy everything.
Frank used a spare key to get into the house
and attack Tracy and Ricky with a knife and a
high powered pellet gun, like the kind you used to
kill small animals. They were both shot multiple times and stabbed.
It's honestly a miracle that either of them are still alive.
(14:55):
Ricky has a clapse lung and hearing loss in one ear.
Tracy lost an eye and is now paralyzed from the
chest down. It's overwhelming and even harder for Tracy to
process because she's still drifting in and out of consciousness.
Speaker 2 (15:10):
I'm in the ICU and I was intubated because I
couldn't breathe on my own because of how high my
spinal cord injury is. So I had the surgery on
my throat, my eye. They sewed up the back of
my neck, and Ricky was in another part of the hospital,
so he was trying to get to me, but he
was in this hospital gown with the back open, running
(15:33):
down the hallway to get to the ICU to find me.
When he comes in, I opened my eyes a little
bit and I tried to talk to him, and I
couldn't because of the tubes, and I started gagging, and
I remember hearing them just go don't talk, don't talk,
and then I lose consciousness again, but I remember seeing
(15:53):
his face through like my eyelashes. But here's the picture.
This is the first time we saw each other. Yeah,
I like to call it our iconic picture.
Speaker 1 (16:06):
It's obviously tragic because you're there in your gown and
Ricky's kind of looking at you, and you've got this
brace on and tubes and you both look like you're,
you know, in a sorry state. But also there's something
so beautiful about it, Like the way he's looking at you,
there's so much love.
Speaker 2 (16:24):
Yeah, I feel that, to the way he has his
hand on my forehead, and yeah, I love hate that picture.
I can understand that because it's like it shows all
the damage that was done, but at the same time,
it's the start of something so beautiful.
Speaker 1 (16:42):
It's really wild to me to think about just how
new Tracy and Ricky's relationship was at this point, Like
they'd only been on one official date and hung out
for a few days, and now they've gone through this
unbelievably traumatic or deal. I think a lot of people
would call it quits after that. For Tracy and Ricky,
it was only the beginning, but they still had a
(17:05):
long road of recovery ahead.
Speaker 2 (17:08):
Physical therapy started right away when I was in the hospital,
like sitting me up and getting me to move, but
I was constantly passing out, so it wasn't going very well.
This was a catastrophic injury. I'm literally like an infant again,
not even because I don't have control over my muscles,
but just learning how to live life again.
Speaker 1 (17:27):
Ricky recovered more quickly than Tracy, and so he helped
to care for her, and day by day in the hospital,
she regained her strength.
Speaker 2 (17:36):
They brought me in breakfast, and Ricky was sitting on
the couch kind of right next to me, under the window,
and he was about maybe three four feet away from me,
and we had just gotten into a little bickerment, not
an argument, not bickering, but a bickerment, and they brought
me breakfast and he asked me if I wanted help
(17:59):
with it. I was like, no, I got it, Like
I'll figure it out, because I was being stubborn as
I always am, and I look at everything and I'm like, crap,
how am I going to do this? Because my paralysis
affects my hands. I can wiggle my fingers, but there's
no strength behind them. So I'm sitting there, I'm looking
at my breakfast it's cereal, and I have a spoon,
(18:20):
and I have a little carton of milk. Then you
wouldn't think that something as mundane as a bowl of
cereal would be a task, but it was. So it
takes me about like five minutes to get the spoon
woven in between my fingers to be able to pick
it up and feed myself. And I get it in
(18:40):
my fingers and I'm about to take a bite of
this cereal and at this point, I'm like, I need
to eat. Well. I realized that I hadn't yet poured
the milk in because I was so focused on trying
to get the spoon. So I put the spoon down,
I grabbed the carton of milk, and I'm like, how
am I going to get this open? And I finally
(19:01):
I rip it open with my teeth and I make
a mess of it, but I get it. I very
carefully pour it into the bowl and fill up my
cereal and I put the spoon in and I just
I take this big bite of cereal and I just
remember being so proud of myself. So I smile, not
realizing even though Ricky and I had just gotten into
(19:24):
a fight and he was pretending like he wasn't paying attention.
He was actually paying attention watching me try to figure
this out. And as soon as I take that bite
and I smile, I look over at him and he's
just bawling his eyes out, sobbing because he's like, I
can't believe you just did that. I'm so proud of
you that you work through that. And that was like
(19:44):
kind of my first big milestone of learning how to
be a quadriplegic.
Speaker 1 (19:51):
Small victory.
Speaker 2 (19:52):
Yeah, And that's been the theme throughout this whole time,
is celebrating the small victories. You know, life isn't a sprint.
It's a marathon. And as you do things and as
you learn and grow, things get easier. It just takes time.
Speaker 1 (20:08):
The way Tracy talks about that bowl of cereal really
says a lot about her. When she sees a problem,
she wants to solve it. She thinks it through strategically
and finds a creative solution. And as the months passed
and she got to know her new body, all that
determination and energy needed to go somewhere.
Speaker 2 (20:27):
I can't work a traditional job because of my lack
of function. It just try being a surgeon or something
with no hind function. It just doesn't work. So going
into medicine wasn't going to be it for me. So
I had to find something else because I can't just sit.
I'm not that kind of a person. I'm a very
go go girl, get things done kind of person.
Speaker 1 (20:51):
By this point, about a year and a half into
her recovery, Tracy and Ricky have moved back to Florida together.
One day, when they were in the Tracy has an idea.
Speaker 2 (21:02):
I turned to Ricky as we were going down the
highway and I'm like, why don't we shoot archery? And
it was just a random thought, it wasn't anything planned.
And he looks at me kind of funny, like his
face kind of puzzles, and he's like, but your hands
don't work, Like, but that's okay. We'll figure it out.
(21:23):
We'll make something work. We'll make something happen.
Speaker 1 (21:26):
I just wanted to try and understand why it was
archery that popped in your head. Initially, I really don't know.
Speaker 2 (21:35):
I don't understand it either because I had never shot
archery in my life.
Speaker 1 (21:39):
Yeah, ever, what a weird thing to choose.
Speaker 2 (21:44):
I know, I get that a lot.
Speaker 1 (21:48):
It wouldn't be where I went.
Speaker 2 (21:50):
I you know, never in my life five years ago
you told me I'd be a one I'd quatchupolitic who
shoots archery. I would laugh at you. Oh, I would
laugh at you. But here we are.
Speaker 1 (22:04):
After that light bulb moment in the car, Tracy searches
for archery programs that have been adapted for people with disabilities.
There are only a couple in the whole country, and
one of them is just down the road.
Speaker 2 (22:18):
I send the head coach an email shot my shot,
and I was like, Hey, what does your program look like?
What is your availability? I would love to come explore,
see what we can do, see how we can figure
this out.
Speaker 1 (22:32):
The following week, when Tracy arrives at the All People's
Life Center in Tampa, Earl Brown, the head coach, is
there to meet her.
Speaker 2 (22:40):
He has a son who had a stroke in uterol
so his left side, I believe it's his left side,
doesn't function well. So he shoots with a bite tab,
which is a little piece of fabric or dog leash
or leather that goes onto the string of the bowl
and you bite down on it and that's how you
draw the bow. So when I get there, earl asks
(23:04):
me about my function, and he ends up putting a
bite tab on there for me.
Speaker 1 (23:10):
Tracy lifts up the bow and takes aim.
Speaker 2 (23:14):
I was kind of nervous. I was afraid I was
going to drop the bow, which I did. My mind
was kind of running a million miles a minute, trying
to learn and figure it out and navigate this new
thing that I had never tried before. How can I
troubleshoot this to make it as accurate as possible so
I can play this game and enjoy this and do
(23:37):
something with it. I took my first shot. I hit
the target. It wasn't very far away, it was about
ten fifteen feet away, but I hit the target. I
heard it, and I'm just like, oh my gosh, I
love this. This is amazing. This is so much fun
because it was something that I could do on my own.
I mean, I need help to get strapped in now
(23:58):
and to you know, make sure everything's secure and safe,
but actually executing the shot. I can do it on
my own, and it gave me this sense of freedom.
Speaker 1 (24:09):
If I just discovered archery like Tracy, I would probably
be thinking about, you know, joining a club, practicing a
couple of times a week, maybe following a few archery
accounts on Instagram, you know, the normal hobby stuff. But
Tracy doesn't do things by halves. At that very first session,
(24:31):
she pulls one of the coaches aside.
Speaker 2 (24:33):
I was like, what is the biggest competition for this?
What is the end all be all? What is the
journey for this? And he goes, well, you can go
to the Paralympics. And I was like, okay, when is it?
And he goes, It's in Paris in twenty twenty four,
and I was like, let's go. I'll be there, Let's
do it. And that's where it all started.
Speaker 1 (24:58):
After the break, Trey does it. She gets to work
on making her Paralympic dreams a reality.
Speaker 3 (25:14):
Got you, I've got you, Got you, I've got you.
Speaker 1 (25:19):
You decided after only firing an arrow about three times
that you were going to go to Paris. Can you
describe what you then did as like your training regime?
How do you prepare for something like that?
Speaker 2 (25:37):
It was actually kind of a really long road because
not only was I learning a new sport, but I
was also recovering from a catastrophic injury, so training wasn't
as streamlined as it would have been for someone who
was up and running and healthy and didn't have these injuries.
I remember very very clear struggling about thirty minutes into practice,
(26:04):
not being able to continue because I was just so exhausted.
The goal is to train almost every day or at
least three to five times a week. Sometimes I maintain
that goal, sometimes I don't. A lot of times I
don't because I just don't feel well. But I do
(26:24):
the best that I can.
Speaker 1 (26:26):
At what point did you realize within your training that
you actually had a bit of a talent for this.
Speaker 2 (26:33):
I don't think I have yet.
Speaker 1 (26:36):
I can tell you here and now you've got a
talent for it. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (26:40):
I try so hard. I just I have this drive
that I want to be better at it, that I
want to I want to be the best at it
in my class. I want to take over the world.
And like I said, maintaining that mindset, if there's always
progress to.
Speaker 1 (26:54):
Be made just being an athlete, you know, yeah, absolutely,
thinking of like being an athlete. What was your first
competition and how did that feel?
Speaker 2 (27:05):
It was the Russ Harley Tournament that was held by
All People's early in the year, and I was just
so excited to get started. Like that moment was like,
this is where the race starts, this is where training starts,
this is where a new life starts. I just remember
being so excited that I had something. I had a thing.
Speaker 1 (27:27):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (27:27):
I feel like there's people that go through their whole
life not finding something that sets their soul free like that.
But I'm blessed to be able to have that.
Speaker 1 (27:36):
You're very lucky to have found a thing that gives
you that feeling, because, like you said, not everyone manages
to do that.
Speaker 2 (27:43):
It makes you feel so whole.
Speaker 1 (27:45):
Yeah, when you find your groove, you know. Yeah. With
each competition, Tracy rises up the archery rankings. Ricky is
by her side every step of the way. He's Tracy's
arrow agent, which is the person on the team who
passes her the arrows and collects them after she shoots. Truly,
in all areas of Tracy's life, Ricky's got her back. Then,
(28:08):
in twenty twenty three, the moment Tracy has been working
towards the qualifying trials for the Paris Paralympics. There are
three rounds and the final one is in May you.
Speaker 2 (28:19):
Shoot the seventy two arrows for a score out of
seven to twenty and you have to hit a minimum
qualifying score, which is five hundred and twenty I believe
from my class at the time.
Speaker 1 (28:33):
On the day of the final trial, Tracy isn't feeling well,
but she shoots her arrows into the target with her
usual laser focus. It's hungry work, and so after she
puts her bow and arrow down, she decides to have
a well deserved snack on some chocolate rice cakes.
Speaker 2 (28:50):
And I was munching and my mouth was full of food,
and I turned to the right and there's a bunch
of people around me and a bunch of cameras that
I didn't realize were there, and Ricky's walking towards me
with this white box. I'm like, what the hell. First
of all, my mouth is full of food. I probably
have a chocolate everywhere. I'm starving, And Ricky's coming towards
(29:15):
me with this box and he puts it on my
lap and it has the seal of the Paralympic team
on it, and I just I lost it. So I
open it and it was this hat that was made
for all the Paralympians and it says made it on
the inside, and I just remember people taking pictures and
just bawling my eyes out because I just finished this
(29:37):
competition not feeling well. But I made the Paralympic team.
And then two days later, on the fifteenth, I found
out I was pregnant.
Speaker 1 (29:44):
Oh my gosh. Yeah, life changed in a flash.
Speaker 2 (29:49):
Yeah, so much stuff happened in such a condensed, small
period of time.
Speaker 1 (29:54):
Tracy had also just experienced another major milstone. In January
of twenty twenty three, her ex boyfriend Frank was convicted
on multiple charges for the attack on Tracy and Ricky,
including attempted murder. He was sentenced to forty years behind bars.
Speaker 2 (30:13):
Some could say that my life is the way that
it is, it is so good because of him, But no,
I refuse to think that way. My life has changed
because of him. But everything that ensued after that was
all given by not only the grace of God, but
through hard work and dedication and love and navigating our way,
(30:38):
not because of him.
Speaker 1 (30:39):
Absolutely, you know, what Frank did was a terrible, terrible thing.
And the amazing thing that both you and Ricky have
done is managed to just continue, not just continue living,
but to thrive beyond that, like you have kind of
phoenixed from the ashes and that's all you.
Speaker 2 (30:59):
You have to I can't deal with them, oh, absolutely,
Like I just I can't not. I'm the kind of
person that I go with all my heart wherever I go,
and I just I can't justify not having conversations like
this and bringing awareness to situations like this because it
could save somebody's life one day. I want to change
(31:21):
the world, don't get me wrong. I want to take
over the world and just leave this place better than
I found it. But if I can change just one
person's world by you know, having a conversation or sharing
my story, then I'm going to do it.
Speaker 1 (31:37):
Yeah, and show someone that they really do have the
power to build life back up when someone's knocked all
the blocks down.
Speaker 2 (31:45):
Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (31:46):
I want to get the sense of how you felt.
You know, it's summer twenty twenty four, you're going to Paris.
What were you feeling and thinking getting on the plane,
because that's so corul Yeah.
Speaker 2 (32:00):
Yeah, I was just it didn't feel real. It didn't
feel real. I don't think it really hit me until
we got to Paris. Oh, I know when it hit me.
We were on the bus going to the venue and
they were like thirty minutes from the Paralympic village, so
we were at thirty forty five minutes. So we were
on the bus for a while. So sick on that bus.
Speaker 1 (32:21):
Oh my gosh. Oh pregnant too, yeah.
Speaker 2 (32:24):
Oh and I had four kidney stones from being pregnant too.
Speaker 1 (32:28):
Oh wow.
Speaker 2 (32:29):
It was so sick. I was so sick all day
every day. But we bought through it. But I remember
being on that bus and we go past the Arcta Triumph.
I saw it in all of its glory and I
just lost it. I lost it. I started bawling my
(32:50):
eyes out, like, oh my god, we're here, We're doing this,
We're in Paris, this is really happening.
Speaker 1 (32:57):
Yeah, it must have just felt amazing, out of this.
Speaker 2 (33:01):
World happiness and bliss doesn't cover it well.
Speaker 1 (33:05):
And they're not only that, but you were doing this
competition with a baby, unborn baby by your side, you know,
really doing it with you like, yeah, so cool. That
must have felt amazing, this transitional point of your life.
The archery finals in Paris take place in the gardens
(33:27):
of les Envalid, an elaborate complex of buildings built in
the sixteen hundreds. Tracy is shooting in the shadow of
a massive gold dome where actual Napoleon is buried.
Speaker 2 (33:42):
That finals venue was just breathtaking, the royal blue carpet,
the targets down at the end with like the flags
on them blowing in the wind. I can see the
crowd on both sides going all the way down from
where I'm at to the target, and the energy of
the crowd was just amazing, Like everyone was just so
(34:06):
excited and sough. So when we were doing the practice runs,
I was really jittery and my shots weren't going the
way that I wanted them to, so that made me
more nervous.
Speaker 1 (34:17):
But when it's time for Tracy to shoot for real,
everything shifts.
Speaker 2 (34:22):
I wasn't nervous anymore. It was just I almost felt
calm and quiet and ready to do what I set
out to do.
Speaker 1 (34:32):
Can you describe the moment you were kind of like
drawing back the bow in that like official finals.
Speaker 2 (34:41):
Yeah. I in my head, I was like, I believe
in you. I believe in you. I believe in you,
and I just kept saying that to myself over and
over again, and I took a deep breath, lined up
my shot, I exhaled, let the arrow fly, and then
I ended up hitting a couple of tens, I think,
(35:04):
but I was the first ten of the day for
that one, and I was so excited and it was
just it was a really cool moment.
Speaker 1 (35:11):
Where did you place and how did you feel about it?
Speaker 2 (35:14):
I placed eighth an individual and sixth in mixed teams
my partner Jason. From a normal, I guess you could
say perspective, I'm incredibly proud because we were there. We
did it. The goal was to go and compete. But
(35:36):
from an athlete's perspective, I'm hard on myself. I want
to do better. I want to bring home the gold,
so that's on my agenda to do to complete That's
my next goal is to win gold on home soil
in LA twenty twenty eight. Other than that, I'm incredibly
proud over the moon with what we did and pushing
(35:58):
through a given being pregnant and how having kidney stones.
I think we did pretty well.
Speaker 1 (36:03):
Just as Tracy is saying this, Ricky pops his head
into the room.
Speaker 2 (36:08):
Coming here him.
Speaker 1 (36:10):
Hey, Hey, nice to meet you.
Speaker 4 (36:14):
Nice to meet you too. I'm so sorry. I just
came in to grab some coffee. But just a touch
base about her making it to Paris. Not only did
she make it to Paris, she went in ranked number one.
Speaker 2 (36:26):
In the world.
Speaker 1 (36:27):
Okay, you managed to miss that one off, Tracy, Yeah,
she I.
Speaker 4 (36:31):
Can brag about this one all day. She usually missed
and she was pregnant, which kicked her.
Speaker 2 (36:39):
But so sick.
Speaker 1 (36:40):
You guys are so cute. I'm obsessed. Will you adult me?
Mom and Dad?
Speaker 2 (36:47):
Yes, of course.
Speaker 1 (36:50):
One night before they headed home from the City of Love,
Ricky arranged for them to make the obligatory romantic trip
to the Eiffel Tower. But Tracy, will I'm feeling it.
Speaker 2 (37:01):
It took us about two hours to get an uber
successfully to be able to go to the Eiffel Tower.
And at that point I was so hungry and I
was so sick, just not feeling good. I'm like, I
don't want to do this. I can't do this. I'm like,
let's just let's just give up on this, Let's go
another day. Well, we finally get in the uber and
we get there and my whole like chosen family in
(37:25):
wheelchairs is there, and his mom is there, his sister's there.
So we go to take a picture, but then Ricky
walks around to my blind side and gets on one
knee and I'm getting ready to move out of the
way so other people can take pictures. So I'm starting
to move and Ricky's like, wait, wait, wait, and I'm like, oh, oh,
(37:49):
there's a diamond. And I'm just like, you're on your
knee and the Eiffel Towers in the background and it's
it was nothing less than magical. And he asked me,
He's like, will you be my wife? And I'm like, yes, absolutely,
and I hug him and we cry or I cry.
(38:09):
I ugly cried for like twenty minutes after. I remember
his mom and his sister came up to me afterwards
and give me the biggest hug and said welcome to
the family. And it was a very wholesome moment.
Speaker 1 (38:21):
And yet again Ricky just being so smooth.
Speaker 2 (38:24):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (38:28):
About five months after Ricky made his grand proposal, they
welcomed a new addition into their family.
Speaker 2 (38:34):
Can I show you the baby?
Speaker 1 (38:36):
Is there a baby around the corner? Ricky appears holding
their tiny one month old daughter, Riley.
Speaker 2 (38:42):
This is my little noungy hohol, oh my god.
Speaker 1 (38:46):
We're recording on Valentine's Day and Riley is suitably kitted
out in an adorable red Onesie covered in love hearts.
How do you ever get anything done?
Speaker 2 (38:57):
Everyone asks me that I don't get anything there, question,
I don't. I stare at her all day.
Speaker 1 (39:03):
She's gorgeous.
Speaker 2 (39:04):
Thank you. I like to think so too, She's pretty perfect.
Speaker 1 (39:08):
Ricky tenderly takes baby Riley and carries her into the
other room. Looking back now at everything that you've achieved,
how do you feel about your journey?
Speaker 2 (39:21):
I wouldn't trade it for the world everything. I wouldn't
trade it for anything. I wouldn't trade it for anything.
It's been the hardest thing I've ever done in my life,
recovering from a spinal cord injury, picking up a new sport,
having a baby, trying to live life again. But it
(39:45):
has been the most amazing, beautiful, colorful, outstanding. I don't
even have the word to describe this journey, and I'm
so grateful for it. I'm I have my moments where
I get sad and depressed, and you know, like I
hate to say it, where like I get sad to
(40:06):
that point where suicide does come up and it hurts,
But I always take myself out of it and I
always work my way through it. That's just a part
of mental health and finding help and taking care of
myself has been a big part of that journey. But
at the end of the day, I couldn't be happier.
I couldn't be more grateful. Blessed beyond belief is what
(40:30):
I always say, because God has given me so much
that I wouldn't change it for anything.
Speaker 1 (40:43):
So I don't need to reinforce here just how special
Trace he is, or Ricky or even Riley for that matter.
It became so apparent to me over the course of
our chat, But despite them both being younger than me,
I now refer to them as mom and Dad, and
I'm going to be bringing around my little very soon.
So instead, I wanted to highlight another part of Tracy's
(41:04):
story that I think is really significant, and that's finding
that thing, the thing that makes you feel alive, your
version of archery. Now you don't have to go through
something as horrific as Tracy has to find the thing
that makes even a mundane, untraumatic life more livable. For me,
(41:26):
I realized that I was an absolute sucker for music
and theater when my parents took me to see the
iconic nineteen ninety four West End production of Oliver. I've
spent my entire life running around stages and making noises
in microphones ever since, so you can blame them for
this podcast. These are things that we silly, little humans
(41:50):
do just for the joy of it. And if you
feel like you're not doing enough things just for the
joy of it, then you need to take a leaf
out of Tracy's book. Because if there's one thing this
interview is absolutely brimming with more than tragedy, it's joy
and hope and a great sales pitch for the life
(42:11):
altering force that is archery and other passions. I am
really excited to share the stories of some truly incredible
women with you this season. Coming up on The Girlfriend's Spotlight,
(42:35):
Luanne escapes the Order.
Speaker 2 (42:37):
I was approached to be married to my cousin slash
nephew as his fourth wife. I knew that it was
going to happen, with or without my concern.
Speaker 1 (42:47):
Nellie goes under cover.
Speaker 2 (42:49):
In the first paragraph, she writes, could I pass a
week in the insane ward a Blackwell's Island? I said
I could, and I would, and I.
Speaker 1 (42:58):
Did Rose Song at least eighty six cold cases.
Speaker 2 (43:03):
And I'm telling you. I've never had this feeling before
in my life. The hair on the back of my
neck was starting to see up because this was the guy.
I mean, it was unbelievable.
Speaker 1 (43:15):
And June Rox America. I might as well have said
we're gonna walk on the moon as say we're starting
a band. And it was that ridiculous. You know, hey,
(43:42):
you've reached the girlfriend's hotline. You can leave your mini
story after the tone Righte catulator Bye.
Speaker 3 (43:50):
My grandma passed away about four years ago, and she
passed away in a mine whilst I was living in
London and I wasn't able to go back for the funeral.
My flatmates or taking excellent care of me during this time,
but one specific incident stands out to me. I remember
it was like a gloomy November night, it was raining,
it was freezing outside, and I had just been feeling
(44:12):
quite sad and like I needed some kind of refreshing
change of routine. Without hesitation, my flatmate said, all right,
put on your coat, put on some boots and a
scarf and let's go on a walk. And this has
probably been the most memorable walk I've ever taken in London.
I think we walked for about three hours and passed
every monument and landmark of London, from Westminster Parliament to
(44:36):
Big Ben to the Tower of London to London Bridge,
and the whole time she just listened to me talk
about my grandma, or talk about things that would distract me,
or just very silly things like how badly we wanted
to watch the Shrek musical, which we passed by. I
just remember laughing and smiling so much during a time
that would have otherwise been characterized by a lot of sadness.
(45:00):
I just feel so grateful to have friends who will
go on three to four hour walks with you in
the middle of winter and London when you need a
change of scene.
Speaker 1 (45:10):
If you have your own story like the one you
just heard, and you'd like the whole Girlfriend's gang to
hear it, then please send it to us. You can
record it as a voice memo under ninety seconds. Please
and email it straight to the girlfriends at novel dot Audio.
Please don't include your name. We're keeping things a little
a noon. We want stories like say that one time
(45:34):
you faked an emergency on an awful date and your
bestie bailed you out with a phone call we Love Her,
Or that time when all of your girls showed up
on your doorstep with five pizzas, two tups of ice cream,
and three bottles of saven your blanc because the man
of your dreams just dumped you. I want stories that
are meaningful or silly. I want big, I want small.
(45:58):
I'm desperate to hear them to send him over. This season,
The Girlfriend's Spotlight is supporting the charity Womankind Worldwide. They
do amazing work to help women's rights organizations and movements
to strengthen and grow. If you'd like to find out
more or donate to help them secure equal rights for
women and girls across the globe, you can go to
(46:21):
Womankind dot org dot UK. The Girlfriend's Spotlight is produced
by Novel for iHeart Podcasts. For more from Novel, visit
novel dot Audio. This episode was written and produced by
(46:43):
Caroline Thornham. Our assistant producer is Lucy Carr. Our researcher
is Sayana Yusuf. The editor is Hannah Marshall. Max O'Brien
and Craig Strachan are our executive producers. Production management from
Joe Savage, Shrie Houston and Charlotte Wolfe, sound design, mixing
and scoring by Nicholas Alexander and Daniel Kempson. Music supervision
(47:08):
by Jacob Tivich, Nicholas Alexander and Anna Sinfield. Original music
composed by Louisa Gerstein and Jemma Freeman. The series artwork
was designed by Christina lemcol Willard Foxton is creative director
of Development and Special thanks to Katrina Norvel, Carrie Lieberman,
and Will Pearson at iHeart Podcasts, as well as Carl
(47:31):
Frankel and the whole team at w M E.
Hey, listener, I just wanted to give you a heads
up that this episode contains some mentions of violence and
abuse and a very brief mention of suicidal ideation. But
it's also full of hope and joy and it's a
testament to the power of finding your passion. Plus there's
a baby, So do skip if you need, and if not,
(00:24):
I hope you love this chat as much as I did.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
I'm just looking at the target with this little dot
on it, and it's fifteen meters away. I'm so in
this headspace that I'm not paying attention to what's going
on around me. It's almost like tunnel vision.
Speaker 1 (00:43):
Traciotto is at the shooting line of an archery range
holding a bow and arrow.
Speaker 2 (00:49):
We're getting ready to shoot the seventy two euros for qualification.
The venue's beautiful. It's just kind of out in this
field in the middle of the Czech Republic. Weather was great.
It was a little hot, but luckily I had the tent,
so I had a little bit of shade that was
barking me.
Speaker 1 (01:06):
Her wheelchair is carefully planted at just the right angle.
On either side of her are the other competitors. They're
so close that they could almost bump elbows. It's twenty
twenty three and this is Tracy's first international archery competition,
and so she's feeling a little nervous.
Speaker 2 (01:27):
My first shot, I kid you, not my first shot.
I let the arrow go and all of a sudden,
I hear this loud thing and everyone turns and looks
at me, and I realized I hit not the target,
but the number above the target, like that tells you
(01:48):
your which target number you have. And it was so
loud and everyone just stared at me. It was incredibly embarrassing.
Speaker 1 (01:57):
But Tracy isn't going to let that false start throw
her off. Her boyfriend Ricky passes her another arrow and
she reloads. She takes aim again. The arrow soars over
the field, and this time Tracy hits her target.
Speaker 2 (02:17):
It's such a rush and it feels so good. It's
almost a very addicting feeling because you're like, oh, I
have to do it again. I want to do it again.
I have to have that feeling again.
Speaker 1 (02:27):
So she does it again and again and again.
Speaker 2 (02:33):
In that moment when you realize that you've hit the
bull's eye and everything has just kind of come to
fruition and your goal of what you're trying to do.
Everything feels right in the world, everything feels in harmony
between you and your equipment. Everything just kind of all
(02:55):
encompassing works.
Speaker 1 (03:01):
Tracy Otto was born to be an athlete. She's not
just a wicked shot. She's also one of the most
determined people that I've ever met, and she's had to be.
To say that the universe has thrown a hell of
a lot of crap at Tracy would be a massive understatement.
(03:22):
That passion for archery you can hear in Tracy's voice
helped her reclaim her life after a violent attack, and
it took her to the very top of competitive sport.
Now she's blazing a trail to inspire people all over
the world, and it's almost enough to make me want
to pick up a bow and arrow and myself. I'm
(03:45):
Anna Sinfield and from the teams at Novel and iHeart Podcasts,
this is the Girlfriend's Spotlight, where we tell stories of
women women today. Tracy hits the Ball's Eye in January
(04:18):
twenty eighteen. Tracy is in her early twenties and she's
living in Chicago. She's just got out of a relationship
and is definitely not in a hurry to meet someone,
but when a new bar opens up nearby, Tracy's friend
can't resist pointing out one of the bartenders.
Speaker 2 (04:35):
She's like, oh, look at look at that guy. He's
super cute. Because she was single too, I wasn't super interested.
I was like, yeah, he's cutea yeas like whatever, just
kind of let it brush by.
Speaker 1 (04:48):
A couple of weeks later, Tracy and her friend are
back at the same spot and they see the bartender again.
Speaker 2 (04:54):
He was running back and forth doing his thing, and
we were just sitting at the bar, and I just
remember him passing notes back and forth to me, just
trying to get to know me a little bit. But
he was so busy he couldn't sit down and.
Speaker 1 (05:09):
Talk like a real school tactic.
Speaker 2 (05:12):
Yeah. It kind of made me think of like middle
school or something. Yeah, and he asked for my number.
I gave it to him, so he's passing the notes,
got his number, and then things just kind of went
from there.
Speaker 1 (05:23):
Frank the balltender doesn't want to type things slur with Tracy.
In fact, he's a bit full on.
Speaker 2 (05:29):
He was kind of love bombing me and like giving
me all these little trinkets and these little things like
from Walmart or little gifts or whatever. Afterward, we would
go to Ihop with his mom actually, and he knew
somebody there, I guess, and he would write little love
notes and the pancakes for me, and I'm like, this
(05:52):
is it. This is what it's supposed to be. I
thought at the time, this was my person. We ended
up moving to Florida in August of twenty eighteen.
Speaker 1 (06:02):
That's very quick, yeah, moving all the way away from family.
Speaker 2 (06:07):
Yeah, But there was part of me that was just
ready to go do it. And I was like, Okay,
let's just go. Let's take a chance, Let's live life
and see what happens.
Speaker 1 (06:20):
The two of them move into a rental house in Florida.
Tracy dreams of being a doctor. She starts a pre
med course at the University of Tampa and joins the
local gym. At this point in her life, Tracy is
able bodied and a fitness fanatic.
Speaker 2 (06:37):
I was meeting so many new people, making my girlfriends, like,
you know, building my little tribe. And he didn't like
that very much, especially because I remember some of my
friends that I was making telling me I don't really
like him. They never was like oh he's abusive, or
like he's this horrible person. But they're like, something's a
(07:00):
little bit off about him, I guess you can say.
And I started to see it.
Speaker 1 (07:04):
Frank isn't the affectionate, romantic she met in Chicago anymore.
He's more withdrawn and always wanting to look at her phone.
Tracy is constantly having to pick up extra workshifts to
cover their bills, and understandably, it starts to wear on her.
Speaker 2 (07:20):
I ended up having to drop out of the University
of Tampa because I was working so much, Like I
was working almost twelve hour shifts and had no time
for school. And I was in the car on the
phone with him, and I said, I was screaming. I
was like, I am twenty two, twenty three years old,
and I'm not living my life. And it's like, why
(07:41):
aren't you taking some of this responsibility, Why aren't you helping.
Speaker 1 (07:46):
One day, a year after their move to Florida, something
happens which makes it crystal clear to Tracy that Frank
isn't the person she thought he was.
Speaker 2 (07:55):
We were fighting and he smashed my phone, I remember,
and he was about to smash my laptop, so that
I couldn't get a hold of anybody, and he grabbed
me and threw me across the room. He threw me
so hard that I landed really weird and like I
got a bunch of bruises and it was just really bad.
(08:15):
I ended up calling the police on him a few
days later to make a statement because I'm like my
friends that were with me at the time, they were like,
that's not normal.
Speaker 1 (08:25):
The police arrest Frank, but someone close to him convinces
Tracy to drop the charges.
Speaker 2 (08:31):
She told me not to tell anybody that everything was fine,
that it was just you know, a moment in time
that we just had a bad fight, that he wasn't
that person. I guess you could say I actually I
picked him up from jail.
Speaker 1 (08:49):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (08:50):
Yeah, I was the first person that he saw when
he came out of jail.
Speaker 1 (08:55):
And why did you do that? I don't know.
Speaker 2 (08:58):
I remember just feeling he's so guilty, not guilty, but
like guilt's not the word. I don't even know how
to explain it, but I just I felt horrible that
he went to jail because of me, Like I felt
like it was my fault that he was being violent
and not able to control himself. I guess.
Speaker 1 (09:20):
After Frank's violent outburst, Tracy knows she needs to end things.
Speaker 2 (09:25):
I kicked him out. He gathered all of his stuff
and left the house.
Speaker 1 (09:30):
Tracy is determined to build her life back up. She
works as shifts at the local golf club bar and
tries to focus on herself, but then when she least
expects it, she meets someone new.
Speaker 2 (09:43):
It's another bar story, but this time I was the bartender.
Speaker 1 (09:47):
You got to stop hanging out at bus I know
what the heck?
Speaker 2 (09:50):
I just I got to stop doing that. But I'm
at work and I'm bartending a celebration of life. And
Ricky came in for the of life because he knew
the person that passed away, And he tells me that
as soon as he walked in the room, he's like,
I'm going to marry that girl. That girl's mind smooth.
(10:11):
Yeah right. He comes to the bar and all night
he keeps trying to go to me. I noticed, like
him ordering the same thing over and over again. He
kept getting Miller lights. But I, like, I had everything
going on with Frank, and I just I wasn't in
that headspace to necessarily open myself up to another relationship
just given everything that was going on. Later, we end
(10:34):
up talking and I hung out with him all night
and we FaceTime all the time going from that day
and we talk all day every day.
Speaker 1 (10:45):
Ricky makes Tracy smile and he's totally smitten all day.
He keeps sending her country love songs a little cheesy maybe,
but sweet. It turns out that he lives in Chicago,
where Tracy grew up, so they're right to have their
first date there when she's home visiting family.
Speaker 2 (11:04):
We went to a rooftop bar over the city and
had a glass of wine and we saw someone getting engaged.
It was magical.
Speaker 1 (11:12):
When Tracy returns to Florida, Ricky comes to. They spend
a couple of days hanging out at her place, doing
all those typical new couple things.
Speaker 2 (11:21):
We go grocery shopping to grab some stuff. We're gonna
have a little date night at my house. He's gonna
cook me dinner because Ricky, they're really good cook. I
have you know, a bottle of wine, have a super
cute night that evening. A friend stops by unexpectedly. Ricky
makes pasta for them all. It's a totally normal night.
Speaker 1 (11:39):
But after the friend leaves, Ricky starts to feel a
little bit strange.
Speaker 2 (11:45):
I remember him saying, should we spend the night at
one of my friend's houses, because I guess he had
a weird feeling I don't know, And I was like, well,
I don't. I don't want to leave the dogs again
because I had just gotten back from that trip and
I had no I need to watch them because Frank
had alienated me from all my friends. And then we
(12:05):
go in the room. We flip on the TV, and
I took my last sip of wine and I put
the wine glass down on my nightstand and I turn
over and we're getting ready for bed, and we said
good night, and I just remember the feeling of the
cool sheets on my body, and I drifted off to sleep.
(12:26):
And then I was woken up by a really really
bright flashlight and someone's screaming at me to get out
of bed. And I was like, what is going on?
Because I was dead asleep, and I realized it was Frank.
He wakes us up, screaming at us to get out
of bed. I take the covers off, I slowly get
out of bed, and I start to walk towards him,
(12:49):
and I saw the gun, and I just I remember
that feeling of my heart falling out of my chest
and be like, okay, this is how I die.
Speaker 1 (13:11):
After the break, Tracy wakes up. The first thing Tracy
hears when she wakes up in hospital is the sound
(13:32):
of a camera shutter. A detective is standing over her
bed taking pictures of her body.
Speaker 2 (13:39):
When I came into consciousness, I knew something bad had happened,
and I knew who did it, but I didn't know
exactly what. My body felt different. It's almost like have
you ever had work done on your teeth? Yes, yeah,
how they numb you. Yeah, that feeling of it just
(14:02):
being numb is what my whole body feels like.
Speaker 1 (14:05):
Kind of alien.
Speaker 2 (14:07):
Yeah, not pressure or buzzing, but just different.
Speaker 1 (14:14):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (14:14):
So I knew something was wrong, but like I said,
I just I didn't know what. And my thought was
just Ricky. And I remember just calling out for him,
like not even being able to speak. I'm just like,
where's Ricky? Like what happened.
Speaker 1 (14:32):
When the doctors realize she's awake, they tell Tracy everything.
Frank used a spare key to get into the house
and attack Tracy and Ricky with a knife and a
high powered pellet gun, like the kind you used to
kill small animals. They were both shot multiple times and stabbed.
It's honestly a miracle that either of them are still alive.
(14:55):
Ricky has a clapse lung and hearing loss in one ear.
Tracy lost an eye and is now paralyzed from the
chest down. It's overwhelming and even harder for Tracy to
process because she's still drifting in and out of consciousness.
Speaker 2 (15:10):
I'm in the ICU and I was intubated because I
couldn't breathe on my own because of how high my
spinal cord injury is. So I had the surgery on
my throat, my eye. They sewed up the back of
my neck, and Ricky was in another part of the hospital,
so he was trying to get to me, but he
was in this hospital gown with the back open, running
(15:33):
down the hallway to get to the ICU to find me.
When he comes in, I opened my eyes a little
bit and I tried to talk to him, and I
couldn't because of the tubes, and I started gagging, and
I remember hearing them just go don't talk, don't talk,
and then I lose consciousness again, but I remember seeing
(15:53):
his face through like my eyelashes. But here's the picture.
This is the first time we saw each other. Yeah,
I like to call it our iconic picture.
Speaker 1 (16:06):
It's obviously tragic because you're there in your gown and
Ricky's kind of looking at you, and you've got this
brace on and tubes and you both look like you're,
you know, in a sorry state. But also there's something
so beautiful about it, Like the way he's looking at you,
there's so much love.
Speaker 2 (16:24):
Yeah, I feel that, to the way he has his
hand on my forehead, and yeah, I love hate that picture.
I can understand that because it's like it shows all
the damage that was done, but at the same time,
it's the start of something so beautiful.
Speaker 1 (16:42):
It's really wild to me to think about just how
new Tracy and Ricky's relationship was at this point, Like
they'd only been on one official date and hung out
for a few days, and now they've gone through this
unbelievably traumatic or deal. I think a lot of people
would call it quits after that. For Tracy and Ricky,
it was only the beginning, but they still had a
(17:05):
long road of recovery ahead.
Speaker 2 (17:08):
Physical therapy started right away when I was in the hospital,
like sitting me up and getting me to move, but
I was constantly passing out, so it wasn't going very well.
This was a catastrophic injury. I'm literally like an infant again,
not even because I don't have control over my muscles,
but just learning how to live life again.
Speaker 1 (17:27):
Ricky recovered more quickly than Tracy, and so he helped
to care for her, and day by day in the hospital,
she regained her strength.
Speaker 2 (17:36):
They brought me in breakfast, and Ricky was sitting on
the couch kind of right next to me, under the window,
and he was about maybe three four feet away from me,
and we had just gotten into a little bickerment, not
an argument, not bickering, but a bickerment, and they brought
me breakfast and he asked me if I wanted help
(17:59):
with it. I was like, no, I got it, Like
I'll figure it out, because I was being stubborn as
I always am, and I look at everything and I'm like, crap,
how am I going to do this? Because my paralysis
affects my hands. I can wiggle my fingers, but there's
no strength behind them. So I'm sitting there, I'm looking
at my breakfast it's cereal, and I have a spoon,
(18:20):
and I have a little carton of milk. Then you
wouldn't think that something as mundane as a bowl of
cereal would be a task, but it was. So it
takes me about like five minutes to get the spoon
woven in between my fingers to be able to pick
it up and feed myself. And I get it in
(18:40):
my fingers and I'm about to take a bite of
this cereal and at this point, I'm like, I need
to eat. Well. I realized that I hadn't yet poured
the milk in because I was so focused on trying
to get the spoon. So I put the spoon down,
I grabbed the carton of milk, and I'm like, how
am I going to get this open? And I finally
(19:01):
I rip it open with my teeth and I make
a mess of it, but I get it. I very
carefully pour it into the bowl and fill up my
cereal and I put the spoon in and I just
I take this big bite of cereal and I just
remember being so proud of myself. So I smile, not
realizing even though Ricky and I had just gotten into
(19:24):
a fight and he was pretending like he wasn't paying attention.
He was actually paying attention watching me try to figure
this out. And as soon as I take that bite
and I smile, I look over at him and he's
just bawling his eyes out, sobbing because he's like, I
can't believe you just did that. I'm so proud of
you that you work through that. And that was like
(19:44):
kind of my first big milestone of learning how to
be a quadriplegic.
Speaker 1 (19:51):
Small victory.
Speaker 2 (19:52):
Yeah, And that's been the theme throughout this whole time,
is celebrating the small victories. You know, life isn't a sprint.
It's a marathon. And as you do things and as
you learn and grow, things get easier. It just takes time.
Speaker 1 (20:08):
The way Tracy talks about that bowl of cereal really
says a lot about her. When she sees a problem,
she wants to solve it. She thinks it through strategically
and finds a creative solution. And as the months passed
and she got to know her new body, all that
determination and energy needed to go somewhere.
Speaker 2 (20:27):
I can't work a traditional job because of my lack
of function. It just try being a surgeon or something
with no hind function. It just doesn't work. So going
into medicine wasn't going to be it for me. So
I had to find something else because I can't just sit.
I'm not that kind of a person. I'm a very
go go girl, get things done kind of person.
Speaker 1 (20:51):
By this point, about a year and a half into
her recovery, Tracy and Ricky have moved back to Florida together.
One day, when they were in the Tracy has an idea.
Speaker 2 (21:02):
I turned to Ricky as we were going down the
highway and I'm like, why don't we shoot archery? And
it was just a random thought, it wasn't anything planned.
And he looks at me kind of funny, like his
face kind of puzzles, and he's like, but your hands
don't work, Like, but that's okay. We'll figure it out.
(21:23):
We'll make something work. We'll make something happen.
Speaker 1 (21:26):
I just wanted to try and understand why it was
archery that popped in your head. Initially, I really don't know.
Speaker 2 (21:35):
I don't understand it either because I had never shot
archery in my life.
Speaker 1 (21:39):
Yeah, ever, what a weird thing to choose.
Speaker 2 (21:44):
I know, I get that a lot.
Speaker 1 (21:48):
It wouldn't be where I went.
Speaker 2 (21:50):
I you know, never in my life five years ago
you told me I'd be a one I'd quatchupolitic who
shoots archery. I would laugh at you. Oh, I would
laugh at you. But here we are.
Speaker 1 (22:04):
After that light bulb moment in the car, Tracy searches
for archery programs that have been adapted for people with disabilities.
There are only a couple in the whole country, and
one of them is just down the road.
Speaker 2 (22:18):
I send the head coach an email shot my shot,
and I was like, Hey, what does your program look like?
What is your availability? I would love to come explore,
see what we can do, see how we can figure
this out.
Speaker 1 (22:32):
The following week, when Tracy arrives at the All People's
Life Center in Tampa, Earl Brown, the head coach, is
there to meet her.
Speaker 2 (22:40):
He has a son who had a stroke in uterol
so his left side, I believe it's his left side,
doesn't function well. So he shoots with a bite tab,
which is a little piece of fabric or dog leash
or leather that goes onto the string of the bowl
and you bite down on it and that's how you
draw the bow. So when I get there, earl asks
(23:04):
me about my function, and he ends up putting a
bite tab on there for me.
Speaker 1 (23:10):
Tracy lifts up the bow and takes aim.
Speaker 2 (23:14):
I was kind of nervous. I was afraid I was
going to drop the bow, which I did. My mind
was kind of running a million miles a minute, trying
to learn and figure it out and navigate this new
thing that I had never tried before. How can I
troubleshoot this to make it as accurate as possible so
I can play this game and enjoy this and do
(23:37):
something with it. I took my first shot. I hit
the target. It wasn't very far away, it was about
ten fifteen feet away, but I hit the target. I
heard it, and I'm just like, oh my gosh, I
love this. This is amazing. This is so much fun
because it was something that I could do on my own.
I mean, I need help to get strapped in now
(23:58):
and to you know, make sure everything's secure and safe,
but actually executing the shot. I can do it on
my own, and it gave me this sense of freedom.
Speaker 1 (24:09):
If I just discovered archery like Tracy, I would probably
be thinking about, you know, joining a club, practicing a
couple of times a week, maybe following a few archery
accounts on Instagram, you know, the normal hobby stuff. But
Tracy doesn't do things by halves. At that very first session,
(24:31):
she pulls one of the coaches aside.
Speaker 2 (24:33):
I was like, what is the biggest competition for this?
What is the end all be all? What is the
journey for this? And he goes, well, you can go
to the Paralympics. And I was like, okay, when is it?
And he goes, It's in Paris in twenty twenty four,
and I was like, let's go. I'll be there, Let's
do it. And that's where it all started.
Speaker 1 (24:58):
After the break, Trey does it. She gets to work
on making her Paralympic dreams a reality.
Speaker 3 (25:14):
Got you, I've got you, Got you, I've got you.
Speaker 1 (25:19):
You decided after only firing an arrow about three times
that you were going to go to Paris. Can you
describe what you then did as like your training regime?
How do you prepare for something like that?
Speaker 2 (25:37):
It was actually kind of a really long road because
not only was I learning a new sport, but I
was also recovering from a catastrophic injury, so training wasn't
as streamlined as it would have been for someone who
was up and running and healthy and didn't have these injuries.
I remember very very clear struggling about thirty minutes into practice,
(26:04):
not being able to continue because I was just so exhausted.
The goal is to train almost every day or at
least three to five times a week. Sometimes I maintain
that goal, sometimes I don't. A lot of times I
don't because I just don't feel well. But I do
(26:24):
the best that I can.
Speaker 1 (26:26):
At what point did you realize within your training that
you actually had a bit of a talent for this.
Speaker 2 (26:33):
I don't think I have yet.
Speaker 1 (26:36):
I can tell you here and now you've got a
talent for it. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (26:40):
I try so hard. I just I have this drive
that I want to be better at it, that I
want to I want to be the best at it
in my class. I want to take over the world.
And like I said, maintaining that mindset, if there's always
progress to.
Speaker 1 (26:54):
Be made just being an athlete, you know, yeah, absolutely,
thinking of like being an athlete. What was your first
competition and how did that feel?
Speaker 2 (27:05):
It was the Russ Harley Tournament that was held by
All People's early in the year, and I was just
so excited to get started. Like that moment was like,
this is where the race starts, this is where training starts,
this is where a new life starts. I just remember
being so excited that I had something. I had a thing.
Speaker 1 (27:27):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (27:27):
I feel like there's people that go through their whole
life not finding something that sets their soul free like that.
But I'm blessed to be able to have that.
Speaker 1 (27:36):
You're very lucky to have found a thing that gives
you that feeling, because, like you said, not everyone manages
to do that.
Speaker 2 (27:43):
It makes you feel so whole.
Speaker 1 (27:45):
Yeah, when you find your groove, you know. Yeah. With
each competition, Tracy rises up the archery rankings. Ricky is
by her side every step of the way. He's Tracy's
arrow agent, which is the person on the team who
passes her the arrows and collects them after she shoots. Truly,
in all areas of Tracy's life, Ricky's got her back. Then,
(28:08):
in twenty twenty three, the moment Tracy has been working
towards the qualifying trials for the Paris Paralympics. There are
three rounds and the final one is in May you.
Speaker 2 (28:19):
Shoot the seventy two arrows for a score out of
seven to twenty and you have to hit a minimum
qualifying score, which is five hundred and twenty I believe
from my class at the time.
Speaker 1 (28:33):
On the day of the final trial, Tracy isn't feeling well,
but she shoots her arrows into the target with her
usual laser focus. It's hungry work, and so after she
puts her bow and arrow down, she decides to have
a well deserved snack on some chocolate rice cakes.
Speaker 2 (28:50):
And I was munching and my mouth was full of food,
and I turned to the right and there's a bunch
of people around me and a bunch of cameras that
I didn't realize were there, and Ricky's walking towards me
with this white box. I'm like, what the hell. First
of all, my mouth is full of food. I probably
have a chocolate everywhere. I'm starving, And Ricky's coming towards
(29:15):
me with this box and he puts it on my
lap and it has the seal of the Paralympic team
on it, and I just I lost it. So I
open it and it was this hat that was made
for all the Paralympians and it says made it on
the inside, and I just remember people taking pictures and
just bawling my eyes out because I just finished this
(29:37):
competition not feeling well. But I made the Paralympic team.
And then two days later, on the fifteenth, I found
out I was pregnant.
Speaker 1 (29:44):
Oh my gosh. Yeah, life changed in a flash.
Speaker 2 (29:49):
Yeah, so much stuff happened in such a condensed, small
period of time.
Speaker 1 (29:54):
Tracy had also just experienced another major milstone. In January
of twenty twenty three, her ex boyfriend Frank was convicted
on multiple charges for the attack on Tracy and Ricky,
including attempted murder. He was sentenced to forty years behind bars.
Speaker 2 (30:13):
Some could say that my life is the way that
it is, it is so good because of him, But no,
I refuse to think that way. My life has changed
because of him. But everything that ensued after that was
all given by not only the grace of God, but
through hard work and dedication and love and navigating our way,
(30:38):
not because of him.
Speaker 1 (30:39):
Absolutely, you know, what Frank did was a terrible, terrible thing.
And the amazing thing that both you and Ricky have
done is managed to just continue, not just continue living,
but to thrive beyond that, like you have kind of
phoenixed from the ashes and that's all you.
Speaker 2 (30:59):
You have to I can't deal with them, oh, absolutely,
Like I just I can't not. I'm the kind of
person that I go with all my heart wherever I go,
and I just I can't justify not having conversations like
this and bringing awareness to situations like this because it
could save somebody's life one day. I want to change
(31:21):
the world, don't get me wrong. I want to take
over the world and just leave this place better than
I found it. But if I can change just one
person's world by you know, having a conversation or sharing
my story, then I'm going to do it.
Speaker 1 (31:37):
Yeah, and show someone that they really do have the
power to build life back up when someone's knocked all
the blocks down.
Speaker 2 (31:45):
Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (31:46):
I want to get the sense of how you felt.
You know, it's summer twenty twenty four, you're going to Paris.
What were you feeling and thinking getting on the plane,
because that's so corul Yeah.
Speaker 2 (32:00):
Yeah, I was just it didn't feel real. It didn't
feel real. I don't think it really hit me until
we got to Paris. Oh, I know when it hit me.
We were on the bus going to the venue and
they were like thirty minutes from the Paralympic village, so
we were at thirty forty five minutes. So we were
on the bus for a while. So sick on that bus.
Speaker 1 (32:21):
Oh my gosh. Oh pregnant too, yeah.
Speaker 2 (32:24):
Oh and I had four kidney stones from being pregnant too.
Speaker 1 (32:28):
Oh wow.
Speaker 2 (32:29):
It was so sick. I was so sick all day
every day. But we bought through it. But I remember
being on that bus and we go past the Arcta Triumph.
I saw it in all of its glory and I
just lost it. I lost it. I started bawling my
(32:50):
eyes out, like, oh my god, we're here, We're doing this,
We're in Paris, this is really happening.
Speaker 1 (32:57):
Yeah, it must have just felt amazing, out of this.
Speaker 2 (33:01):
World happiness and bliss doesn't cover it well.
Speaker 1 (33:05):
And they're not only that, but you were doing this
competition with a baby, unborn baby by your side, you know,
really doing it with you like, yeah, so cool. That
must have felt amazing, this transitional point of your life.
The archery finals in Paris take place in the gardens
(33:27):
of les Envalid, an elaborate complex of buildings built in
the sixteen hundreds. Tracy is shooting in the shadow of
a massive gold dome where actual Napoleon is buried.
Speaker 2 (33:42):
That finals venue was just breathtaking, the royal blue carpet,
the targets down at the end with like the flags
on them blowing in the wind. I can see the
crowd on both sides going all the way down from
where I'm at to the target, and the energy of
the crowd was just amazing, Like everyone was just so
(34:06):
excited and sough. So when we were doing the practice runs,
I was really jittery and my shots weren't going the
way that I wanted them to, so that made me
more nervous.
Speaker 1 (34:17):
But when it's time for Tracy to shoot for real,
everything shifts.
Speaker 2 (34:22):
I wasn't nervous anymore. It was just I almost felt
calm and quiet and ready to do what I set
out to do.
Speaker 1 (34:32):
Can you describe the moment you were kind of like
drawing back the bow in that like official finals.
Speaker 2 (34:41):
Yeah. I in my head, I was like, I believe
in you. I believe in you. I believe in you,
and I just kept saying that to myself over and
over again, and I took a deep breath, lined up
my shot, I exhaled, let the arrow fly, and then
I ended up hitting a couple of tens, I think,
(35:04):
but I was the first ten of the day for
that one, and I was so excited and it was
just it was a really cool moment.
Speaker 1 (35:11):
Where did you place and how did you feel about it?
Speaker 2 (35:14):
I placed eighth an individual and sixth in mixed teams
my partner Jason. From a normal, I guess you could
say perspective, I'm incredibly proud because we were there. We
did it. The goal was to go and compete. But
(35:36):
from an athlete's perspective, I'm hard on myself. I want
to do better. I want to bring home the gold,
so that's on my agenda to do to complete That's
my next goal is to win gold on home soil
in LA twenty twenty eight. Other than that, I'm incredibly
proud over the moon with what we did and pushing
(35:58):
through a given being pregnant and how having kidney stones.
I think we did pretty well.
Speaker 1 (36:03):
Just as Tracy is saying this, Ricky pops his head
into the room.
Speaker 2 (36:08):
Coming here him.
Speaker 1 (36:10):
Hey, Hey, nice to meet you.
Speaker 4 (36:14):
Nice to meet you too. I'm so sorry. I just
came in to grab some coffee. But just a touch
base about her making it to Paris. Not only did
she make it to Paris, she went in ranked number one.
Speaker 2 (36:26):
In the world.
Speaker 1 (36:27):
Okay, you managed to miss that one off, Tracy, Yeah,
she I.
Speaker 4 (36:31):
Can brag about this one all day. She usually missed
and she was pregnant, which kicked her.
Speaker 2 (36:39):
But so sick.
Speaker 1 (36:40):
You guys are so cute. I'm obsessed. Will you adult me?
Mom and Dad?
Speaker 2 (36:47):
Yes, of course.
Speaker 1 (36:50):
One night before they headed home from the City of Love,
Ricky arranged for them to make the obligatory romantic trip
to the Eiffel Tower. But Tracy, will I'm feeling it.
Speaker 2 (37:01):
It took us about two hours to get an uber
successfully to be able to go to the Eiffel Tower.
And at that point I was so hungry and I
was so sick, just not feeling good. I'm like, I
don't want to do this. I can't do this. I'm like,
let's just let's just give up on this, Let's go
another day. Well, we finally get in the uber and
we get there and my whole like chosen family in
(37:25):
wheelchairs is there, and his mom is there, his sister's there.
So we go to take a picture, but then Ricky
walks around to my blind side and gets on one
knee and I'm getting ready to move out of the
way so other people can take pictures. So I'm starting
to move and Ricky's like, wait, wait, wait, and I'm like, oh, oh,
(37:49):
there's a diamond. And I'm just like, you're on your
knee and the Eiffel Towers in the background and it's
it was nothing less than magical. And he asked me,
He's like, will you be my wife? And I'm like, yes, absolutely,
and I hug him and we cry or I cry.
(38:09):
I ugly cried for like twenty minutes after. I remember
his mom and his sister came up to me afterwards
and give me the biggest hug and said welcome to
the family. And it was a very wholesome moment.
Speaker 1 (38:21):
And yet again Ricky just being so smooth.
Speaker 2 (38:24):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (38:28):
About five months after Ricky made his grand proposal, they
welcomed a new addition into their family.
Speaker 2 (38:34):
Can I show you the baby?
Speaker 1 (38:36):
Is there a baby around the corner? Ricky appears holding
their tiny one month old daughter, Riley.
Speaker 2 (38:42):
This is my little noungy hohol, oh my god.
Speaker 1 (38:46):
We're recording on Valentine's Day and Riley is suitably kitted
out in an adorable red Onesie covered in love hearts.
How do you ever get anything done?
Speaker 2 (38:57):
Everyone asks me that I don't get anything there, question,
I don't. I stare at her all day.
Speaker 1 (39:03):
She's gorgeous.
Speaker 2 (39:04):
Thank you. I like to think so too, She's pretty perfect.
Speaker 1 (39:08):
Ricky tenderly takes baby Riley and carries her into the
other room. Looking back now at everything that you've achieved,
how do you feel about your journey?
Speaker 2 (39:21):
I wouldn't trade it for the world everything. I wouldn't
trade it for anything. I wouldn't trade it for anything.
It's been the hardest thing I've ever done in my life,
recovering from a spinal cord injury, picking up a new sport,
having a baby, trying to live life again. But it
(39:45):
has been the most amazing, beautiful, colorful, outstanding. I don't
even have the word to describe this journey, and I'm
so grateful for it. I'm I have my moments where
I get sad and depressed, and you know, like I
hate to say it, where like I get sad to
(40:06):
that point where suicide does come up and it hurts,
But I always take myself out of it and I
always work my way through it. That's just a part
of mental health and finding help and taking care of
myself has been a big part of that journey. But
at the end of the day, I couldn't be happier.
I couldn't be more grateful. Blessed beyond belief is what
(40:30):
I always say, because God has given me so much
that I wouldn't change it for anything.
Speaker 1 (40:43):
So I don't need to reinforce here just how special
Trace he is, or Ricky or even Riley for that matter.
It became so apparent to me over the course of
our chat, But despite them both being younger than me,
I now refer to them as mom and Dad, and
I'm going to be bringing around my little very soon.
So instead, I wanted to highlight another part of Tracy's
(41:04):
story that I think is really significant, and that's finding
that thing, the thing that makes you feel alive, your
version of archery. Now you don't have to go through
something as horrific as Tracy has to find the thing
that makes even a mundane, untraumatic life more livable. For me,
(41:26):
I realized that I was an absolute sucker for music
and theater when my parents took me to see the
iconic nineteen ninety four West End production of Oliver. I've
spent my entire life running around stages and making noises
in microphones ever since, so you can blame them for
this podcast. These are things that we silly, little humans
(41:50):
do just for the joy of it. And if you
feel like you're not doing enough things just for the
joy of it, then you need to take a leaf
out of Tracy's book. Because if there's one thing this
interview is absolutely brimming with more than tragedy, it's joy
and hope and a great sales pitch for the life
(42:11):
altering force that is archery and other passions. I am
really excited to share the stories of some truly incredible
women with you this season. Coming up on The Girlfriend's Spotlight,
(42:35):
Luanne escapes the Order.
Speaker 2 (42:37):
I was approached to be married to my cousin slash
nephew as his fourth wife. I knew that it was
going to happen, with or without my concern.
Speaker 1 (42:47):
Nellie goes under cover.
Speaker 2 (42:49):
In the first paragraph, she writes, could I pass a
week in the insane ward a Blackwell's Island? I said
I could, and I would, and I.
Speaker 1 (42:58):
Did Rose Song at least eighty six cold cases.
Speaker 2 (43:03):
And I'm telling you. I've never had this feeling before
in my life. The hair on the back of my
neck was starting to see up because this was the guy.
I mean, it was unbelievable.
Speaker 1 (43:15):
And June Rox America. I might as well have said
we're gonna walk on the moon as say we're starting
a band. And it was that ridiculous. You know, hey,
(43:42):
you've reached the girlfriend's hotline. You can leave your mini
story after the tone Righte catulator Bye.
Speaker 3 (43:50):
My grandma passed away about four years ago, and she
passed away in a mine whilst I was living in
London and I wasn't able to go back for the funeral.
My flatmates or taking excellent care of me during this time,
but one specific incident stands out to me. I remember
it was like a gloomy November night, it was raining,
it was freezing outside, and I had just been feeling
(44:12):
quite sad and like I needed some kind of refreshing
change of routine. Without hesitation, my flatmate said, all right,
put on your coat, put on some boots and a
scarf and let's go on a walk. And this has
probably been the most memorable walk I've ever taken in London.
I think we walked for about three hours and passed
every monument and landmark of London, from Westminster Parliament to
(44:36):
Big Ben to the Tower of London to London Bridge,
and the whole time she just listened to me talk
about my grandma, or talk about things that would distract me,
or just very silly things like how badly we wanted
to watch the Shrek musical, which we passed by. I
just remember laughing and smiling so much during a time
that would have otherwise been characterized by a lot of sadness.
(45:00):
I just feel so grateful to have friends who will
go on three to four hour walks with you in
the middle of winter and London when you need a
change of scene.
Speaker 1 (45:10):
If you have your own story like the one you
just heard, and you'd like the whole Girlfriend's gang to
hear it, then please send it to us. You can
record it as a voice memo under ninety seconds. Please
and email it straight to the girlfriends at novel dot Audio.
Please don't include your name. We're keeping things a little
a noon. We want stories like say that one time
(45:34):
you faked an emergency on an awful date and your
bestie bailed you out with a phone call we Love Her,
Or that time when all of your girls showed up
on your doorstep with five pizzas, two tups of ice cream,
and three bottles of saven your blanc because the man
of your dreams just dumped you. I want stories that
are meaningful or silly. I want big, I want small.
(45:58):
I'm desperate to hear them to send him over. This season,
The Girlfriend's Spotlight is supporting the charity Womankind Worldwide. They
do amazing work to help women's rights organizations and movements
to strengthen and grow. If you'd like to find out
more or donate to help them secure equal rights for
women and girls across the globe, you can go to
(46:21):
Womankind dot org dot UK. The Girlfriend's Spotlight is produced
by Novel for iHeart Podcasts. For more from Novel, visit
novel dot Audio. This episode was written and produced by
(46:43):
Caroline Thornham. Our assistant producer is Lucy Carr. Our researcher
is Sayana Yusuf. The editor is Hannah Marshall. Max O'Brien
and Craig Strachan are our executive producers. Production management from
Joe Savage, Shrie Houston and Charlotte Wolfe, sound design, mixing
and scoring by Nicholas Alexander and Daniel Kempson. Music supervision
(47:08):
by Jacob Tivich, Nicholas Alexander and Anna Sinfield. Original music
composed by Louisa Gerstein and Jemma Freeman. The series artwork
was designed by Christina lemcol Willard Foxton is creative director
of Development and Special thanks to Katrina Norvel, Carrie Lieberman,
and Will Pearson at iHeart Podcasts, as well as Carl
(47:31):
Frankel and the whole team at w M E.
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