I know this is my first 3 hour episode in a while (or maybe ever?), but I promise you that every minute is worth the listen. I interviewed my friend, Amanda, about her life and the multitude of traumas and life experiences she has had. We touch on probably the biggest variety of topics ever: military life, gangs, addiction, death, pregnancy, abuse (all forms of it), incarceration, reentry, etc etc etc. Big trigger warning for everyone as there is discussion of sexual assault, domestic violence, drug use, and a lot of other traumatizing experiences. I promise you though--there is a happy ending and no one deserves it more than Amanda. Hope you enjoy the episode.
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Amanda Cassidy-Trejo is a strong woman in recovery. She began her recovery pathway on October 15, 2018 from substance use disorder. As you will find out in this podcast, she is also in recovery from a long standing relationship with handcuffs. She has been handcuff free since July 23, 2019. You will hear a lot in this episode about Amanda, but the most important take away (no matter how corny) is hope.
To follow Amanda's work, you can find her on Facebook. To support the girls and women who are currently incarcerated in the Texas Criminal Legal system, please check out Lioness Justice Impacted Women's Alliance on social media and their website: https://www.lionessjiwa.org/
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Dateline NBC
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CrimeLess: Hillbilly Heist
It’s 1996 in rural North Carolina, and an oddball crew makes history when they pull off America’s third largest cash heist. But it’s all downhill from there. Join host Johnny Knoxville as he unspools a wild and woolly tale about a group of regular ‘ol folks who risked it all for a chance at a better life. CrimeLess: Hillbilly Heist answers the question: what would you do with 17.3 million dollars? The answer includes diamond rings, mansions, velvet Elvis paintings, plus a run for the border, murder-for-hire-plots, and FBI busts.