Ep 14: I Pointed a Gun to Survive: Why I’ll Never Go Back Diahnna Curtis on Abuse, Mother, & Bravery
October 17, 2025 • 33 mins
After two marriages, violence, and the terror of choosing survival, Realtor & community leader Diahnna Curtis tells host Barbara L. Parker, MA, LPCC-S how she rebuilt: leaving abuse, working three jobs, choosing public assistance without shame, raising two daughters through activities and structure, and transforming health with intentional eating and meal prep (autoimmune-friendly).
What you’ll learn
- The moment you know it’s over—and how to plan your exit safely
- Working hard vs. working smart (at-will state, layoffs, pivot to real estate)
- Single-mom playbook: activities as stability (golf, theater, teams)
- Food as medicine: anti-inflammatory choices, meal prep & label literacy
- Boundaries that last: “If I can choose never again, I had power all along”
What if the dream you chased became the cage you had to escape? That’s where our conversation with Diahnna Curtis begins—young love misread as devotion, red flags disguised as attention, and the quiet, terrifying shift from romance to violence. Diahnna takes us into the moment she chose safety over the picture-perfect story, and the long, unglamorous road that followed: two divorces, three jobs, school at night, and the pain of missing first steps while building a way out. From there, we pull back the curtain on how survival turns into strategy. Diahnna reclaims her power by reframing public assistance as a bridge, not a failure; by leaving toxic workplaces in an at-will state that thrives on precarity; and by pivoting into real estate where she can set her ceiling, advocate for minority homeownership, and lead with integrity. She shares what autonomy really looks like—choosing not to return to a place you were released from, building income around values, and protecting your peace even when the numbers tell you to compromise. Threaded through is a masterclass in parenting through upheaval and caring for a body that demands intention. Golf lessons at lunch breaks, theater sign-ups, swim practice, and drive-thru dinners gave her daughters rhythm when life felt uncertain. An autoimmune condition reshaped her kitchen: weekend meal prep, freezer-ready proteins, fresh markets, and seasoning shelves split into “safe” and “general.” She talks about setbacks from indulgent meals out, the joy of almond flour pancakes, why blueberries and kale stay on the plate, and how improved labs prove that consistent choices pay off. Diahnna’s final insight lands with weight: if she can say she won’t allow abuse again, then she admits she allowed it once—and that admission returns her agency. If you’re navigating control, career burnout, parenting in transition, or a health reset, this story offers a blueprint: walk when you’re released, design work that serves your life, feed your body with care, and build a home—literal and emotional—on your own terms. If the episode resonates, subscribe, share it with someone who needs hope, and leave a review so more listeners can find their way to safety and strength.
Resources & Safety
- If you’re in danger, call 911 (U.S.).
- Domestic Violence Hotline (U.S.): 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) or chat: thehotline.org
- Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (U.S.): Call/Text 988 (24/7)
About the show
Powerfully Broken helps you overcome unhealthy relationships that harm mental health. New episodes Tuesday and Fridays at 9 AM ET and Sunday at 8am ET
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Follow: @powerfullybroken | @queenblparker | bfempowerment.com/pbp
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Barbara L. Parker (00:00):
Welcome to Powerfully Broken Podcast, where
we break unhealthyrelationships that negatively
impact our mental health.
Today we are talking withDeanna Curtis, who is one of
Akron's Realtors, the presidentof the Akron Realtors, and a
realtor, a mother, and awonderful human being overall.
A grandmother and a grandmotherand a mom and an amazing uh
(00:25):
stepmom and a best friend.
Um, I'll have pictures ofproof, but I swear she did all
(00:57):
the work on it when nobody waslaughing.
Um so we talked a lot aboutbeing married, being divorced.
Um tell me a little bit aboutthat journey for you.
What made you think you evenwanted to be a wife?
Diahnna Curtis (01:15):
Oh gosh.
Well, first of all, let me say Imissed the wedding.
Remember, I had to dress andeverything.
My daughter went into labor.
I'll never forgive her for thatone, but I'm happy for my dress
up.
I had to hop on a flight.
Um, oh my gosh, I think even asa kid or you know, girls, I
(01:37):
don't know, but probably likemost of the girls, you think
you're gonna grow up and getmarried and have a house and the
white picket fence and thewhole line, right?
So um I've been married twice,divorced twice.
Um, the first marriage waspretty early in my life.
I think I wasn't, I wasn't even21 when I got married.
(01:59):
I was 20 because it I couldn'tbuy alcohol.
Like I'm married and I can'teven buy a glass of wine to take
home, right?
So um, I think it was the firstperson that really what I
thought was signs of affectionand love were red signs, were
(02:21):
red flags.
You know, the jealousy.
He was real cute, everybodyliked him, basketball team, you
know, played basketball thewhole nine.
I had the guy, right?
And so um, and then he wasjealous about who's looking at
(02:41):
me or trying to talk to me.
So I'm thinking that's myperson.
It's not till after you getmarried that you find out that
those were red flags, that youare, you know, you it's like how
much detail do I do?
(03:03):
You're sitting in the car andyou look over at the car that
just pulled up next to you, justbecause you see something out
of peripheral vision, right?
And before you turn around,you're getting smacked in the
face or backhand across theface.
That kind of stuff.
So then you start um walkingwith your head down, not wanting
(03:28):
to look up to even people Iknew in high school said, I saw
you, but you always got yourhead down.
You never walk, you learn towalk on eggshells.
And before you know it, you arejust someone you do not
recognize.
You don't know who you are.
And I remember looking outsideof sitting in the living room,
(03:48):
looking out of, looking out thewindow, and I had had my first
start by our first anniversary,um, probably about two weeks
before our first anniversary, Ihad my daughter, my first
daughter.
And so that during my pregnancyis when I started to see stuff
was starting to go awry.
(04:10):
Um, clocking what time I'mback, couldn't go ready, had an
hour to go to the grocery store,don't be late coming back, that
kind of stuff.
And so um, but I found myselflooking out the window saying,
is this supposed to be the restof my life?
Living in subsidized housingwith someone who's not paying
(04:33):
the $3 a month or $14 a monthrent we had, and just um doing
their own thing.
And I said, God is just whatit's supposed to be for me.
And then I said, I just can't.
I just cannot end up stayingthis way.
So a second kid later, becauseby the time I really said I'm
(04:57):
out, I was found myself I waspregnant again, right?
So um I just came to the pointwhere um one of us had to leave
because someone was going to, itgot so violent that someone
wasn't gonna survive it.
Barbara L. Parker (05:14):
Yeah.
Diahnna Curtis (05:15):
And when you, and then I didn't want my two
girls growing up in a householdwhere their parents fought like
that, or their mom fought, orthey saw one of us cause serious
harm to the other.
Because it got to the pointwhere I literally had to point a
gun in his face to get him offof me from beating me in the
(05:35):
head.
So um, it was a rough time forme, and it was hard to come to
terms with even my idea with Godthat you got married, you
weren't supposed to getdivorced.
So now I gotta get divorced,and that whole dream I had is
(05:57):
just gone.
It's shattered.
So I had to say goodbye to thedream, goodbye to the
relationship, and goodbye to aperson that I looked in his eyes
and watched him hit merepeatedly, and he didn't blink.
So yeah, it was tough.
(06:21):
I mean, so out of that, Ilearned I was better off by
myself and I was scared becausenow I have two little ones, and
how do I make that work?
So I ended up with three jobs.
Um, a full-time job during theday, early in the morning at a
(06:42):
check cash place, and I wasstill in school at AcreU.
So I had a full-time job, andthen I went and worked um at
Acre U in the call center forpart-time.
And then I got another job thataudited files at night for the
county, um, an outside companythey had hired.
And so I worked for them untillike after midnight.
(07:05):
So when I dropped my girls offin the morning, they were in
their pajamas.
And when I picked them up, theywere in their pajamas again.
So my youngest daughter, Inever saw her walk.
I mean, I saw her walk, but Ididn't see her first steps.
The babysitter told me aboutit.
And so literally, I one day Isat on the side of the bed
(07:29):
getting ready to get them up,and I just sat there and I cried
after months of doing that, ora year or so of doing that, and
I said, This can't be our lifeagain.
So I said, You got to dosomething.
So that was my reality thatyou're gonna have to go and get
help, public assistance orsomething, so you can go back to
(07:52):
school and figure out howyou're gonna make this work.
Because this person that thatwas even a challenge for you
because you didn't believe atone point that that was
something you wanted to do.
I didn't.
That's why it was so hard, andI sat there and cried about it
because I didn't want to.
My mom wouldn't do it, so Ilearned from her not to not to
you know rely on publicassistance, and but this person
(08:15):
wasn't helping, and I didn'twant to keep trying to make them
because that relationship wasso volatile that any connection
caused just fights and turmoiland the whole nine.
So it was better off to keepthe peace at home and be able to
make things make sense at homewas to not bring in that chaos
(08:37):
because there was chaos ofknocking on the door, being, you
know, that kind of crap.
So I went down there and Isigned up, and then I went and
signed up for classes.
So if you use it for a means toan end, that's great, but it
was hard for me to even do itthen.
Barbara L. Parker (08:56):
So for you, was it like admitting defeat?
I think for me, I was like, I'mnot supposed to be here.
I because I've worked since Iwas 14.
Diahnna Curtis (09:06):
So it was like, This is not supposed to be my
life?
Barbara L. Parker (09:10):
Yeah, yeah.
Diahnna Curtis (09:10):
I'm failing at this, I'm not doing well at it.
Yeah.
But when I realized I didn'tsee my daughter take her first
steps, I'm like, you're missingtheir life.
You're not raising them,someone else's.
You don't even see them all dayuntil the weekend, and then you
see them a part of that time.
But all through the weekday,you're you're dropping them off,
(09:32):
one in a car seat, and one youcarrying, and they're in their
pajamas.
And then you bringing them backand trying to get in the house
with two in the middle of thenight with the car light shining
on the so you can get in thehouse.
And I was like, what are youdoing?
Barbara L. Parker (09:47):
So, what was your step with going from
working hard to working smarter?
Diahnna Curtis (09:54):
Um, it took me a minute, a while, because then
I then got married again,probably about three, four years
later.
And then I worked retail.
And I was I managed retail.
So then I found myself workingum sunup, sundown again, because
(10:20):
the stores open, I was there.
When the store closed, I wasthere an hour after holidays,
totally missed Christmas, youknow, those holidays.
And I did the same thing.
At one time, Christmas wasgetting ready, or Thanksgiving
was getting ready to rollaround, and I said, Here we go
with these 60, 80 hour workweeks again.
Um, and I sat there and Icried.
(10:42):
I said, You missed the wholeholiday.
Uh so um I said something hasto change again.
And so I then started lookingfor a regular nine to five job.
And so um, the other thingabout working the private sector
(11:05):
is Ohio's an at-will state.
Yeah, so then um there's alwaysthis threat that you could
potentially lose your job,there's no union.
Um, so I was used to thatenvironment.
So there's so there was a lotof job changes for one, because
you want to find somethingbetter.
(11:25):
There's no longevity in many ofthose positions.
But what happened is probablyyears later after I left retail,
I went to another company andworked for them for eight years.
It was an abusive environmentwhere the supervisor was calling
people's names, yelling atpeople.
(11:46):
I didn't experience too much ofit until the tail end of it.
And then I walked out because Isaw it as this is abuse, the
way that the employees are beingtaken.
And then the next job I went towas in housing, and that was my
first time finding out aboutOhio as an at-will state.
And I worked there for years,and um, but I I liked housing
(12:12):
and um I did well at it, thatthey gave me pay increases, and
I knew that I'd earned, I knewthat once they saw um the new
regional manager saw what I wasmaking, I was at the top of the
(12:32):
ladder for that position.
And I knew that was gonna be aproblem because she had let
everyone go on a previousproperty that she went to, and
our property was second.
And I said she let everyone goand brought new people in.
You bring them in with less forless money.
Right.
So um the first day she let mymy maintenance supervisor go.
(12:53):
Then um she asked me foreveryone's salary, and she said,
hmm, and walked away.
And I said, here we go.
And she came back and she gaveme a severance package.
She said, We let yoursupervisor go yesterday.
We didn't give him anything.
We like you, but it's anat-will state, and we can let
(13:15):
you go at any time.
I said, Okay, I needed to go,um uh because the hours and it
was a lot, but I was alsoworking on some projects there
for the community, for thepeople that live there, because
it was a subsidized property andtrying to fix it up.
And I've been working with thecity of Acker, with the police
department and things like thatto um create a safer environment
(13:40):
for the people that were there,but it was also becoming unsafe
for me.
Barbara L. Parker (13:44):
Yeah.
Diahnna Curtis (13:45):
So, but you know, I'm a little hard-headed
when it comes to stuff likethat, right?
So I just um, so it was ablessing that that happened
because then it allowed me tomove on.
So I even went home and droppedto my knees, and I thanked God,
and I was like, Lord, thankyou.
In the meantime, all of this,I've gotten divorced again and
(14:06):
bought a house on my own and thewhole nine, and I was in that
new house at this point, and Isaid, Thank God um that you
released me from that.
Something you've been tellingme to leave, but I was being
hard-headed.
And so someone called me andsaid, Are you okay?
I mean, I can't.
I said, I am fine, I am good.
(14:27):
This was the best thing thatcould have happened for me.
And then um that that tell youhow crazy it was, that regional
got fired shortly after.
And I saw another of one of thewhat used to be one of my staff
that was at that place said,You need to get your job back.
And I said, God released mefrom there.
(14:48):
So I'm not going back to whereGod released me from, right?
Another life lesson, right?
So all these places andrelationships that you have been
in, going back to them when Godhas released you from them in
the first place.
So I'm learning that lesson inthe process also.
So um that then took me to thecounty and then working the um
(15:12):
going into real estate becausethen I said I can now control
how much I make because I had totake a pay cut for the next
job.
And so I said, I would like todo something where I can
determine my pay a little bitmore, and someone can't just
come in and hand me a severancepackage, which is fine.
I took it and was able to takea few months off from work.
(15:33):
But um, so that brought me upto real estate.
But in the meantime, you'regoing through all of that and
you still have life, you stillgot two little girls, you still
got a house that you're now onthe hook for and gotta manage,
and and um you're gettingdivorced a second time.
Um and and bought a house whileI was getting divorced.
(15:58):
So um that was a that was a lotto to take on.
But hey, we had to gosomewhere.
We had to live somewhere.
So we moved there.
Ad (16:09):
This segment of the powerfully broken podcast is
brought to you by A PowerfulDivorce, the book by Barbara L.
Parker.
It's not just about L D Parker,it's about the discovery of you
are stronger than ever.
Now back to our program.
Barbara L. Parker (16:42):
So one of the things about your journey that
we talked about before was yourgirls, you had them in golf,
tennis, chair, I don't know,build-a-bear workshop.
I don't know.
You had them, baby, and you inaddition to showing up and being
(17:05):
present for your clients, youmade sure that you never dropped
them, that you were alwayspresent, and you always got them
to and from every single thingthey was involved with.
I can't take it.
Diahnna Curtis (17:16):
I can't lie, what you see, people know too
much about your life.
I kind of forgot about some ofthat stuff.
Oh my gosh.
I coached their Odyssey of themind, destination, imagination
teams.
Um, they did a lot of stuff.
A lot of that was out ofnecessity.
So, what are they gonna do overthe summer while I'm working?
(17:37):
These extra jobs.
Um, I still worked extra jobsperiodically, got it honestly,
got it from my mom.
That's how she did.
She worked, she was a nurse atthe hospital, and then she
worked weekends at someone'shouse or in the evenings at
someone's house.
So I learned it honestly.
Um, but it was golf.
(17:58):
I would leave lunch in thesummertime to take them, drop
them off at the golf course sothey could take lessons.
Um, they were in the first Tprogram and then pick them back
up, sending them to summercamps.
It was giving them stuff to doso they weren't sitting at home
idle all the time.
And thankfully, they likeddoing a lot of that stuff.
(18:21):
So one was would playvolleyball and basketball during
the time, the other one was intheater.
Um, so I would find hercommunity plays to be a part of,
things like that, so that theyalways had activities and it are
their life stayed so full thatthey didn't miss or because I
(18:44):
noticed when I was gettingdivorced the second time when
they were old enough tounderstand to see it more so.
Um, they I could see the stressand the worry of us moving into
that house.
And I actually had a talk withmy oldest daughter and asked her
what was going on, and shesaid, Well, what's gonna happen
(19:05):
with us?
And I was I told her, let meworry about that.
I got us, I got us a house,don't worry about it, we'll be
fine.
You worry about the activitiesand the things you have to do,
and you do you and don't stressover adult stuff.
I got this.
So I just continued to try tokeep them busy with doing stuff
(19:25):
so that it kept their mindsoccupied.
So that was the goal, and Ithink they turned out to be good
little girls, you know.
So um, so I think that'simportant to keep the
activities.
So I forgot about all thatstuff.
I can't, they took singinglessons.
Oh my lord.
Look, you do the same thing,mama.
(19:47):
Yeah, my my third parent homeis Uber.
We didn't have Uber.
I know.
Sad to drive them here andthere.
And I remember my my youngestsaid, we ate McDonald's.
And I think she said it oneday, and then she kind of
realized, I said, you know, youate a lot of McDonald's because
we going by the drive-through,and I'm throwing them in the
(20:09):
backseat because we're on ourway to basketball or volleyball.
And she said, Oh, well, yeah,that's true.
She had track practice, she wason the swim team.
I mean, they they did a lot ofstuff, and I said, And we made
it fun because we collected thelittle toys and the beanie
babies, and we still have a toteabout this big, full of that
stuff, this unopened, that ifone of them don't come get them,
(20:32):
goodwill gonna see it.
No.
There's beanie babies,everything in there.
But we so we made it fun too.
Barbara L. Parker (20:45):
So you mentioned, you know, doing a lot
of the quick meals, and becauseyou were in transition trying
to get from one place toanother.
We have talked a lot about yourgreen thumb.
I'm still waiting on my gardento be uh put together.
Just saying, I'm gonna leavethat alone.
Anyway, um, you are I need thegarden, you are phenomenal at
(21:11):
managing your health with in anorganic way, growing your own
vegetables and fruits and thingsof that nature.
So I know you started withgetting everything quick, but
you still always on the go.
So, how do you have somethingthat's nutritious that helps
feed your body and not cause itharm?
And what are some of thelessons that you learned?
(21:32):
Because I know, like you taughtme garlic is like an
inflammatory, which we love.
Diahnna Curtis (21:38):
Yeah, no, garlic is good for you.
Garlic boosts your immunesystem.
I have an autoimmune issue.
So for me, it can trigger aflare-up rather than help boost
my immune system the wrong way.
So, but garlic can be very goodfor you to take.
Um, I do do a lot of researchon the foods and the things that
(21:59):
I eat.
Even though we were doing thequick things when they were
younger, I really wasn't eatingthat as much as it was to get
them something to eat.
Because I'm leaving work andthen running them somewhere to
drop them off, and then I couldgo figure out something for me.
But just eating green, thatkale, um, things that are
(22:21):
antioxidants.
So I look at those things likeblueberries.
Um, I stay away from a lot ofcarbs.
Uh, so um I do a lot of seafoodor I've done a lot of salmon,
but now I've kind of introducedchicken back in a little bit
because salmon has a lot of fatto it.
And so chicken could be alittle leaner or is leaner.
(22:43):
And so just to break it up fromalways doing tuna, salmon, uh,
seafood.
And I love seafood, so I can dolobster, crab, the shrimp all
day long.
So um, but a lot of it is thefresh vegetables, and it gets
tough get not having a garden.
(23:04):
So um, in the last few years,I've not had one, believe it or
not.
I know, but but um so but Istill try to go to a fresh
market somewhere and get freshvegetables regularly, but those
are the health issues, you'llfeel better.
Um, I've gotten a lot this yearinto watermelon um because
(23:27):
watermelon has a lot, it haselectrolytes in it, it's
hydrating, it's a lot of sugarin it, so you don't want to do
too much of it.
But um I really believe thatwhat you put in your body is
gonna help you feel better anddo better.
And that with the autoimmunething, it's it's a thing that
also runs in my dad's family.
I'm just now to this point inmy life where I'm dealing with
(23:49):
it, and some of my familymembers have dealt with it a lot
earlier than I did.
I was not aware until that itwas so prevalent in my dad's
family amongst the women.
So um, I don't know if myeating helped with that, but I'm
hoping to manage it and controlit by continuing to eat better,
(24:11):
and I cut out some things thatI was doing in my diet.
So yeah.
Mary Kent (24:18):
How hard was it for you?
Because I've watched you um dothings like even from the
daughter to like being at adestination ready, but like
having the presence of mind thatI'm going to plan how I'm going
to eat for the whole thing.
So, okay, right, a year being aweek, I can go and three one of
(24:39):
my poultries and make sure fordinner or time buying anything.
Diahnna Curtis (24:43):
Yeah.
And do that meal prep.
Right.
So I do a lot of meal prep.
So in the weekends and stuff,I'll cook a lot of stuff.
Um, I've been grilling chickenbecause I watch even the
seasonings I've put on.
So there's a lot of seasoningsI can't use or I don't use.
So I can't.
I choose not to.
Right?
So so I grill chicken um andthen I can prepackage it in the
(25:06):
freezer and stuff so that I havequick meals because I work late
a lot, and then I could pullsomething out of the freezer and
I have food.
So um meal prep is important.
When I found out I had thisissue, my daughter, oldest
daughter, got a lot of my food,so no canned stuff.
Um, so I cleared all my coversout.
(25:27):
I separated my seasonings, Ilooked up everything, right?
Saw the effects that it has onyour body being an
anti-inflammatory orantioxidant, and then um, or
causing inflammation.
And so my, you know, becauseyou've been in my kitchen, the
seasoning rack at the bottom hasthe seasoning for that
(25:49):
everybody can use.
And the seasoning at the top isthe stuff I know I could do.
So I did that one weekend, soit's not that difficult for me
to think about it.
I know if it's on this topshelf, I can sprinkle it all
over my food I want to.
And then I I the first fewdays, I was hungry, starving,
because I didn't know everythingI looked up, I couldn't eat.
(26:11):
Like my face, pizza, can't eatit, spaghetti, can't eat it,
kind of thing, or shouldn't eatit.
So um one day it just dawned onme, probably about they three
are sitting there hungry.
I said, Google the stuff youcan eat.
And then all of this stuff cameup.
So I went to the grocery store,bought a lot of the stuff, and
(26:34):
restocked the cupboards andcabinets with stuff that I know
I can do.
So um, that's how I did.
So it makes it easier.
I know if it's in the house, Ican eat it.
If it's not, I can't.
So I just realized you don'talways think of stuff.
I've been wanting pancakes.
I miss pancakes.
Well, I can make pancakes withalmond flour.
(26:55):
So I have almond flour, I havea great recipe for it.
So I'll be making freshpancakes.
I just haven't had the time thelast couple days to do it, but
I promise Sunday morning I'mgonna make myself pancakes that
I'm not having in a long time.
So, yeah.
With maple syrup, little bitmaple syrup, that's pretty
(27:18):
healthy.
So I'd use honey to helpsweeten stuff and agave.
So yeah.
Barbara L. Parker (27:24):
Yeah, and all your food tastes good, even
though you're eating healthy,making sure everything has the
right components of macros andmicro nutrient nutrients.
Yes, it tastes delicious.
Thank you.
You know, it's not like oh, wegotta go to Giana's house and
eat this cardboard and pretendwe like it.
(27:44):
Like we can't tell thedifference between the stuff you
would normally just prepare foryourself and the stuff that you
know you go to the bottom ofthe cabinet and get because it's
all delicious.
Diahnna Curtis (27:56):
Well, nobody wants to eat stuff without
flavoring it as a taste well.
Barbara L. Parker (28:00):
So it's oh no, these cardboard makers.
Oh my gosh, they everywhere.
I wish I would be able to stop.
I don't, you know, there's moreseasons.
Diahnna Curtis (28:10):
I pull a lot of pepper.
Well, you guys have been prettygood because you guys have done
stuff and cooked, and yourecognized I couldn't do garlic
and stuff like that, and thenyou'll make a little side
something for me.
So I appreciate that.
So that was the other positivething, having friends around you
that were supportive of thatkind of thing.
So even now, making saladdressings and stuff, I do from
(28:31):
scratch, and believe it or not,they actually are pretty good.
So I'm sorry.
Barbara L. Parker (28:39):
I like because I went from having all
these parties and myrelationship with food changed,
you know, and then you know,Becca got her protein allergy.
Mary don't eat pork or then youpass the salad with no with my
pepperonis and turkey.
I had all these.
Okay, Becca can eat this, Dianacan eat this, Mary can eat
(29:00):
this, but now I stopped cookingbecause I'll spend $300 on food
and I eat two bites, and I'mlike, she's still eating, she's
still eating, he eating.
It's like I guess I don't haveanother sip for this.
You know, it just it changed myentire relationship with my
(29:21):
like it's not just forrecreation and like bonding.
It's like, okay, it now has tohave value.
Like that's the new thing Iwant.
Diahnna Curtis (29:32):
I love food though.
I love food.
And I there's some restaurants,and I did it recently.
Um had an honors, um, the OhioBlack Women's Caucus gave me a
women's award thing, not orhonored me along with a whole
lot of other women.
And I I'm going to Lucianos andgetting my mussels and my
(29:55):
asparagus or artichoke, heart,artichoke, and And then we ended
up going somewhere else.
Really nice restaurant.
Wasn't there.
We actually got there.
So I said, no, I want to gohere.
And we left.
So I didn't get my dish, but Igot something else there.
I was up all night sick.
And I said, I swore the nextday I was sick.
(30:16):
I didn't think I didn't eat fortwo days.
And I said, I'll never do itagain.
I'll never eat something I'mnot supposed to eat.
And so probably six monthslater, I did it again.
Going out to Cooper's Hawk.
And I said, I gotta have myBrussels sprouts with the sauce
(30:40):
and the seasoning.
And um could be because Iwasn't used to eating that stuff
anymore.
And I ended up getting sick,not as bad as the first time.
And I said, okay, then you needto go back to your regular
regiment.
You feel better, you don't getsick from it, and just um work
on being healthy and getting thenumbers down and everything.
And so far, the last blood workand everything I had, that
(31:03):
everything was great.
They're like, oh, your numbersare good, kidneys, everything is
fine.
So um I attribute that toeating healthy.
I'd have to do better about mywater intake, but water just has
no taste.
But thanks to your ginger teathat I have drank.
It is right.
(31:23):
Anthony.
Yeah.
Barbara L. Parker (31:26):
So again, thank you for coming and talking
with us about how to supportour health, how to support our
kids by balancing the need toprovide for them as well as
taking care of our own emotionalwell-being and building a space
that's safe for us to maintainour life in.
Um, and I appreciate you justbeing so transparent and wanting
(31:48):
to help everybody and as wellas.
Diahnna Curtis (31:51):
Absolutely.
Absolutely.
I'm happy to help anyone.
I I learned that I had to takesome ownership in what was
happening to me.
So when I could sit there andsay, I'm never gonna let this
happen again, I'll never get inan abusive relationship again,
then I had to realize I allowedit in the first place.
(32:12):
Because if I can say I'm notallowing it again, I have some
power.
So that was part of taking mypower back.
So if I can help someone elserecognize they have the power to
not allow it, then I'm happyto.
Barbara L. Parker (32:26):
So if there's anyone in the Ohio area looking
to purchase a home or get somegood advocacy or financial
guidance on that process, wherecan they find you?
Diahnna Curtis (32:39):
Oh, they can find me at 330-715-5650.
They can Google Deanna Curtis.
Um, they can also find me uhthrough the Akron Realtors
Association website.
They can find um other salesagents, lenders uh also there.
(33:00):
And we can refer them to peoplealso.
And I know some great lendersout there that are willing to
work with people because theythey're just as compassionate
about minorities andhomeownership as I am.
Ad (33:11):
So be happy to help.
This episode is proudlysponsored by BF Empowerment
Center, where healing isn't justpossible, it's powerful.
BF Empowerment Center helpsindividuals break barriers,
build healthier relationships,and unlock their true potential
for lasting transformation.
Follow at MBL Parker or BFEmpowerment.
(33:33):
Don't forget to like, comment,share, and subscribe at the
Powerfully Broken Podcast thirdevery Friday at the 99th of
Powerfully Broken Input toovercome until Mental Health.
Welcome to Powerfully Broken Podcast, where
we break unhealthyrelationships that negatively
impact our mental health.
Today we are talking withDeanna Curtis, who is one of
Akron's Realtors, the presidentof the Akron Realtors, and a
realtor, a mother, and awonderful human being overall.
A grandmother and a grandmotherand a mom and an amazing uh
(00:25):
stepmom and a best friend.
Um, I'll have pictures ofproof, but I swear she did all
(00:57):
the work on it when nobody waslaughing.
Um so we talked a lot aboutbeing married, being divorced.
Um tell me a little bit aboutthat journey for you.
What made you think you evenwanted to be a wife?
Diahnna Curtis (01:15):
Oh gosh.
Well, first of all, let me say Imissed the wedding.
Remember, I had to dress andeverything.
My daughter went into labor.
I'll never forgive her for thatone, but I'm happy for my dress
up.
I had to hop on a flight.
Um, oh my gosh, I think even asa kid or you know, girls, I
(01:37):
don't know, but probably likemost of the girls, you think
you're gonna grow up and getmarried and have a house and the
white picket fence and thewhole line, right?
So um I've been married twice,divorced twice.
Um, the first marriage waspretty early in my life.
I think I wasn't, I wasn't even21 when I got married.
(01:59):
I was 20 because it I couldn'tbuy alcohol.
Like I'm married and I can'teven buy a glass of wine to take
home, right?
So um, I think it was the firstperson that really what I
thought was signs of affectionand love were red signs, were
(02:21):
red flags.
You know, the jealousy.
He was real cute, everybodyliked him, basketball team, you
know, played basketball thewhole nine.
I had the guy, right?
And so um, and then he wasjealous about who's looking at
(02:41):
me or trying to talk to me.
So I'm thinking that's myperson.
It's not till after you getmarried that you find out that
those were red flags, that youare, you know, you it's like how
much detail do I do?
(03:03):
You're sitting in the car andyou look over at the car that
just pulled up next to you, justbecause you see something out
of peripheral vision, right?
And before you turn around,you're getting smacked in the
face or backhand across theface.
That kind of stuff.
So then you start um walkingwith your head down, not wanting
(03:28):
to look up to even people Iknew in high school said, I saw
you, but you always got yourhead down.
You never walk, you learn towalk on eggshells.
And before you know it, you arejust someone you do not
recognize.
You don't know who you are.
And I remember looking outsideof sitting in the living room,
(03:48):
looking out of, looking out thewindow, and I had had my first
start by our first anniversary,um, probably about two weeks
before our first anniversary, Ihad my daughter, my first
daughter.
And so that during my pregnancyis when I started to see stuff
was starting to go awry.
(04:10):
Um, clocking what time I'mback, couldn't go ready, had an
hour to go to the grocery store,don't be late coming back, that
kind of stuff.
And so um, but I found myselflooking out the window saying,
is this supposed to be the restof my life?
Living in subsidized housingwith someone who's not paying
(04:33):
the $3 a month or $14 a monthrent we had, and just um doing
their own thing.
And I said, God is just whatit's supposed to be for me.
And then I said, I just can't.
I just cannot end up stayingthis way.
So a second kid later, becauseby the time I really said I'm
(04:57):
out, I was found myself I waspregnant again, right?
So um I just came to the pointwhere um one of us had to leave
because someone was going to, itgot so violent that someone
wasn't gonna survive it.
Barbara L. Parker (05:14):
Yeah.
Diahnna Curtis (05:15):
And when you, and then I didn't want my two
girls growing up in a householdwhere their parents fought like
that, or their mom fought, orthey saw one of us cause serious
harm to the other.
Because it got to the pointwhere I literally had to point a
gun in his face to get him offof me from beating me in the
(05:35):
head.
So um, it was a rough time forme, and it was hard to come to
terms with even my idea with Godthat you got married, you
weren't supposed to getdivorced.
So now I gotta get divorced,and that whole dream I had is
(05:57):
just gone.
It's shattered.
So I had to say goodbye to thedream, goodbye to the
relationship, and goodbye to aperson that I looked in his eyes
and watched him hit merepeatedly, and he didn't blink.
So yeah, it was tough.
(06:21):
I mean, so out of that, Ilearned I was better off by
myself and I was scared becausenow I have two little ones, and
how do I make that work?
So I ended up with three jobs.
Um, a full-time job during theday, early in the morning at a
(06:42):
check cash place, and I wasstill in school at AcreU.
So I had a full-time job, andthen I went and worked um at
Acre U in the call center forpart-time.
And then I got another job thataudited files at night for the
county, um, an outside companythey had hired.
And so I worked for them untillike after midnight.
(07:05):
So when I dropped my girls offin the morning, they were in
their pajamas.
And when I picked them up, theywere in their pajamas again.
So my youngest daughter, Inever saw her walk.
I mean, I saw her walk, but Ididn't see her first steps.
The babysitter told me aboutit.
And so literally, I one day Isat on the side of the bed
(07:29):
getting ready to get them up,and I just sat there and I cried
after months of doing that, ora year or so of doing that, and
I said, This can't be our lifeagain.
So I said, You got to dosomething.
So that was my reality thatyou're gonna have to go and get
help, public assistance orsomething, so you can go back to
(07:52):
school and figure out howyou're gonna make this work.
Because this person that thatwas even a challenge for you
because you didn't believe atone point that that was
something you wanted to do.
I didn't.
That's why it was so hard, andI sat there and cried about it
because I didn't want to.
My mom wouldn't do it, so Ilearned from her not to not to
you know rely on publicassistance, and but this person
(08:15):
wasn't helping, and I didn'twant to keep trying to make them
because that relationship wasso volatile that any connection
caused just fights and turmoiland the whole nine.
So it was better off to keepthe peace at home and be able to
make things make sense at homewas to not bring in that chaos
(08:37):
because there was chaos ofknocking on the door, being, you
know, that kind of crap.
So I went down there and Isigned up, and then I went and
signed up for classes.
So if you use it for a means toan end, that's great, but it
was hard for me to even do itthen.
Barbara L. Parker (08:56):
So for you, was it like admitting defeat?
I think for me, I was like, I'mnot supposed to be here.
I because I've worked since Iwas 14.
Diahnna Curtis (09:06):
So it was like, This is not supposed to be my
life?
Barbara L. Parker (09:10):
Yeah, yeah.
Diahnna Curtis (09:10):
I'm failing at this, I'm not doing well at it.
Yeah.
But when I realized I didn'tsee my daughter take her first
steps, I'm like, you're missingtheir life.
You're not raising them,someone else's.
You don't even see them all dayuntil the weekend, and then you
see them a part of that time.
But all through the weekday,you're you're dropping them off,
(09:32):
one in a car seat, and one youcarrying, and they're in their
pajamas.
And then you bringing them backand trying to get in the house
with two in the middle of thenight with the car light shining
on the so you can get in thehouse.
And I was like, what are youdoing?
Barbara L. Parker (09:47):
So, what was your step with going from
working hard to working smarter?
Diahnna Curtis (09:54):
Um, it took me a minute, a while, because then
I then got married again,probably about three, four years
later.
And then I worked retail.
And I was I managed retail.
So then I found myself workingum sunup, sundown again, because
(10:20):
the stores open, I was there.
When the store closed, I wasthere an hour after holidays,
totally missed Christmas, youknow, those holidays.
And I did the same thing.
At one time, Christmas wasgetting ready, or Thanksgiving
was getting ready to rollaround, and I said, Here we go
with these 60, 80 hour workweeks again.
Um, and I sat there and Icried.
(10:42):
I said, You missed the wholeholiday.
Uh so um I said something hasto change again.
And so I then started lookingfor a regular nine to five job.
And so um, the other thingabout working the private sector
(11:05):
is Ohio's an at-will state.
Yeah, so then um there's alwaysthis threat that you could
potentially lose your job,there's no union.
Um, so I was used to thatenvironment.
So there's so there was a lotof job changes for one, because
you want to find somethingbetter.
(11:25):
There's no longevity in many ofthose positions.
But what happened is probablyyears later after I left retail,
I went to another company andworked for them for eight years.
It was an abusive environmentwhere the supervisor was calling
people's names, yelling atpeople.
(11:46):
I didn't experience too much ofit until the tail end of it.
And then I walked out because Isaw it as this is abuse, the
way that the employees are beingtaken.
And then the next job I went towas in housing, and that was my
first time finding out aboutOhio as an at-will state.
And I worked there for years,and um, but I I liked housing
(12:12):
and um I did well at it, thatthey gave me pay increases, and
I knew that I'd earned, I knewthat once they saw um the new
regional manager saw what I wasmaking, I was at the top of the
(12:32):
ladder for that position.
And I knew that was gonna be aproblem because she had let
everyone go on a previousproperty that she went to, and
our property was second.
And I said she let everyone goand brought new people in.
You bring them in with less forless money.
Right.
So um the first day she let mymy maintenance supervisor go.
(12:53):
Then um she asked me foreveryone's salary, and she said,
hmm, and walked away.
And I said, here we go.
And she came back and she gaveme a severance package.
She said, We let yoursupervisor go yesterday.
We didn't give him anything.
We like you, but it's anat-will state, and we can let
(13:15):
you go at any time.
I said, Okay, I needed to go,um uh because the hours and it
was a lot, but I was alsoworking on some projects there
for the community, for thepeople that live there, because
it was a subsidized property andtrying to fix it up.
And I've been working with thecity of Acker, with the police
department and things like thatto um create a safer environment
(13:40):
for the people that were there,but it was also becoming unsafe
for me.
Barbara L. Parker (13:44):
Yeah.
Diahnna Curtis (13:45):
So, but you know, I'm a little hard-headed
when it comes to stuff likethat, right?
So I just um, so it was ablessing that that happened
because then it allowed me tomove on.
So I even went home and droppedto my knees, and I thanked God,
and I was like, Lord, thankyou.
In the meantime, all of this,I've gotten divorced again and
(14:06):
bought a house on my own and thewhole nine, and I was in that
new house at this point, and Isaid, Thank God um that you
released me from that.
Something you've been tellingme to leave, but I was being
hard-headed.
And so someone called me andsaid, Are you okay?
I mean, I can't.
I said, I am fine, I am good.
(14:27):
This was the best thing thatcould have happened for me.
And then um that that tell youhow crazy it was, that regional
got fired shortly after.
And I saw another of one of thewhat used to be one of my staff
that was at that place said,You need to get your job back.
And I said, God released mefrom there.
(14:48):
So I'm not going back to whereGod released me from, right?
Another life lesson, right?
So all these places andrelationships that you have been
in, going back to them when Godhas released you from them in
the first place.
So I'm learning that lesson inthe process also.
So um that then took me to thecounty and then working the um
(15:12):
going into real estate becausethen I said I can now control
how much I make because I had totake a pay cut for the next
job.
And so I said, I would like todo something where I can
determine my pay a little bitmore, and someone can't just
come in and hand me a severancepackage, which is fine.
I took it and was able to takea few months off from work.
(15:33):
But um, so that brought me upto real estate.
But in the meantime, you'regoing through all of that and
you still have life, you stillgot two little girls, you still
got a house that you're now onthe hook for and gotta manage,
and and um you're gettingdivorced a second time.
Um and and bought a house whileI was getting divorced.
(15:58):
So um that was a that was a lotto to take on.
But hey, we had to gosomewhere.
We had to live somewhere.
So we moved there.
Ad (16:09):
This segment of the powerfully broken podcast is
brought to you by A PowerfulDivorce, the book by Barbara L.
Parker.
It's not just about L D Parker,it's about the discovery of you
are stronger than ever.
Now back to our program.
Barbara L. Parker (16:42):
So one of the things about your journey that
we talked about before was yourgirls, you had them in golf,
tennis, chair, I don't know,build-a-bear workshop.
I don't know.
You had them, baby, and you inaddition to showing up and being
(17:05):
present for your clients, youmade sure that you never dropped
them, that you were alwayspresent, and you always got them
to and from every single thingthey was involved with.
I can't take it.
Diahnna Curtis (17:16):
I can't lie, what you see, people know too
much about your life.
I kind of forgot about some ofthat stuff.
Oh my gosh.
I coached their Odyssey of themind, destination, imagination
teams.
Um, they did a lot of stuff.
A lot of that was out ofnecessity.
So, what are they gonna do overthe summer while I'm working?
(17:37):
These extra jobs.
Um, I still worked extra jobsperiodically, got it honestly,
got it from my mom.
That's how she did.
She worked, she was a nurse atthe hospital, and then she
worked weekends at someone'shouse or in the evenings at
someone's house.
So I learned it honestly.
Um, but it was golf.
(17:58):
I would leave lunch in thesummertime to take them, drop
them off at the golf course sothey could take lessons.
Um, they were in the first Tprogram and then pick them back
up, sending them to summercamps.
It was giving them stuff to doso they weren't sitting at home
idle all the time.
And thankfully, they likeddoing a lot of that stuff.
(18:21):
So one was would playvolleyball and basketball during
the time, the other one was intheater.
Um, so I would find hercommunity plays to be a part of,
things like that, so that theyalways had activities and it are
their life stayed so full thatthey didn't miss or because I
(18:44):
noticed when I was gettingdivorced the second time when
they were old enough tounderstand to see it more so.
Um, they I could see the stressand the worry of us moving into
that house.
And I actually had a talk withmy oldest daughter and asked her
what was going on, and shesaid, Well, what's gonna happen
(19:05):
with us?
And I was I told her, let meworry about that.
I got us, I got us a house,don't worry about it, we'll be
fine.
You worry about the activitiesand the things you have to do,
and you do you and don't stressover adult stuff.
I got this.
So I just continued to try tokeep them busy with doing stuff
(19:25):
so that it kept their mindsoccupied.
So that was the goal, and Ithink they turned out to be good
little girls, you know.
So um, so I think that'simportant to keep the
activities.
So I forgot about all thatstuff.
I can't, they took singinglessons.
Oh my lord.
Look, you do the same thing,mama.
(19:47):
Yeah, my my third parent homeis Uber.
We didn't have Uber.
I know.
Sad to drive them here andthere.
And I remember my my youngestsaid, we ate McDonald's.
And I think she said it oneday, and then she kind of
realized, I said, you know, youate a lot of McDonald's because
we going by the drive-through,and I'm throwing them in the
(20:09):
backseat because we're on ourway to basketball or volleyball.
And she said, Oh, well, yeah,that's true.
She had track practice, she wason the swim team.
I mean, they they did a lot ofstuff, and I said, And we made
it fun because we collected thelittle toys and the beanie
babies, and we still have a toteabout this big, full of that
stuff, this unopened, that ifone of them don't come get them,
(20:32):
goodwill gonna see it.
No.
There's beanie babies,everything in there.
But we so we made it fun too.
Barbara L. Parker (20:45):
So you mentioned, you know, doing a lot
of the quick meals, and becauseyou were in transition trying
to get from one place toanother.
We have talked a lot about yourgreen thumb.
I'm still waiting on my gardento be uh put together.
Just saying, I'm gonna leavethat alone.
Anyway, um, you are I need thegarden, you are phenomenal at
(21:11):
managing your health with in anorganic way, growing your own
vegetables and fruits and thingsof that nature.
So I know you started withgetting everything quick, but
you still always on the go.
So, how do you have somethingthat's nutritious that helps
feed your body and not cause itharm?
And what are some of thelessons that you learned?
(21:32):
Because I know, like you taughtme garlic is like an
inflammatory, which we love.
Diahnna Curtis (21:38):
Yeah, no, garlic is good for you.
Garlic boosts your immunesystem.
I have an autoimmune issue.
So for me, it can trigger aflare-up rather than help boost
my immune system the wrong way.
So, but garlic can be very goodfor you to take.
Um, I do do a lot of researchon the foods and the things that
(21:59):
I eat.
Even though we were doing thequick things when they were
younger, I really wasn't eatingthat as much as it was to get
them something to eat.
Because I'm leaving work andthen running them somewhere to
drop them off, and then I couldgo figure out something for me.
But just eating green, thatkale, um, things that are
(22:21):
antioxidants.
So I look at those things likeblueberries.
Um, I stay away from a lot ofcarbs.
Uh, so um I do a lot of seafoodor I've done a lot of salmon,
but now I've kind of introducedchicken back in a little bit
because salmon has a lot of fatto it.
And so chicken could be alittle leaner or is leaner.
(22:43):
And so just to break it up fromalways doing tuna, salmon, uh,
seafood.
And I love seafood, so I can dolobster, crab, the shrimp all
day long.
So um, but a lot of it is thefresh vegetables, and it gets
tough get not having a garden.
(23:04):
So um, in the last few years,I've not had one, believe it or
not.
I know, but but um so but Istill try to go to a fresh
market somewhere and get freshvegetables regularly, but those
are the health issues, you'llfeel better.
Um, I've gotten a lot this yearinto watermelon um because
(23:27):
watermelon has a lot, it haselectrolytes in it, it's
hydrating, it's a lot of sugarin it, so you don't want to do
too much of it.
But um I really believe thatwhat you put in your body is
gonna help you feel better anddo better.
And that with the autoimmunething, it's it's a thing that
also runs in my dad's family.
I'm just now to this point inmy life where I'm dealing with
(23:49):
it, and some of my familymembers have dealt with it a lot
earlier than I did.
I was not aware until that itwas so prevalent in my dad's
family amongst the women.
So um, I don't know if myeating helped with that, but I'm
hoping to manage it and controlit by continuing to eat better,
(24:11):
and I cut out some things thatI was doing in my diet.
So yeah.
Mary Kent (24:18):
How hard was it for you?
Because I've watched you um dothings like even from the
daughter to like being at adestination ready, but like
having the presence of mind thatI'm going to plan how I'm going
to eat for the whole thing.
So, okay, right, a year being aweek, I can go and three one of
(24:39):
my poultries and make sure fordinner or time buying anything.
Diahnna Curtis (24:43):
Yeah.
And do that meal prep.
Right.
So I do a lot of meal prep.
So in the weekends and stuff,I'll cook a lot of stuff.
Um, I've been grilling chickenbecause I watch even the
seasonings I've put on.
So there's a lot of seasoningsI can't use or I don't use.
So I can't.
I choose not to.
Right?
So so I grill chicken um andthen I can prepackage it in the
(25:06):
freezer and stuff so that I havequick meals because I work late
a lot, and then I could pullsomething out of the freezer and
I have food.
So um meal prep is important.
When I found out I had thisissue, my daughter, oldest
daughter, got a lot of my food,so no canned stuff.
Um, so I cleared all my coversout.
(25:27):
I separated my seasonings, Ilooked up everything, right?
Saw the effects that it has onyour body being an
anti-inflammatory orantioxidant, and then um, or
causing inflammation.
And so my, you know, becauseyou've been in my kitchen, the
seasoning rack at the bottom hasthe seasoning for that
(25:49):
everybody can use.
And the seasoning at the top isthe stuff I know I could do.
So I did that one weekend, soit's not that difficult for me
to think about it.
I know if it's on this topshelf, I can sprinkle it all
over my food I want to.
And then I I the first fewdays, I was hungry, starving,
because I didn't know everythingI looked up, I couldn't eat.
(26:11):
Like my face, pizza, can't eatit, spaghetti, can't eat it,
kind of thing, or shouldn't eatit.
So um one day it just dawned onme, probably about they three
are sitting there hungry.
I said, Google the stuff youcan eat.
And then all of this stuff cameup.
So I went to the grocery store,bought a lot of the stuff, and
(26:34):
restocked the cupboards andcabinets with stuff that I know
I can do.
So um, that's how I did.
So it makes it easier.
I know if it's in the house, Ican eat it.
If it's not, I can't.
So I just realized you don'talways think of stuff.
I've been wanting pancakes.
I miss pancakes.
Well, I can make pancakes withalmond flour.
(26:55):
So I have almond flour, I havea great recipe for it.
So I'll be making freshpancakes.
I just haven't had the time thelast couple days to do it, but
I promise Sunday morning I'mgonna make myself pancakes that
I'm not having in a long time.
So, yeah.
With maple syrup, little bitmaple syrup, that's pretty
(27:18):
healthy.
So I'd use honey to helpsweeten stuff and agave.
So yeah.
Barbara L. Parker (27:24):
Yeah, and all your food tastes good, even
though you're eating healthy,making sure everything has the
right components of macros andmicro nutrient nutrients.
Yes, it tastes delicious.
Thank you.
You know, it's not like oh, wegotta go to Giana's house and
eat this cardboard and pretendwe like it.
(27:44):
Like we can't tell thedifference between the stuff you
would normally just prepare foryourself and the stuff that you
know you go to the bottom ofthe cabinet and get because it's
all delicious.
Diahnna Curtis (27:56):
Well, nobody wants to eat stuff without
flavoring it as a taste well.
Barbara L. Parker (28:00):
So it's oh no, these cardboard makers.
Oh my gosh, they everywhere.
I wish I would be able to stop.
I don't, you know, there's moreseasons.
Diahnna Curtis (28:10):
I pull a lot of pepper.
Well, you guys have been prettygood because you guys have done
stuff and cooked, and yourecognized I couldn't do garlic
and stuff like that, and thenyou'll make a little side
something for me.
So I appreciate that.
So that was the other positivething, having friends around you
that were supportive of thatkind of thing.
So even now, making saladdressings and stuff, I do from
(28:31):
scratch, and believe it or not,they actually are pretty good.
So I'm sorry.
Barbara L. Parker (28:39):
I like because I went from having all
these parties and myrelationship with food changed,
you know, and then you know,Becca got her protein allergy.
Mary don't eat pork or then youpass the salad with no with my
pepperonis and turkey.
I had all these.
Okay, Becca can eat this, Dianacan eat this, Mary can eat
(29:00):
this, but now I stopped cookingbecause I'll spend $300 on food
and I eat two bites, and I'mlike, she's still eating, she's
still eating, he eating.
It's like I guess I don't haveanother sip for this.
You know, it just it changed myentire relationship with my
(29:21):
like it's not just forrecreation and like bonding.
It's like, okay, it now has tohave value.
Like that's the new thing Iwant.
Diahnna Curtis (29:32):
I love food though.
I love food.
And I there's some restaurants,and I did it recently.
Um had an honors, um, the OhioBlack Women's Caucus gave me a
women's award thing, not orhonored me along with a whole
lot of other women.
And I I'm going to Lucianos andgetting my mussels and my
(29:55):
asparagus or artichoke, heart,artichoke, and And then we ended
up going somewhere else.
Really nice restaurant.
Wasn't there.
We actually got there.
So I said, no, I want to gohere.
And we left.
So I didn't get my dish, but Igot something else there.
I was up all night sick.
And I said, I swore the nextday I was sick.
(30:16):
I didn't think I didn't eat fortwo days.
And I said, I'll never do itagain.
I'll never eat something I'mnot supposed to eat.
And so probably six monthslater, I did it again.
Going out to Cooper's Hawk.
And I said, I gotta have myBrussels sprouts with the sauce
(30:40):
and the seasoning.
And um could be because Iwasn't used to eating that stuff
anymore.
And I ended up getting sick,not as bad as the first time.
And I said, okay, then you needto go back to your regular
regiment.
You feel better, you don't getsick from it, and just um work
on being healthy and getting thenumbers down and everything.
And so far, the last blood workand everything I had, that
(31:03):
everything was great.
They're like, oh, your numbersare good, kidneys, everything is
fine.
So um I attribute that toeating healthy.
I'd have to do better about mywater intake, but water just has
no taste.
But thanks to your ginger teathat I have drank.
It is right.
(31:23):
Anthony.
Yeah.
Barbara L. Parker (31:26):
So again, thank you for coming and talking
with us about how to supportour health, how to support our
kids by balancing the need toprovide for them as well as
taking care of our own emotionalwell-being and building a space
that's safe for us to maintainour life in.
Um, and I appreciate you justbeing so transparent and wanting
(31:48):
to help everybody and as wellas.
Diahnna Curtis (31:51):
Absolutely.
Absolutely.
I'm happy to help anyone.
I I learned that I had to takesome ownership in what was
happening to me.
So when I could sit there andsay, I'm never gonna let this
happen again, I'll never get inan abusive relationship again,
then I had to realize I allowedit in the first place.
(32:12):
Because if I can say I'm notallowing it again, I have some
power.
So that was part of taking mypower back.
So if I can help someone elserecognize they have the power to
not allow it, then I'm happyto.
Barbara L. Parker (32:26):
So if there's anyone in the Ohio area looking
to purchase a home or get somegood advocacy or financial
guidance on that process, wherecan they find you?
Diahnna Curtis (32:39):
Oh, they can find me at 330-715-5650.
They can Google Deanna Curtis.
Um, they can also find me uhthrough the Akron Realtors
Association website.
They can find um other salesagents, lenders uh also there.
(33:00):
And we can refer them to peoplealso.
And I know some great lendersout there that are willing to
work with people because theythey're just as compassionate
about minorities andhomeownership as I am.
Ad (33:11):
So be happy to help.
This episode is proudlysponsored by BF Empowerment
Center, where healing isn't justpossible, it's powerful.
BF Empowerment Center helpsindividuals break barriers,
build healthier relationships,and unlock their true potential
for lasting transformation.
Follow at MBL Parker or BFEmpowerment.
(33:33):
Don't forget to like, comment,share, and subscribe at the
Powerfully Broken Podcast thirdevery Friday at the 99th of
Powerfully Broken Input toovercome until Mental Health.
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