Three Times A Victim – Living Under the Shadow of Toxic Shame

🌫️ “Even when comfort returned, shame lingered like a ghost.”After years of betrayal, false conviction, and silence, Bruce returns to Wilmington—not for justice, but for healing. In this tender chapter, we explore what it means to rebuild a life while still carrying the weight of a shattered past.🌀 In This Episode:✔️ Fleeting moments of reconnection and comfort✔️ Poetry as both sanctuary and reminder of lost voice✔️ The stigma of returning home with a criminal record✔️ Co-authoring, creative community, and cautious belonging✔️ Lingering shame in the face of small joys and quiet hope✔️ Longing—for truth to be heard, for love to be safe again💭 This episode is a meditation on survival—not through triumph, but through tenderness, truth-telling, and the hard work of resilience.—📘 Read the full memoir on Amazon:bit.ly/ThreeTimesAVictimMemoir🌐 Author’s Website:bit.ly/ThreeTimesAVictimBook🎧 YouTube Playlist:bit.ly/ThreeTimesPodcast—#ThreeTimesAVictim #ToxicShame #WrongfulConviction #TraumaRecovery #ResilienceStory #VoiceOfTheInnocent #PoetryHealing #YouAreNotAlone #NarrativeTherapy #EmotionalHealing #StigmaAndSurvival #CPTSD #MentalHealthAwareness

💥 “The crime I never committed is now etched into my record. The truth—my truth—remains unheard.”In this powerful episode of Three Times A Victim, Bruce reflects on life after being coerced into a guilty plea. What follows is not healing—but exile. Branded by a false conviction, Bruce drifts through thirteen years of homelessness, toxic shame, and rejection.🏚️ What You’ll Hear in This Episode:✔️ Life after plea—where justice never came✔️ The emotional weight of a criminal record for a crime not committed✔️ Toxic shame and internalized isolation✔️ Betrayal by Amanda and the collapse of trust✔️ Brief moments of hope: a kind mental health worker, a glimpse of connection✔️ The question that lingers: What does it mean to live a life branded by lies?Even in this silence, Bruce’s voice begins to rise again—not in rage, but in resilient truth.—📘 Read the full memoir on Amazon:bit.ly/ThreeTimesAVictimMemoir🌐 Author’s Website:bit.ly/ThreeTimesAVictimBook🎧 YouTube Playlist:bit.ly/ThreeTimesPodcast—#threetimesavictim #wrongfulconviction #toxicshame #LifeAfterPleaDeal #cptsdrecovery #survivorstory #falselyaccused #narrativetherapy #healingjourney #justicefailed #invisiblewounds #VictimNotCriminal #livingwithtrauma #emotionalresilience

💥 “I told the truth… but no one wanted to hear it. So they made me lie.”After months of trauma, incarceration, and betrayal, Bruce is summoned to court expecting justice. What happens instead is a silent ambush—a plea deal forced upon him in a matter of minutes.⚖️ What You'll Hear in This Episode:✔️ A surprise court appearance with no preparation or support✔️ A public defender who flips—from believing Bruce to pressuring him to plead✔️ A guilty plea to second-degree kidnapping—despite no trial, no evidence, no justice✔️ The dissociation and “freeze” response as Bruce says the words he was told to say✔️ The woman who assaulted him walks free✔️ Bruce walks away with a criminal record and a shattered identity💔 This is the cost of coerced silence: a survivor legally declared guilty, and the truth left unspoken.🎧 Hear Bruce’s story—raw, honest, and finally told the way it never was in court.—📘 Read the full memoir on Amazon:bit.ly/ThreeTimesAVictimMemoir🌐 Author’s Website:bit.ly/ThreeTimesAVictimBook🎧 YouTube Playlist:bit.ly/ThreeTimesPodcast—Tags:#ThreeTimesAVictim #FalseAccusation #PleaDeal #CoercedSilence #JusticeFailed #VictimNotCriminal #TraumaSurvivor #CPTSDRecovery #NarrativeTherapy #LegalBetrayal #SystemicInjustice #MentalHealthAwareness #FreezeResponse #WrongfulConviction

💥 “The truth was all I had—but it wasn’t enough.”After surviving a brutal assault, Bruce is imprisoned—without conviction, without support, and without justice. In this heartbreaking chapter of Three Times A Victim, he describes being “kidnapped by the state,” stripped of dignity, and left to suffer in silence.🔒 What You’ll Hear in This Episode:✔️ Pre-trial incarceration treated as guilt✔️ The suicide smock as a symbol of shame and erasure✔️ Family betrayal—refusing to pay bail, offer help, or believe him✔️ Media distortion—portraying the perpetrator as a “girl” and Bruce as a monster✔️ Public defender failure—no defense, just pressure to plead✔️ Release into homelessness—seven months locked up, then abandoned to the streets✔️ A glimmer of kindness from a woman offering hope, shadowed by shame and trauma✔️ The pain of familial gaslighting by omission—no anger, no concern, just silence💭 “If your own family won’t stand by you—who will?”🎧 This episode reveals the crushing loneliness of being punished not just by the system—but by those who should have protected you.—📘 Read the full memoir on Amazon:bit.ly/ThreeTimesAVictimMemoir🌐 Author’s Website:bit.ly/ThreeTimesAVictimBook🎧 YouTube Playlist:bit.ly/ThreeTimesPodcast—Tags:#ThreeTimesAVictim #WrongfulImprisonment #FalseAccusation #ToxicShame #VictimNotCriminal #JusticeFailed #PublicDefenderFailure #Gaslighting #SurvivorStory #NarrativeTherapy #MentalHealthAwareness #ScapegoatSurvivor #CPTSDRecovery

🔍 “Imagine surviving a violent assault—only to become the prime suspect.”In this gripping episode of Three Times A Victim, Bruce shares the devastating aftermath of his attack. What begins with a flicker of hope—police arriving, evidence found—soon spirals into a psychological and legal nightmare.🚨 Key Moments in This Episode:✔️ The initial police response that seemed to promise justice✔️ The derealization and dissociation that numbed Bruce’s grasp on reality✔️ The twist of accusation—as Bruce is treated like a criminal, not a survivor✔️ A false confession, coerced through humiliation and psychological pressure✔️ Ignored evidence that could have exonerated him✔️ The painful shift from trusting the system to fearing it more than the attack itself💔 This isn’t just Bruce’s story. It’s a searing look into how systems fail survivors—again and again.⚠️ Trigger Warning: This episode contains descriptions of assault, false accusations, and psychological trauma.—📘 Read the full memoir on Amazon:bit.ly/ThreeTimesAVictimMemoir🌐 Author’s Website:bit.ly/ThreeTimesAVictimBook🎧 YouTube Playlist:bit.ly/ThreeTimesPodcast—#ThreeTimesAVictim #FalseAccusation #JusticeFailed #PoliceMisconduct #TraumaSurvivor #VictimNotCriminal #NarrativeTherapy #CPTSDRecovery #SystemicInjustice #Dissociation #MentalHealthMatters #SurvivorVoices

💥 “One moment, I was minding my own business. The next, I was locked in my own room… bleeding, terrified, and fighting for my life.”In this haunting episode of Three Times A Victim, Bruce recounts the brutal attack that changed everything.🏚️ Living in a crime-ridden boarding house with no locks and no safety, Bruce had already endured robbery and harassment. But nothing could prepare him for what happened on October 1, 2004.🚨 A total stranger—a white woman Bruce had never met—called out his name, forced her way into his room, locked the door behind her, and unleashed a violent, unprovoked assault. As Bruce lay bleeding, he still held to one instinct: never hurt a woman, even in self-defense.🩸 The scene was drenched in blood. The attacker left her phone behind. Witnesses confirmed she had entered and left uninjured.But the justice system would soon twist this moment of survival into a nightmare of blame.🔍 Who was she? Why did she target Bruce? And would the police use the evidence to protect the true victim—or accuse him instead?🎧 Listen now to the terrifying chapter that marked the beginning of Bruce’s most profound injustice.—📘 Read the full memoir on Amazon:bit.ly/ThreeTimesAVictimMemoir🌐 Author’s Website:bit.ly/ThreeTimesAVictimBook🎧 YouTube Playlist:bit.ly/ThreeTimesPodcast—#threetimesavictim #justicefailed #falseaccusations #AssaultSurvivor #VictimNotCriminal #TrueCrimeSurvivor #cptsdrecovery #NarrativeTherapy #overcomingtrauma #toxicshame #mentalhealthawareness

💥 “I had built a life, a career, a home. And then, in an instant, I lost everything.”In this harrowing chapter of Three Times A Victim, Bruce’s world implodes. His career as a respected therapist, his home, and his relationship with Lynn—all are stripped away by a chain of betrayals and systemic failures.🚨 What You'll Hear in This Episode:✔️ A Life Torn Apart – How success and love unraveled overnight✔️ John F.’s Betrayal – A manipulative fraud targets Bruce and a vulnerable client✔️ The System’s Failure – A flawed psych eval, coerced pleas, and a public defender who didn’t defend✔️ False Conviction – No evidence. No justice.✔️ Exile & Homelessness – Forced to leave Wilmington, Bruce becomes trapped in a cycle of fear and instability✔️ A Darker Future Foreshadowed – The worst is still to come…🔹 “I was once a respected therapist. Now, I was being transported in chains.”🎧 This episode is a sobering look at how easily a life can be destroyed—and how the scars of injustice never truly fade.—📘 Read the full memoir on Amazon:bit.ly/ThreeTimesAVictimMemoir🌐 Author’s Website:bit.ly/ThreeTimesAVictimBook🎧 YouTube Podcast Playlist:bit.ly/ThreeTimesPodcast—#threetimesavictim #wrongfulconviction #justicefailed #innocencedestroyed #falseaccusations #cptsdrecovery #narrativetherapy #systemicinjustice #survivorvoices #memoirpodcast #toxicshame

💔 “Just when life seemed to fall into place, everything was about to be taken away…” In this pivotal chapter of Three Times A Victim, Bruce finds love again—this time with Lynn, whose gentle presence brings a sense of peace he never believed possible after Celta’s death. As their bond deepens, Bruce leaves engineering behind to follow a new calling: helping others heal.🌟 With Lynn’s support, Bruce thrives in graduate school, becomes a therapist, and begins to feel whole for the first time. But behind this season of joy, a darker thread begins to unravel—a man named John F. enters the picture, whose deceit will one day destroy everything Bruce worked for.⚠️ This episode explores the peak before the fall: love, purpose, and the first shadows of injustice.📘 Read the full memoir on Amazon:bit.ly/ThreeTimesAVictimMemoir🌐 Author’s Website:bit.ly/ThreeTimesAVictimBook🎧 YouTube Playlist: bit.ly/ThreeTimesPodcast#ThreeTimesAVictim #InnocenceDestroyed #FalseAccusations #JusticeFailed #MentalHealthMatters #CPTSDRecovery #NarrativeTherapy #VictimNotCriminal #LoveAfterLoss #MemoirPodcast #ToxicShame

💔 “In Celta’s eyes, I finally saw my worth. But at home, I was nothing.”After graduating from Georgia Tech, Bruce returns home hoping for support—only to find criticism, indifference, and deep emotional neglect. In this pivotal chapter of Three Times A Victim, Bruce shares how volunteering at a state hospital sparks his path toward mental health work—and how a young woman named Celta transforms his sense of self.🌱 For the first time, Bruce is truly seen, loved, and chosen. In Celta’s presence, he feels like more than the shame and silence he grew up with—he feels cherished. But just as love begins to heal old wounds, tragedy strikes. On New Year’s Day, Celta dies suddenly, and Bruce is left shattered.⚖️ This episode explores identity, grief, and the power of being truly loved. It’s about how one person’s gaze can change everything—and how their loss can define the path forward.—📘 Read the full memoir:bit.ly/ThreeTimesAVictimBook🌐 All links + platforms:linktr.ee/brucewhealton🎧 YouTube Playlist:YouTube Podcast Playlist—#ThreeTimesAVictim #MemoirPodcast #LoveAndLoss #TraumaHealing #NarrativeTherapy #ToxicShame #MentalHealthJourney #SurvivorVoices

Before injustice shattered his life, Bruce lived under the heavy shadow of silence, fear, and emotional neglect.In this second episode of Three Times A Victim, we go back to Bruce’s childhood—where selective mutism, toxic shame, and a need to protect others shaped his quiet resilience. In a home ruled by fear, he vowed never to be a source of it. His gentleness became a form of defiance.College brought psychology courses and therapy, offering language for his pain—but the scars of not being chosen, not being seen, lingered. Moments of warmth with cousins clashed with a mother’s jealousy and criticism, deepening his sense of unworthiness.💔 How does a boy who only wanted to protect others end up accused of harm?🎧 Listen to his story now—and discover how empathy became both a shield and a burden.—📘 Read the full memoir:https://www.amazon.com/Three-Times-Victm-Living-Shadow-ebook/dp/B0F4NJHXCB/🌐 All links + platforms:https://linktr.ee/brucewhealton🎧 YouTube Playlist:https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOW-AX-dcqA3oL0TdovqWSmOmHjXXxn9z—#ThreeTimesAVictim #SelectiveMutism #ToxicShame #NarrativeTherapy #WrongfulAccusation #EmpathyMatters #SurvivorVoices #CPTSDRecovery #MemoirPodcast

🎙️ What happens when a therapist devoted to healing others becomes the victim—and the system refuses to see the truth?This is Three Times A Victim: Living Under the Shadow of Toxic Shame — a memoir podcast of violence, betrayal, and survival.I spent my life becoming a therapist—treating everything from shyness to schizophrenia, and listening to trauma survivors speak truths no one else would hear. They were rape survivors. Abuse survivors. Alone in the room with me, they told their stories. I helped them feel safe. I told them, “my voice will go with you.”But one lie… ended everything.💥 Episode One: The Moment Everything ChangedImagine surviving a brutal home invasion… and instead of protection from the police, being interrogated and arrested as the perpetrator.The betrayal didn’t stop with law enforcement.It came from the justice system—a public defender who knew I was innocent, yet threatened me into a rushed plea.And it came from family. Not with accusations—but with silence.Even Darth Vader—the symbol of evil—died to save his son.My own parents, who never faced arrest or shame, couldn’t lift a finger when I cried out for help.What do we make of love that vanishes when we’re bleeding and broken?Across this podcast series, you’ll hear the raw, unflinching truth of how systemic failure, wrongful accusations, and toxic shame shattered a life once devoted to helping others heal.Each episode is a chapter in my fight to reclaim a stolen life—and to speak the truth no one wanted to hear.👉 Please start with Episode 1. This story unfolds chronologically and is meant to be experienced in order.📖 Read the full memoir:https://brucewhealton.com/victimOr get it on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0F4NJHXCB📌 More about the podcast:https://linktr.ee/brucewhealton#ToxicShame #JusticeFailed #FalseAccusations #PoliceInjustice #NarrativeTherapy #CPTSDRecovery #VictimToSurvivor #TraumaSurvivor #MemoirPodcast