The 515 Podcast with Raven Elizabeth Mon, 22 Jun 2026 17:26:37 -0500 https://the515podcast.buzzsprout.com en-us © 2026 The 515 Podcast with Raven Elizabeth yes Support this Podcast 22c18f80-230f-5e8c-9260-cc810a42ce90 Raven Elizabeth episodic true The 515 Podcast is where survivors of abuse learn to alchemize chaos into clarity and start taking themselves back. Through honest stories and grounded tools, we focus on abuse recovery, self‑reclamation, and turning what tried to break you into the gold you build your life with next.

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Become a supporter of the show! This podcast exists because these stories deserve to be told and heard. Every contribution, no matter the size, goes directly toward two things I care deeply about:


🎙️ Better production for you. Upgraded microphones, editing software, and equipment mean a cleaner, more immersive listening experience every single episode.

💜 Real impact for DV survivors. A meaningful portion of every contribution fuels advocacy work — from donating to domestic violence charities and survivor-led events, to funding research that pushes for legislative change and keeps awareness alive long after the episode ends. 


I'm here because I believe that informed, engaged communities change outcomes for survivors. Your support helps me keep showing up with integrity, intention, and a mic that actually works.


If you're able to give, thank you. If you can't, sharing the show is just as powerful.

https://www.buzzsprout.com/2604081/support

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Demand justice. Sign and share the Voiceless Justice Act, a federal initiative to recognize narcissistic abuse as psychological homicide and criminalize it accordingly. Every signature is another voice against silence.
www.change.org/Voicelessjusticeact

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Check out The 515 Podcast on Tales From A Dive Bar!

https://www.talesfromadivebar.com/raven-and-jd-talk-about-toxic-relationships/

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Some of the foundational sources for this podcast include the following authors and professionals who have helped me on my journey and who align with The 515 mission: 

* Daniel Ryan Cotler

* Jordan B Peterson

* Jennie Young

* Drs John and Julie Gottman

* Peter Crone

* Alan Watts

* Carl Jung

*Gabor Mate

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I take my research seriously, and reputable sources are necessary to support the work I do here. In addition to the works of the authors and professionals listed above, I use platforms specifically for scholarly research, including bibliographic databases such as PubMed and JSTOR. 

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]]> Buzzsprout (https://www.buzzsprout.com) Raven Elizabeth https://storage.buzzsprout.com/0hew7jwx792d5twc2z8ugjttsdy6?.jpg The 515 Podcast with Raven Elizabeth https://the515podcast.buzzsprout.com Raven Elizabeth Jason Dickey Paper Cuts: When the System Rewrites You Paper Cuts: When the System Rewrites You Send us Fan Mail

In this short solo episode of 515, I sit down after a brutal morning in divorce court and talk about what happens when the systems that are supposed to protect you… rewrite your story instead.

No kids, no house to fight over, no request for money. On paper, it should be a simple divorce. But the petition that was filed in my name says something else entirely: that I’m unemployed, that I’m chasing maintenance and attorney’s fees, that I’m more helpless than I am.

I walk through how that language ended up in my paperwork over my objections, how it felt to be confronted by a judge reading a version of me I don’t recognize, and what it means to push back—by filing complaints and reclaiming my narrative—while still protecting my bandwidth as a survivor of intimate partner abuse.

This is an episode about trust, professional gaslighting, money as a second abuser, and why “being exhausted” is not the same thing as giving consent. It’s also a reminder that paper can lie about you, systems can misquote you, and you still get to decide who you are.

Audio note: I recorded this on the fly and couldn’t find my lapel mics, so the sound is a little rough around the edges. Think of it as a voice memo from the trenches, right before we head back to the golf course for “Fairways & Battlefields: Ladies of the Garden Club” in the next episode.

Support the show

Links:

]]> Send us Fan Mail

In this short solo episode of 515, I sit down after a brutal morning in divorce court and talk about what happens when the systems that are supposed to protect you… rewrite your story instead.

No kids, no house to fight over, no request for money. On paper, it should be a simple divorce. But the petition that was filed in my name says something else entirely: that I’m unemployed, that I’m chasing maintenance and attorney’s fees, that I’m more helpless than I am.

I walk through how that language ended up in my paperwork over my objections, how it felt to be confronted by a judge reading a version of me I don’t recognize, and what it means to push back—by filing complaints and reclaiming my narrative—while still protecting my bandwidth as a survivor of intimate partner abuse.

This is an episode about trust, professional gaslighting, money as a second abuser, and why “being exhausted” is not the same thing as giving consent. It’s also a reminder that paper can lie about you, systems can misquote you, and you still get to decide who you are.

Audio note: I recorded this on the fly and couldn’t find my lapel mics, so the sound is a little rough around the edges. Think of it as a voice memo from the trenches, right before we head back to the golf course for “Fairways & Battlefields: Ladies of the Garden Club” in the next episode.

Support the show

Links:

]]> Raven Elizabeth Buzzsprout-19387143 Mon, 22 Jun 2026 17:00:00 -0500 535 1 12 full true Fairways & Battlefields: Veterans, Mission 22, and the War Within Fairways & Battlefields: Veterans, Mission 22, and the War Within Send us Fan Mail

Today’s episode of 515 takes you out onto the golf course for a charity outing with Mission 22, an organization created to confront the heartbreaking reality that veterans are dying by suicide at alarming rates, even as overall numbers have begun to shift in recent years.

Raven sits down with Mission 22 Senior Ambassador Red Earles IV to talk about life after deployment, the war within, and how programs like working ranches and equine therapy are giving veterans and their families a chance to reset without the barrier of cost.

Out on the fairway, we also meet Angelo, a 95-year-old Korean War veteran and course ranger, who shares how he’s wrestled with faith, moral injury, and staying active in a world that kept moving long after the ceasefire.

This episode holds space for veterans while also recognizing that trauma and complex PTSD don’t only belong to the battlefield, but that all forms of pain deserve acknowledgment, support, and community.

If you or someone you love is struggling, you can call or text the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988, or visit 988lifeline.org for immediate support. Veterans and service members can reach the Veterans Crisis Line by dialing 988 and pressing 1, or by texting 838255 any time, day or night.

Stay tuned as we continue our adventure across the course, meeting more people and uncovering the stories tucked between the tees and the greens.

Support Mission 22: https://mission22.org

Support the show

Links:

]]> Send us Fan Mail

Today’s episode of 515 takes you out onto the golf course for a charity outing with Mission 22, an organization created to confront the heartbreaking reality that veterans are dying by suicide at alarming rates, even as overall numbers have begun to shift in recent years.

Raven sits down with Mission 22 Senior Ambassador Red Earles IV to talk about life after deployment, the war within, and how programs like working ranches and equine therapy are giving veterans and their families a chance to reset without the barrier of cost.

Out on the fairway, we also meet Angelo, a 95-year-old Korean War veteran and course ranger, who shares how he’s wrestled with faith, moral injury, and staying active in a world that kept moving long after the ceasefire.

This episode holds space for veterans while also recognizing that trauma and complex PTSD don’t only belong to the battlefield, but that all forms of pain deserve acknowledgment, support, and community.

If you or someone you love is struggling, you can call or text the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988, or visit 988lifeline.org for immediate support. Veterans and service members can reach the Veterans Crisis Line by dialing 988 and pressing 1, or by texting 838255 any time, day or night.

Stay tuned as we continue our adventure across the course, meeting more people and uncovering the stories tucked between the tees and the greens.

Support Mission 22: https://mission22.org

Support the show

Links:

]]> Raven Elizabeth Buzzsprout-19363743 Wed, 17 Jun 2026 16:00:00 -0500 1194 1 11 full true Surface Tension with Jason: Men, Intuition, and “Not All Men” Surface Tension with Jason: Men, Intuition, and “Not All Men” Send us Fan Mail

In the first-ever Surface Tension session, Raven sits down with Jason (aka Chad from Episode 9) for a late‑night, red‑envelope conversation that goes wherever the questions take them.

They start with music and inner teenagers, then spill into hallucinogenic grief rituals, anxiety, and what it means when your body reacts before your mind can catch up. Along the way, they unpack men’s objectification, external validation, and why the “not all men” conversation so often misses the point when the reality for many women is “a man.”

Expect stories about mushrooms and grandmothers, Snapchat creeps, the weirdness of modern dating, and the ways patriarchy and trauma shape how we relate to ourselves and each other. It’s raw, imperfect, and honest—exactly what Surface Tension is meant to hold.


~ If you want a great convo between Jason and Raven on toxic relationships, visit Jason's podcast Tales From A Dive Bar: https://www.talesfromadivebar.com/raven-and-jd-talk-about-toxic-relationships/




Links:

]]> Send us Fan Mail

In the first-ever Surface Tension session, Raven sits down with Jason (aka Chad from Episode 9) for a late‑night, red‑envelope conversation that goes wherever the questions take them.

They start with music and inner teenagers, then spill into hallucinogenic grief rituals, anxiety, and what it means when your body reacts before your mind can catch up. Along the way, they unpack men’s objectification, external validation, and why the “not all men” conversation so often misses the point when the reality for many women is “a man.”

Expect stories about mushrooms and grandmothers, Snapchat creeps, the weirdness of modern dating, and the ways patriarchy and trauma shape how we relate to ourselves and each other. It’s raw, imperfect, and honest—exactly what Surface Tension is meant to hold.


~ If you want a great convo between Jason and Raven on toxic relationships, visit Jason's podcast Tales From A Dive Bar: https://www.talesfromadivebar.com/raven-and-jd-talk-about-toxic-relationships/




Links:

]]> Raven Elizabeth Buzzsprout-19302594 Fri, 05 Jun 2026 16:00:00 -0500 2281 1 10 full true From Gothic Romance to Red Flag: Wuthering Heights, My Ex-Boyfriend, and My Nervous System From Gothic Romance to Red Flag: Wuthering Heights, My Ex-Boyfriend, and My Nervous System Send us Fan Mail

In this episode, I talk about how watching the latest Wuthering Heights adaptation wrecked me in the best and worst ways—and why it felt less like a classic and more like watching my past with “Chad” on screen. I break down the difference between epic, painful love and a trauma bond: intensity versus safety, chaos versus consistency, and self‑abandonment versus self‑respect. I share how things with “Chad” became grotesque, how my nervous system learned to equate intensity with importance, and why those wounds still sting even though we’re just friends now.


We’ll also look at how my marriage to my ex-husband was a different kind of harm—slow, patterned erosion instead of explosive passion—and how stories like Wuthering Heights can shift from aspirational romance to cautionary tale once you see the pattern. If you’ve ever watched a fictional couple and thought, “That feels uncomfortably like my life,” this episode is your invitation to ask: Is this love, or is this my old trauma bond talking?


**I use the pseudonym “Chad” lightly here. It is part-truth, but his name is also a nickname with his first initial, so I had to come up with something else. 

Demand justice. Sign and share the Voiceless Justice Act, a federal initiative to recognize narcissistic abuse as psychological homicide and criminalize it accordingly. Every signature is another voice against silence.
www.change.org/Voicelessjusticeact

Links:

]]> Send us Fan Mail

In this episode, I talk about how watching the latest Wuthering Heights adaptation wrecked me in the best and worst ways—and why it felt less like a classic and more like watching my past with “Chad” on screen. I break down the difference between epic, painful love and a trauma bond: intensity versus safety, chaos versus consistency, and self‑abandonment versus self‑respect. I share how things with “Chad” became grotesque, how my nervous system learned to equate intensity with importance, and why those wounds still sting even though we’re just friends now.


We’ll also look at how my marriage to my ex-husband was a different kind of harm—slow, patterned erosion instead of explosive passion—and how stories like Wuthering Heights can shift from aspirational romance to cautionary tale once you see the pattern. If you’ve ever watched a fictional couple and thought, “That feels uncomfortably like my life,” this episode is your invitation to ask: Is this love, or is this my old trauma bond talking?


**I use the pseudonym “Chad” lightly here. It is part-truth, but his name is also a nickname with his first initial, so I had to come up with something else. 

Demand justice. Sign and share the Voiceless Justice Act, a federal initiative to recognize narcissistic abuse as psychological homicide and criminalize it accordingly. Every signature is another voice against silence.
www.change.org/Voicelessjusticeact

Links:

]]> Raven Elizabeth Buzzsprout-19200525 Mon, 18 May 2026 22:00:00 -0500 608 1 9 full true From Emotional Crutch to Consequences: Six Years with Fragile Men –PART 2 From Emotional Crutch to Consequences: Six Years with Fragile Men –PART 2 Send us Fan Mail

If you are ready to burn the “good girl” and “cool girl” roles to the ground, this episode will meet you there. If you are not ready, but your body leans in anyway, you are still welcome here. You get to listen at your own pace, pause when your nervous system says stop, and come back when you are ready.

I am not here to fix you, diagnose you, or tell you what you should do with your relationship. I am here to say out loud what many of us were trained to swallow. I am here to talk about consequences, self-protection, grief, and the exact moment you stop existing as an emotional crutch and start existing as a whole person again.

If you are still in it, on the fence, or already out, trying to make sense of the rubble, you belong in this conversation. You don't need to be ready to leave to deserve clarity. You do not have to be “healed” to deserve safety. You only have to be willing to hear the truth of your own experience and let that truth matter.

****Listen to episode 2 to get the full arc here, but you definitely do not have to. Thank you for listening, sharing, and advocating for our cause. <3****

Support the show

Links:

]]> Send us Fan Mail

If you are ready to burn the “good girl” and “cool girl” roles to the ground, this episode will meet you there. If you are not ready, but your body leans in anyway, you are still welcome here. You get to listen at your own pace, pause when your nervous system says stop, and come back when you are ready.

I am not here to fix you, diagnose you, or tell you what you should do with your relationship. I am here to say out loud what many of us were trained to swallow. I am here to talk about consequences, self-protection, grief, and the exact moment you stop existing as an emotional crutch and start existing as a whole person again.

If you are still in it, on the fence, or already out, trying to make sense of the rubble, you belong in this conversation. You don't need to be ready to leave to deserve clarity. You do not have to be “healed” to deserve safety. You only have to be willing to hear the truth of your own experience and let that truth matter.

****Listen to episode 2 to get the full arc here, but you definitely do not have to. Thank you for listening, sharing, and advocating for our cause. <3****

Support the show

Links:

]]> Raven Elizabeth Buzzsprout-19101020 Wed, 29 Apr 2026 21:00:00 -0500 679 1 8 full true An Open Letter to My Ex-Husband's Next Victim An Open Letter to My Ex-Husband's Next Victim Send us Fan Mail

An Open Letter to My Ex-Husband’s Next Victim” is a raw, explicit warning written for the woman who comes after me and has no idea what she is walking into. Using my own notes, timelines, and recorded calls, I spell out how my ex-husband twists words, disputes reality, and turns empathy into a weapon, and I name the sexual, emotional, and psychological patterns he is likely to repeat with you.

This is not a theory or a diagnosis. This is live data. If you find this one day and parts of your relationship sound like what I describe, or if you end up meeting my ex-husband in the wild, I want you to have the language I did not have soon enough, so you can trust yourself, set consequences, and get out before you are reduced to an emotional crutch with your reality rewritten in his voice.

Support the show

Links:

]]> Send us Fan Mail

An Open Letter to My Ex-Husband’s Next Victim” is a raw, explicit warning written for the woman who comes after me and has no idea what she is walking into. Using my own notes, timelines, and recorded calls, I spell out how my ex-husband twists words, disputes reality, and turns empathy into a weapon, and I name the sexual, emotional, and psychological patterns he is likely to repeat with you.

This is not a theory or a diagnosis. This is live data. If you find this one day and parts of your relationship sound like what I describe, or if you end up meeting my ex-husband in the wild, I want you to have the language I did not have soon enough, so you can trust yourself, set consequences, and get out before you are reduced to an emotional crutch with your reality rewritten in his voice.

Support the show

Links:

]]> Raven Elizabeth Buzzsprout-19094278 Tue, 28 Apr 2026 20:00:00 -0500 634 1 7 full true An Open Letter to My Ex-Husband An Open Letter to My Ex-Husband Send us Fan Mail

This episode is exactly what it sounds like: an open letter to my ex‑husband. I’m talking directly to him about the invisible chains, the fantasy I never actually agreed to, and the moment I finally chose to walk. 

If you’ve ever been told you’re “too sensitive” or “the problem” while your whole body is saying, “No, something is really wrong,” I think you’ll hear yourself in this. It’s raw, it’s not neatly tied up, and it’s part of how I’m closing that chapter so my nervous system can breathe again. 




Links:

]]> Send us Fan Mail

This episode is exactly what it sounds like: an open letter to my ex‑husband. I’m talking directly to him about the invisible chains, the fantasy I never actually agreed to, and the moment I finally chose to walk. 

If you’ve ever been told you’re “too sensitive” or “the problem” while your whole body is saying, “No, something is really wrong,” I think you’ll hear yourself in this. It’s raw, it’s not neatly tied up, and it’s part of how I’m closing that chapter so my nervous system can breathe again. 




Links:

]]> Raven Elizabeth Buzzsprout-19050000 Mon, 20 Apr 2026 20:00:00 -0500 371 1 6 full true The Science of Gratitude and Everyday Alchemy The Science of Gratitude and Everyday Alchemy Send us Fan Mail

This episode focuses on gratitude as a mental health tool, grounded in data and lived experience. Raven explains what studies report about gratitude, anxiety, and depression, how repeated gratitude practices shape brain function over time, and how listeners can experiment with small, honest practices that respect their circumstances. HELO, her chihuahua-miniature pinscher named after a Battlestar Galactica character, makes a few bark cameos that keep the conversation firmly rooted in everyday life.

Links:

]]> Send us Fan Mail

This episode focuses on gratitude as a mental health tool, grounded in data and lived experience. Raven explains what studies report about gratitude, anxiety, and depression, how repeated gratitude practices shape brain function over time, and how listeners can experiment with small, honest practices that respect their circumstances. HELO, her chihuahua-miniature pinscher named after a Battlestar Galactica character, makes a few bark cameos that keep the conversation firmly rooted in everyday life.

Links:

]]> Raven Elizabeth Buzzsprout-19029968 Thu, 16 Apr 2026 20:00:00 -0500 707 1 5 full true Dark Tetrad, Cluster B, and Patriarchy: A Data‑Driven Reality Check Dark Tetrad, Cluster B, and Patriarchy: A Data‑Driven Reality Check Send us Fan Mail

In this episode, Raven pauses the “everyone is a narc” trend and walks through what the research actually shows. Raven defines Cluster B disorders and the dark tetrad, looks at how common these traits are in the general population, and highlights where men and women differ in the data. Drawing on CDC reports and Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) surveys, Raven breaks down IPV rates for heterosexual, lesbian, gay, and bisexual people, and shows clearly that abuse happens in both different‑sex and same‑sex relationships. Raven then places Lundy Bancroft’s focus on men who abuse women next to current IPV and patriarchy research, which finds a consistent link between patriarchal structures and higher male‑on‑female violence, while still documenting female and queer perpetrators. The goal is simple. Less labeling, more psychological precision, grounded only in sourced data.

Support the show

Links:

]]> Send us Fan Mail

In this episode, Raven pauses the “everyone is a narc” trend and walks through what the research actually shows. Raven defines Cluster B disorders and the dark tetrad, looks at how common these traits are in the general population, and highlights where men and women differ in the data. Drawing on CDC reports and Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) surveys, Raven breaks down IPV rates for heterosexual, lesbian, gay, and bisexual people, and shows clearly that abuse happens in both different‑sex and same‑sex relationships. Raven then places Lundy Bancroft’s focus on men who abuse women next to current IPV and patriarchy research, which finds a consistent link between patriarchal structures and higher male‑on‑female violence, while still documenting female and queer perpetrators. The goal is simple. Less labeling, more psychological precision, grounded only in sourced data.

Support the show

Links:

]]> Raven Elizabeth Buzzsprout-18999805 Sat, 11 Apr 2026 19:00:00 -0500 749 1 4 full true Small Acts, Big Shift: First Steps of Self-Reclamation Small Acts, Big Shift: First Steps of Self-Reclamation Send us Fan Mail

In this short episode, I step out of the “infrastructure” role I talked about in Episode 2 and speak directly to the first fragile moments of leaving abuse and coming back to yourself. I walk through simple, real‑life acts of spiritual alchemy and self-reclamation, and invite you to name the role you are ready to step out of and the one small way you will honor yourself this week.

Support the show

Links:

]]> Send us Fan Mail

In this short episode, I step out of the “infrastructure” role I talked about in Episode 2 and speak directly to the first fragile moments of leaving abuse and coming back to yourself. I walk through simple, real‑life acts of spiritual alchemy and self-reclamation, and invite you to name the role you are ready to step out of and the one small way you will honor yourself this week.

Support the show

Links:

]]> Raven Elizabeth Buzzsprout-18997152 Fri, 10 Apr 2026 20:00:00 -0500 467 1 3 full true From Emotional Crutch to Consequences: Six Years with Fragile Men From Emotional Crutch to Consequences: Six Years with Fragile Men Send us Fan Mail

In this episode of The 515 Podcast, Raven reads a raw reflection on six years of back‑to‑back relationships that were sold as love but operated as entrapment and objectification. She breaks down how entitled, emotionally underdeveloped men used her empathy, agreeableness, and emotional intelligence as infrastructure for their shame and fragile masculinity, turning her into status, shelter, sex, and free therapy instead of a partner. You will hear her unpack narcissistic shame, the shame–rage loop, and how labels like “attachment issues” or “personality disorders” often become smoke screens that keep women in the role of healer while nothing changes. Raven also shares the concrete shifts she made during her five‑month abusive marriage, from documenting everything and listening to her body to enforcing consequences and controlling access to her time, energy, and body. This episode is part memoir and part field guide for anyone untangling themselves from heterosexual toxic dynamics rooted in control, and it is shared as lived experience, not clinical advice.

Support the show

Links:

]]> Send us Fan Mail

In this episode of The 515 Podcast, Raven reads a raw reflection on six years of back‑to‑back relationships that were sold as love but operated as entrapment and objectification. She breaks down how entitled, emotionally underdeveloped men used her empathy, agreeableness, and emotional intelligence as infrastructure for their shame and fragile masculinity, turning her into status, shelter, sex, and free therapy instead of a partner. You will hear her unpack narcissistic shame, the shame–rage loop, and how labels like “attachment issues” or “personality disorders” often become smoke screens that keep women in the role of healer while nothing changes. Raven also shares the concrete shifts she made during her five‑month abusive marriage, from documenting everything and listening to her body to enforcing consequences and controlling access to her time, energy, and body. This episode is part memoir and part field guide for anyone untangling themselves from heterosexual toxic dynamics rooted in control, and it is shared as lived experience, not clinical advice.

Support the show

Links:

]]> Raven Elizabeth Buzzsprout-18992183 Thu, 09 Apr 2026 19:00:00 -0500 781 1 2 full true Welcome to The 515 Podcast: Self-Reclamation After Abuse Welcome to The 515 Podcast: Self-Reclamation After Abuse Send us Fan Mail

In this intro, Raven shares how she went from trauma‑informed and self aware to trapped in an abusive marriage that distorted her reality, and how 515 became her symbol of alchemy, turning chaos and shame into clarity, boundaries, and self trust. You will hear what 515 Fitness Inc: Healing Studio in Wheaton is, how Zoetic Actionable Therapy uses movement plus counseling, and why this podcast is a space for survivors who know something is wrong but do not yet have words for it.

This show is for high capacity, “strong” women who still found themselves in abusive relationships, and want concrete red flags, story, and spiritual self reclamation, not vague advice. Raven is not here as a clinician, but as a lived experience coach, naming her own patterns and inviting you to start turning your lead into gold, one day at a time.

Support the show

Links:

]]> Send us Fan Mail

In this intro, Raven shares how she went from trauma‑informed and self aware to trapped in an abusive marriage that distorted her reality, and how 515 became her symbol of alchemy, turning chaos and shame into clarity, boundaries, and self trust. You will hear what 515 Fitness Inc: Healing Studio in Wheaton is, how Zoetic Actionable Therapy uses movement plus counseling, and why this podcast is a space for survivors who know something is wrong but do not yet have words for it.

This show is for high capacity, “strong” women who still found themselves in abusive relationships, and want concrete red flags, story, and spiritual self reclamation, not vague advice. Raven is not here as a clinician, but as a lived experience coach, naming her own patterns and inviting you to start turning your lead into gold, one day at a time.

Support the show

Links:

]]> Raven Elizabeth Buzzsprout-18870716 Thu, 09 Apr 2026 19:00:00 -0500 324 1 1 trailer true