Stephen's Story—This Guy Thinks I’m Special

The Lionhearted Podcast

Welcome to The Lionhearted, a podcast featuring stories by the brave and badass people who spend their lives fighting the one thing absolutely no one wants to talk about - child sexual abuse.

In this episode, Stephen Mills, winner of the 2022 National Jewish Book Award for his memoir Chosen: A Memoir of Stolen Boyhood, joins host Andrea Harner to share his story as a survivor of child sexual abuse while attending a summer camp.

At 13 years old, Stephen was a sweet and sensitive boy, so excited to go to his Jewish summer camp in Connecticut. Little did he know that the larger than life beloved camp director was going to derail his life forever. Using his writing superpower, Stephen takes us into what it was like to have his little body and childhood hijacked by the one person he so looked up to. And who everyone, including his parents, seemed to adore. Fortunately, he was able to find his foothold on the path to healing, though as he mentions, it's an ongoing process as it is for all trauma survivors.

He also discusses the urgent need for all organizations who serve and work with children, to be trained in child sexual abuse prevention.

Trigger Warning:

Please note that this episode contains depictions of sexual violence that some people may find disturbing. If any of the content in this podcast has brought anything up for you, please reach out or speak to someone you trust.

Darkness to Light, a leading nonprofit focused on child sexual abuse prevention, also provides links to resources for support. Full disclosure: Andrea Harner is currently Board Chairperson of Darkness to Light.

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Host: Andrea Harner

Guest: Stephen Mills

Producer: Andrea Harner and Amanda Kelso

Editing: Kevin Tosi

Theme Song: Teddy Duran

Show resources:

• Stephen Mills’ book, Chosen A Memoir of Stolen Boyhood
• Darkness to Light National and State Resources
• Darkness to Light: Safety at Summer Camp
• What happened to you? By Oprah Winfrey and Bruce Perry
• Half the House By Richard Hoffman (memoir mentioned by Stephen in the show)
• The Tricky Part By Marty Moran
• The Body Keeps Score By Bessel van der Kolk

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