"If you don't know your history, you don't know what you're talking about."
June 25, 2024

Childhood Abuse and Trauma: One Survivors Story

Childhood Abuse and Trauma: One Survivors Story

Send us a Text Message.

Are you navigating the complexities of raising your grandchildren, burdened by their past traumas and your own emotional trials? Do you yearn for guidance and connection, understanding that the responsibility you've taken on is both an unexpected blessing and a significant challenge? Whether you're dealing with past abuse, seeking strategies for support, or simply needing a community, the journey of raising grandchildren can feel isolating and overwhelming.

I'm Laura Brazan, and like many of you, my life shifted dramatically when my grandchildren came into my care. Despite years of parenting, nothing prepared me for this new chapter of guiding young lives through adversity while confronting my own struggles.

Welcome to 'Grandparents Raising Grandchildren: Nurturing Through Adversity.' In this episode, 'Childhood Abuse and Trauma: One Survivor's Story,' we speak with Seth Gehle, a survivor of childhood abuse who found hope and resilience through the unwavering love of his grandparents. Seth shares his poignant journey from a troubled past to a future filled with purpose, offering invaluable insights on providing boundaries, love, and support to children from difficult backgrounds. His story, marked by military service, personal battles, and ultimate victory over adversity, will inspire and guide you.

Join us as we delve into Seth's experiences, learn from his resilience, and find common ground in our shared commitment to nurturing the grandchildren we've been entrusted with. Together, we can transform adversity into strength and create a brighter future.


Thank you for tuning into today's episode. It's been a journey of shared stories, insights, and invaluable advice from the heart of a community that knows the beauty and challenges of raising grandchildren. Your presence and engagement mean the world to us and to grandparents everywhere stepping up in ways they never imagined.

Remember, you're not alone on this journey. For more resources, support, and stories, visit our website and follow us on our social media channels. If today's episode moved you, consider sharing it with someone who might find comfort and connection in our shared experiences.

We look forward to bringing more stories and expert advice your way next week. Until then, take care of yourselves and each other.

Liked this episode? Share it and tag us on Facebook @GrandparentsRaisingGrandchilden

Love the show? Leave a review and let us know!

CONNECT WITH US: Website | Facebook

Chapters

00:00 - Grandparents facing challenges of raising traumatized grandchildren.

05:13 - Increased substance abuse, physical and emotional abuse.

06:38 - Abuse, family troubles, and living conditions deteriorate.

11:35 - Reported abuse, abuser sentenced to prison, ultimately died.

13:26 - Struggled with dark thoughts, now seeks therapy.

18:34 - vercame victim mentality, now promoting love and gratitude.

21:21 - Overcoming adversity in army and corporate world.

25:52 - Grandma's love endures, even when tough.

28:05 - Unaware of impact, seize life's opportunities.

30:43 - Trust the process, persevere, success awaits.

33:05 - Unaware of impact, seize life's opportunities.

Transcript
WEBVTT

00:00:01.159 --> 00:00:30.224
We as grandparents face profound fears and challenges when raising grandchildren who have experienced significant trauma, such as the loss of their parents, our own children, to death, incarceration, addiction, or deployment. Our greatest hope is to guide them towards healing and happiness, while our deepest fear is that they may repeat the patterns of their past and remain victims of their trauma.

00:00:30.884 --> 00:00:42.584
Join us today as we delve into these concerns and share a story of resilience and recovery in episode 14, childhood abuse and one survivor's story.

00:00:46.804 --> 00:01:35.444
Welcome to grandparents raising grandchildren nurturing through adversity in this podcast, we will delve deep into the challenges and triumphs of grandparents raising grandchildren as we navigate the complexities of legal, financial, and emotional support. I invite you to join us on a journey of exploring thoughts, feelings, and beliefs surrounding this growing segment of our society. Drawing from real stories and expert advice, we will explore the nuances of childrearing for children who have experienced trauma and offer valuable resources to guide you through the intricate journey of kinship care.

00:01:37.784 --> 00:01:55.694
We'll discuss how we can change the course of history by rewriting our grandchildren's future, all within a supportive community that understands the unique joys and struggles. This podcast was made especially for you.

00:01:56.834 --> 00:02:06.134
Welcome to a community where your voice is heard, your experiences are valued, and your journey is honored.

00:02:13.633 --> 00:02:24.324
Many of us have endured personal childhood trauma. As a child, you either become a victim to the past or you never quit trying to overcome the effects of childhood abuse.

00:02:25.264 --> 00:02:57.913
Today, I have a powerful and inspiring story to share with you from Seth Gell, a survivor of childhood abuse and trauma, Seth's early life was marred by horrific events, including an attempted murder of his mother by his father when Seth was just two years old. Raised by a single mother who later became abusive and struggled with drug addiction, Seth endured years of molestation before bravely reporting his abuser and seeking justice.

00:02:58.894 --> 00:04:43.593
Despite these harrowing experiences, Seth has transformed his life in remarkable ways. He is an accomplished ultra marathon runner, brazilian jiu jitsu athlete, and fitness enthusiast. His professional achievements in the construction industry have earned him national recognition and prestigious awards as a US army combat veteran, Seth's journey from a troubled childhood to a life of resilience and success is truly inspirational. Today, Seth shares his story to inspire others to harness their inner strength and overcome any challenge life throws their way. Tune in as we discuss Seth's journey, the power of resilience, and how grandparents can support their grandchildren in overcoming their own adversities. Seth, why don't you begin by telling us about your early childhood prior to the sexual abuse that you suffered and prior to living with your grandparents? My mom had me and my sisters back to back years like, I think she had us all. 16 1718 or 17 1819 we're all one year apart. So when I was around two years old my mom and my father got into a fight and a knife ended up behind my mom's ear. He had basically stabbed her and almost killed her so he went to prison for that. So I never knew my father growing up because I was about one or two when that happened. I met my father when I was about seven maybe and I met him in prison. So that's my earliest memory that I have of my father meeting him in prison. And because my mom was a single mother of three we moved around a lot. We couldn't afford different places. We had all kinds of different babysitters, a lot of instability.

00:04:43.934 --> 00:04:58.149
And one of the babysitters had a teenage son who would molest me when I was about five years old. And around the same time I had been exposed to porn. My mom had porn at home and she would be gone all day. So when me and my sisters were at home we found it and we watched it.

00:04:58.182 --> 00:05:12.970
And at five years old I was kind of exposed to being molested and porn at the same time which really, really twisted my perception of reality and relationship and things like that. And then around nine or ten years old that's when my mom started to become more abusive.

00:05:13.161 --> 00:05:23.613
She had always smoked weed and drank in the house and at this point it was a lot more consistent, a lot more common, a lot more people in the house smoking and drinking and things like that.

00:05:24.113 --> 00:06:34.951
And she became more physically abusive where she was kind of close hand punching me and my sisters and the emotional abuse would follow that, which was, get the hell out of here. Go to your room. My mom would tell us to stop being a bitch. Kind of things like that that were just hard to hear from your mom after she abuses you. Around that same time though, that's. That's when I would end up meeting an older man through a friend of mine. So I had an older friend who was about four or five years older than me and I would hang out with him. And this kid kind of knew that something was wrong at home so he would let me hang out with him and he, he would kind of take care of me and be a good friend to me and protect me. And he was friends with this older man. And so this guy walks in the house one day, he's six'five, 380 pounds, he's a big hispanic guy and he starts talking to me, we have some commonalities. We both like video games, we both like football. So he invites me to come up to his house and play video games. That would begin the grooming process, unfortunately. So between Monday through Friday, I was at home with my mom dealing with the abuse, violence and drugs, things like that.

00:06:35.127 --> 00:06:42.456
Friday night, Saturday night, I would be at this guy's house. And about three months into knowing him is when he started to molest me.

00:06:42.600 --> 00:07:49.310
And I would go to his house every weekend, virtually every weekend. So I eventually meet his mom, his sisters, his family. I would. You know, about two years into all that, my mom was addicted to cracking cocaine, and she was even more mean, abusive, just real bad at home. My home life was getting worse and worse by the month, it seemed, where there's more and more people coming in the house. My bedroom had a hole in the ceiling about 4ft wide, about 2ft deep. And, you know, it would rain and snow and the weather would kind of just come right into my room, basically. It was pretty horrible. I slept on a little tiny mattress, little thin mattress, thin little blanket. Woke up with my urine every morning, went to bed every morning. And which is pretty typical in these situations, around 1011 years old, probably is when I started thinking about suicide. Wanted to die all the time because of all the trauma at home, and then also being sexually abused and molested on the weekends. And like I was saying, about two years into all that, my. The drugs were really bad and my mom would end up getting taken away.

00:07:49.502 --> 00:08:18.134
She stabbed her boyfriend and she had set his stuff on fire in the front yard. And I was out there and I watched her get put in the back of the car and taken away. That whole day I could talk about for an hour. That was just a very traumatic moment. She was taken away and then I bounced around for to a few different houses. And I ended up with my grandparents after Christmas that year. So that happened around maybe September ish. And then I ended up at my grandparents house in January, February of that, of that next year.

00:08:18.874 --> 00:10:00.864
My sisters were actually at my grandparents house when I got there. I hadn't seen them in four or five months. When I got there, they were already there, which it kind of surprised me. And about a couple days later, my grandma sat down and asked us if we wanted her to adopt us. And I said yes without hesitation yet. Yep, my grandparents were well off. My grandpa, like, he worked for Ford. My grandma ran her own company. I wanted to be with them and more so because they had money, you know, per se, and they had a house and, like, it was warm and there was food and, you know, I didn't even care that they were my grandparents. I just wanted somewhere warm. And my sisters, they said no, and they went back to live with my mom, unfortunately. So my. Well, yeah, the manipulation. My mom manipulated them. She would talk to them on the phone every week and was in their head about, you know, I'm your mother. You need to come back and live with me, and you're my daughters. And it's. What's funny is my mom never tried to convince me. She never once, like, told me anything. And I think she knew, you know, I had told her before my grandparents got me. I was on the phone with her. She'd called me and she said she was going to come and get me. And I said, I don't want to live with you anymore. That's actually how my grandparents got involved, is because somebody had called him and said, hey, Seth's mom is trying to come back and get him. So my grandparents had the best chance to adopt me, so that's when they came and picked me up. But my mom never tried to call me, never tried to persuade me, but she got my sisters and they kind of bit that bullet and. But also, when you're a beaten dog, like, you're. You still go back is if somebody. I'll put some food at the front door, like, you still go back. It's like a little trap. Yeah. And so that's what happened with them.

00:10:01.384 --> 00:10:43.638
I stayed with my grandparents and about three years after living with them. And they were good to you? Oh, yeah. Examples to you? Oh, yeah, yeah. My grandparents, they were. They were awesome. They took great care of me. They made me mad, you know, they made me mad about certain things, but they. They provided me with everything that I needed and. And you knew they loved you. Absolutely. Oh, yeah, absolutely, yeah. And I don't even know if it's them, but the laws and legalities of it all, it just, the system is against the kids, unfortunately, because we had been interviewed by CPS for years, and we just kept telling them, like, it's none of your business, because that's what our mom would say to tell them, is that it's none of your business.

00:10:43.686 --> 00:11:12.070
It's none of your business. So they had been trying to adopt us for years, and it finally came through with me. I was living with them at this point right before I turned 13, and I had asked them if I could go to my friend's house on the weekend. This guy who had been molesting me at this point, he had pretty much done everything you can do to somebody, or you can have every sexual experience you can have, I had done at this point, and to include being raped around the time I turned 13, and nobody knew.

00:11:12.101 --> 00:13:08.621
This is all big secret, obviously. And I told my grandparents, like, he's not like that. He's okay. He's, you know, whatever. And so he meets my grandparents. He makes them laugh, makes them smile, and I go back to his house, and the abuse continued on for another about two and a half years. So right before I turned 16, I would. I ended up reporting him. And so gone through about five, five and a half years of being molested and raped. I would go to his house every single weekend, and it would happen Friday night, and Saturday night, I reported him, would go to the hospital, and he kind of pleads guilty to everything about a month later, and he went to prison for ten years, and he would actually be free today. Um, but fortunately enough, he died in 2019 in prison, which is really good because, you know, before he got out or before he went to prison, he was running a haunted house, and in his hometown, like, a little, like, impromptu haunted house every Halloween that he would set up on his mom's porch and he would give candy out to all these kids that would come through the house. And it was like his little, like, breeding ground, you know, whatever you want to call it. So I'm glad I was able to put a stop to that. And when I reported him, that pretty much ended my child, like, trauma era. A couple bad things happened after that, but nothing related to, like, abuse or the sexual trauma or nothing like that. So you went back to live with your grandparents at that point? Well, yeah, I mean, once I. Once I moved in with them when I was twelve, I was with them. Oh, you were? You stayed with me? Yep. Yep, I stayed with them, yeah. And are they still in your life today? My grandma actually passed away in 2019 as well, like, November or October of that month or that year. My grandfather lives in Florida. We don't really see each other a whole lot, but, I mean, I'm letting him live his life. He's fine. You know, we don't have to talk every day to know that we love one another. And I haven't seen him in a while, but he's an old man down there living his life.

00:13:08.638 --> 00:13:42.351
I'm gonna let him live. That's awesome. Let's talk about the depression and the suicidal thoughts, moments or triggers that led to those struggles. What techniques and support systems help you overcome suicide and depression. You know, at the time, I was going through a lot of it as a kid. I was scared of the pain. Truthfully, I don't really know what kept me alive other than because I would think about jumping out my window or falling or cutting or shooting myself, but I never did any of that.

00:13:42.528 --> 00:14:39.581
But I was so scared, I just didn't want to feel the pain of it all. So, truthfully, at the time, I don't know if I had any coping mechanisms at that age, but those thoughts have carried into my adulthood. And as an adult now, the mechanisms that I use are just understanding. There's a lot of different ways to understand life and perspective and gratitude, things like that, that I try to use to help me stay positive. But as of the last probably four months or so, just talking and seeking help or therapy has been the biggest thing. I've never gone to therapy. I've never had any formal therapy. But doing stuff like this and then public speaking events and sharing my story, when people reach out to me and kind of give me positive feedback and tell me how much my story means to them, that is very therapeutic for me. I don't ever really have the suicidal ideations like I used to.

00:14:39.758 --> 00:15:09.214
Whereas for a long time, I couldn't think of the last time I didn't think about suicide or killing myself. And now it's the other way around where it's like I really have trouble remembering the last time I had a bad thought. So it's kind of like a complete 180, which is good. I found that being surrounded in a community of people that have gone through similar issues, such as I am now, is really healing.

00:15:11.153 --> 00:15:17.693
The taboo stuff that you can talk about with people that don't judge you for it means a lot.

00:15:19.114 --> 00:16:02.604
Yeah, well, and I think what you said there is interesting. I've actually struggled with being around other people for a long time because I was so ashamed of it. I didn't want to, like, be in that group. And then also, I'll say this, too, for anybody who has these issues, is that I thought that for a long time. Obviously, I hit it for 13 years before I ever started talking about it. And the average age of reporting is actually 53 years old. For anybody who's had any kind of sexual trauma, when I started talking about it, even people who have nothing to do with me or I've never had anything traumatic in their life happen, they've just opened up and told me how appreciative they are of hearing my story. So, you know, I. Yeah, there's a lot of pluses and minuses, more pluses.

00:16:02.644 --> 00:17:10.653
Certainly the only negative thing that I have found in speaking is that I think a lot of people that are big public faces are pushing a wrong message for people to recover and to do better. I think that there's a lot of victim mentality, I think, and the people that are pushing the message so hard. For example, there's a lady that I don't follow her anymore because I couldn't handle it, but she was raped as a young woman, and now everything that she talks about is this anti masculinity, like ultra feminist movement, which is not healing or helping anything. It is just attacking. And so my message is to help people heal. I'm not out here to throw down a group or to push. I'm not here to blame hispanic men because I had an hispanic abuser. I'm not here to talk about men being toxic because I had a man who raped me. I'm here to help people heal. So that's my only issue with this community that I'm a part of now by association. But aside from that, it's been very, very good. How has your trauma influenced your personal relationships now?

00:17:11.233 --> 00:17:18.814
Well, it's. It's. It was hard, right? So I've been married for seven or eight years now, and I've got two kids, my kids.

00:17:19.284 --> 00:17:30.428
Being a father was completely natural to me. It has not affected my fatherhood at all, which is great. I love my children, and I've never had any issues, any questions about fathering or anything like that.

00:17:30.596 --> 00:17:51.594
Now, being a husband is completely different. Being a husband has been extremely challenging and hard to be intimate and to love because you. Before I met my wife, I was kind of going through a phase where I was just wanting to have sex with all these different girls that I could find. And then when I met her, we obviously settled down, married her. And then the first couple years, it was really good.

00:17:51.634 --> 00:18:25.733
It was. You're kind of in that puppy love phase, and then after that, you start to peel back the onion and you're consistently around this person. And now I have to show her myself to kind of be a part of the relationship, and that just does not work. I can get on this podcast with you right now and pour my heart out. Cause I probably won't see you tomorrow. You know, I won't see you the next day. But when you tell all of these things to somebody, then you wake up and you see him again. You see him again. You see him again. It's like that's when it gets hard to. That's what. And there's so much to lose there, too.

00:18:25.773 --> 00:18:59.135
Like, my wife and my children are everything, so there's so much to lose that you're just scared to be yourself around them or to even be emotional. And that's kind of what happened over the last few years with me and my wife. And as of late, as of the last, like, five months, I started talking about this. We've gotten extremely close, and now I am, because that's a victim mentality that I was living in where I was pushing off everything on her, and it's her fault. And you picked me. I told you I was messed up and you married me. This is your fault.

00:18:59.319 --> 00:19:21.894
And now I am actually fixing that and kind of reversing it to say, like, hey, like, you know, we have to love each other and we have to express this love and this compassion and this gratitude for one another to. In order to heal. And that's what it's been the last few months, but it's been a struggle, for sure. It's been very hard. Thanks for sharing that.

00:19:23.554 --> 00:19:54.165
What's your military service and career been like? What achievements have you accomplished there? So I served for eight years. I was. I was in the infantry at first. I was in the reserves as a mechanic because I didn't know what the hell I was doing when I signed up, the recruiters just got me. And then a couple years into that, I realized, like, this was not the army, and so not the army I thought it was. So I joined active duty, went, went into the infantry, done a lot of cool things. I was down at Fort Stewart, Georgia. That was my first duty station. And then I went to Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

00:19:54.349 --> 00:20:50.394
But I've been all over the world. I've been to Africa, Dominican Republic, all over the states, training and just, you know, doing all the things to get ready to go to combat, and went to Afghanistan in 2019. And then after that, I got out. But I got out as a. As a e five sergeant. I was a team leader in the infantry and the 82nd Airborne. So that was pretty cool. I didn't have, like, a crazy successful career. I was just kind of like an average run of the mill kind of soldier. Nothing special, really. But it was. It was good for me, though, for sure. Did the challenges that you experienced and overcame as a youth serve you in the life skills that you're having to use now in your career in the military and now in the business you're doing now? Yes. I mean, the biggest thing is, I have suffered so much in my life, and suffering creates endurance. Endurance creates character.

00:20:50.564 --> 00:21:16.622
Character inspires hope and provides hope and inspiration for others around you. So the biggest thing that my life has done for me is it's created this enduring person, this enduring human where when I joined the military, and I remember going to basic training, thinking to myself, like, there's, this is easy. This is not going to be the thing that breaks me. And I tell people all the time, you go through all this crap in life, don't get there and just don't quit.

00:21:16.678 --> 00:21:27.357
Don't get to the obstacle and quit because the reward is on the other side. And so that was one thing I always told myself was like, I've already been through more than anybody here can imagine.

00:21:27.486 --> 00:21:41.718
This is not going to break me. And so I've told myself that in basic training, told myself that in the army and my darkest moments, and even just a few weeks ago, I had to remind myself of this, of, to not, don't ever forget where I came from right now.

00:21:41.766 --> 00:22:27.945
The, when I was in the army, it worked really well because there's a lot of jacked up people in the army, too. Some people join because they want to join and serve, and most people are not mos, but I'll say a lot of people join because they're, they don't have a, another way. They don't have another outlet. They don't have another way to get out of whatever situation they're in, which is like me, kind of. So when I got out, though, and I got into the corporate world, working construction and walking into an office where everybody's in a suit and tie and everybody's happy and everybody's just. It's weird, you know, you feel like you don't belong. You feel like everybody's judging you. And I used to think to myself, I don't belong in these rooms. Like, I don't have mom and dad. I was abused and, you know, I was molested and all these terrible things happened to me. Like, these people are not the same as me.

00:22:28.089 --> 00:22:42.314
So that messed me up for a while. And then I had to change my mindset again. I had to fix my mentality of, like, you know what? I didn't have all that. And I'm still in this room with you. It's not that I don't belong, but I am here even though I went through all of that.

00:22:42.354 --> 00:23:18.925
So it's all perspective and mentality. It's just how you shape it around you. And that's going to be your reality. So when I said that suffering creates endurance, right? Endurance creates character and character inspires hope, right? So when we learned these things about those extremely successful people, now we're like, whoa, now we're really fired up about him because it's like, wow, like this person. So, for example, when I spoke, I spoke on a stage in Las Vegas. I won a national construction award, and I was recognized by the National association of Home Builders. When I spoke on that stage in Las Vegas, I should have used that moment as a mic drop.

00:23:18.990 --> 00:24:19.663
Like, look what I did moment. And at the last second, I kind of bailed. And I just kind of delivered this, like, very mellow speech. But I had this whole speech wrote out to tell these people, this room of millionaires, you have no idea the path that I have been on to get to where I'm at today. And I was going to drop all this heat on them about my story, and I just kind of bailed. I regret doing that. But anyways, that's what I mean when I say that character inspires hope. Because when I hear somebody becoming a millionaire, I'm like, okay, well, where did you start? I just want to know where you started. If you don't want to tell me, usually that means that you probably started with some success because it's just not as impressive. It's always impressive, but it's not as impressive. But when you find out that that man was in the arena for his entire life, fighting and struggling and suffering, then it's like, wow, that inspires hope. But also the story of being on the stage in Las Vegas is part of the story. Yes, absolutely. Another lesson to share later on. Absolutely. Right.

00:24:20.163 --> 00:24:26.503
How do you believe that your grandparents left you a greater legacy through their actions and support?

00:24:27.804 --> 00:24:56.124
My grandparents, well, they straightened me out, that's for sure. My grandpa was very hard on me. Not, not too much, but they just gave me the boundaries that I needed and the structure that I needed, and they loved me. And safety, security, stability.

00:24:56.703 --> 00:25:14.432
They gave me all of these things that I had never had. And what's crazy, and this is maybe good advice for your audience, is when I first got there, I was very appreciative for about six months. I was, I mean, probably six months to a year. I mean, I was so happy to be there. And then I started to resent them.

00:25:14.528 --> 00:25:40.243
And this kind of resembles my marriage as well. I was very happy to be in this relationship because it was real nice. It was warm, security, stability. And then I start to feel like, why am I not moving why are things not different? Where is the pain? Where's the suffering? Where's the trauma? And so you start to kind of. It's almost like relapsing, I guess. I mean, I've never used drugs, but I would. Familiar trauma.

00:25:41.384 --> 00:26:43.089
Yeah. So you're. You're looking for that. So when I moved with my grandparents, I was very happy. But after a while, I started to resent them. And I. I remember coming home. I think I was 14 on my 14th birthday. My grandma had made me a cake, and she was so happy to sing happy birthday to me. And I remember walking in the door and just thinking to myself, like, I'm 14 years old. Like, why the hell are you making me a cake and singing to me? I'm not a kid anymore. And I was 14, but I had already been through so much that you just feel like a grown man, you know, and you feel like, I don't need this baby kind of treatment, you know? So you reject that love. And so for your audience, I would say if you're taking in your grandchildren and they are coming from a bad place, I would say that's very normal, but just love them through it, you know? I tried to adopt my nephew last year, and he was with me for about six or seven months before his mom came and took him back. And the one thing I regret is that I was very hard on him, and I should not have been. I should have just loved him because that's what he needed. He'd already been through so much crap.

00:26:43.201 --> 00:27:19.173
He just needed love. And my grandparents did that for me, despite having these kind of reactions. So if you had a young person standing in front of you right now who was looking for trouble, because that was what was familiar, can you think of a few words that you would say to that young man? Well, it depends. I hate that answer, but it depends. It depends on the personality. I would say if you're somebody like me, if it's just like, young, chippy kid like I was. For example, my.

00:27:19.253 --> 00:27:22.557
So my brother, he's about five years older than me. I never lived with him.

00:27:22.726 --> 00:27:29.286
My brother, he took me down to the last house I lived in with my mom, and he just pulled up to the house, and that was all I needed.

00:27:29.390 --> 00:29:07.496
And I just started crying. And he. And then he. After about 1015 minutes of me just sitting there sobbing because he knew that I had been acting like a turd to my grandparents, then after about ten or 15 minutes of me just sitting there crying because I was torn apart because I had let people down. He told me straight up, he's like, do you want to be back here or not? Like, do you want to be back here and live like everybody else, or do you want to do something with your life? And then he basically told me, stop being an asshole. Now. I am the kind of person that receive, that can receive that criticism. I think if you have more of a sensitive person, you know, you just, there's a lot of ways you can go with that conversation. But people don't realize the impact that they have on the world. I recently just started when I'm coining the impact project, which is my business, my speaking gig, and the reason why I chose the impact project is because you don't realize the impact that you make on somebody just by taking them in or the impact that you can have by the things that you have been through and the story that you can tell in the future. You can save lives because you have survived and you don't realize the impact of the decisions you make. You don't realize the opportunity that is right in front of you as a young man or a young woman so many times. You don't realize these people who are 30, 40, 50, 60 years old, they were 18, they were 15 at one point, and they were young and dumb, too. And we're just trying to put you on the right path. Unfortunately, in this situation, if you grew up like me, then you are not on that right path.

00:29:07.519 --> 00:29:18.016
And this right path does not make sense to you. But I promise you, if you take this opportunity and get on the path, it will lead you to success. That's more of maybe a compassionate approach.

00:29:18.160 --> 00:29:22.003
But yeah, there's a lot of ways you can take that conversation for sure.

00:29:22.703 --> 00:29:44.703
Hindsight is always 2020. I used to work with a group of women, young women that were in a women's treatment program. And I always tell them, you have no idea the impact that you can make on other people because you've been there and you've survived it. And that is the most powerful tool in the world to have.

00:29:45.044 --> 00:30:06.993
Absolutely. That's why I started the impact project. That'll be on my website soon. So, insights from you on finding hope and resilience in your most darkest days. So what are those? I always remind myself that life is a test, and it is going to keep testing you.

00:30:07.534 --> 00:31:54.334
And every time you pass a test, the next test is going to be a little bit harder, it's going to be a little bit bigger, and if you fail on those big tests, you don't make any progress. And what I think about here is if you're going across a rope bridge, right? You go up to a bridge, the first thing you do is you grab it and you shake it. You're testing out that bridge. You're shaking it. Is this bridge going to work or not? Do I trust this bridge? And then you take a step on the bridge. Is this, you know, is this bridge going to fall? Right. You're just testing it again with a little bit more pressure. And then as you start to trust the process and trust this bridge, you start to keep taking steps and then you make it across. And now you get across to the other side of the bridge after a series of tests, and the biggest one might be when you're in the middle of the bridge and the bridge is swinging, what do you do? I mean, you can give up and lay down right there, right in the middle of the test, or you can keep taking steps forward and get to the other side and get to where the success is, where the reward is right before life rewards you. It is going to test you. Just a few weeks ago, I was sitting in my car and I'm thinking to myself, this is it. Like, I'm so tired. I'm not making any progress. I haven't, you know, nobody's kind of reaching out to me, nobody's responding to emails. And then I had to just breathe and I had to just tell myself like, look, man, it's coming. When you start to feel like this, the reward is right there. You just got to take one more step. I agree. Facing those walls and getting through them is what has brought me to where I am today. Being on the other side of those walls is absolutely amazing. The next one is always better than the one before.

00:31:56.273 --> 00:32:13.653
I think it's so important to share these stories and to inspire other people like you are. It's so powerful and it brings a lot of recognition to some really important issues that the rest of the world may not want to talk about that needs to hear. Sure. Yeah.

00:32:15.433 --> 00:32:29.814
This has been a great interview. I really appreciate your time and it's been so nice meeting you and it's so great to see what you're doing but needs to hear. Sure. Yeah.

00:32:30.753 --> 00:32:40.794
So this has been a great interview. I really appreciate your time and it's been so nice meeting you and it's so great to see what you're doing.

00:32:41.614 --> 00:32:57.693
I appreciate your story, I appreciate the hard times you've been through. Your testimony is one that will change lives, I'm sure. Thank you. Yeah, I appreciate that.

00:32:57.814 --> 00:33:46.973
Why don't you share your information about how other people can follow your work and learn more about your upcoming memoir? I have a website which is sethgale.com that is linked to all my socials as well. My last name is Gehle and sethgale.com. you can sign up on there as like a subscriber. You won't get anything from me other than my book. When my book starts coming out, that'll be the only thing I'll send out for now. If you google me, you'll find me on YouTube Instagram as well, which is go beyond the shadows. My book, titled tentatively is strength beyond the Shadows, if that's approved, and then we'll roll with that. More than likely my instagram go beyond the shadow Seth Gale if you look that up, you'll find me and reach out if you got questions and I'm always going to respond and acknowledge and so thanks. If anybody needs anything, just let me know.

00:33:47.273 --> 00:33:50.897
Thanks Seth, for sharing your powerful story and your insights.

00:33:51.066 --> 00:34:09.034
Yeah, of course. Thanks so much for joining us today for another episode of grandparents raising grandchildren. Nurturing through adversity. I encourage you to share your challenges and your successes with us. Your story is undoubtedly one someone else needs to hear.

00:34:09.733 --> 00:34:57.804
You can submit your stories to the links provided in the podcast information. Your contributions will enrich upcoming conversations, creating a more supportive community in which we can learn and grow together. If you enjoyed this show, please share it with a friend that needs to hear. And if you love this show and you're listening on a broadcasting platform like Apple or Spotify, just scroll down in your app and please leave us a review. With pre teens experiencing their first identity breaking it's a crucial period for parent child communication. In our next episode, Marcus Higgs will share invaluable strategies that parents can use to guide their children through these formative years, fostering resilience and greatness.

00:34:57.923 --> 00:35:05.244
Don't miss this opportunity to learn from Marcus Higgs wisdom on establishing meaningful connections with your teenagers.

00:35:06.023 --> 00:35:20.724
Thank you for tuning in to grandparents raising grandchildren nurturing through adversity remember, you are not alone. Together we can find strength and hope in the face of adversity.

00:35:21.384 --> 00:35:30.264
Peace be with you and I pray that you find some time this week to listen to your inner wisdom amongst the noise and the pandemonium of this world.