About this episode

A conversation with Peggy Sharr about overcoming fear and reclaiming truth after growing up in a religious cult.

What if the truth was never missing… just buried under everything you were taught to fear? A conversation about growing up as the daughter of a religious cult leader, the moment the spell broke, and what it takes to come back to yourself—this episode includes themes of control, spiritual abuse, and lived trauma. T his one holds a different kind of weight. No need to rush—we’ll come out the other side. There is space for all of it here. 🌒 “I worked every day to keep my thoughts pure” — what it means to be afraid of your own mind. 🔥 The moment that didn’t look like a moment — very pregnant, wide awake, and finally done pretending. 🧠 Mind-reading as control — when even your inner world doesn’t feel like yours. 🐸 The frog in the pot — how “normal” slowly reshapes itself around harm. 💔 “Oh honey, I want to get back and miss my friends” — the sentence that broke the illusion. 🌊 Letting every thought come back at once — the night she stopped pushing truth down. 🤝 “I’m leaving… with or without you” — the risk of choosing yourself without a safety net. 🧵 Control that lingers — why leaving doesn’t mean you’re free (yet). 🧭 Relearning how to decide — untangling signs, destiny, and…

People in this episode

Host: James E. Bullard

Guest: Peggy Sharr

Topics covered

• truth
• fear
• spiritual abuse
• control
• personal growth
• trauma
• self-discovery

Keywords

• truth
• fear
• spiritual abuse
• control
• trauma
• self-discovery
• personal growth
• mind-reading
• normalization of harm
• starting over

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• What Happens After the Quiet — Learning to Choose Clarity Over Assumption · June 16, 2026 · 37 min

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