The Life After Podcast

After a break lasting over a year and a half, Michelle joins Brady to discuss deconstructing neurodiversity and eating disorder recovery. If you'd like to donate to Brady's GoFundMe for expenses related to his family's legal battle and more, please visit https://gofund.me/13befd41 or email him at bradyhardin@gmail.com for direct donations or with connections to other podcasts. Bookended with music by Nightlightr (CDBaby, iTunes, and Spotify) | Find links for The Life After Community (our secret Facebook group), subscribing, rating, and/or reviewing on iTunes here: linkin.bio/thelifeafterorg

With one more new episode left in 2021, here's a classic episode with Jamie Lee Finch and my former co-host Chuck Parson. Before the new episode, if you're able, check out the Season Two finale of We're Here on HBO. My next guest is Dustin VanDyke and was featured in that episode. You won't want to miss this! Unbuckling The Bible Belt: Brady Hardin and Chuck Parson takes the show on the road to Nashville, TN to interview Jamie Lee Finch on the subjects of sexuality, the dangers of Purity Culture, and the downfalls of Patriarchy. Jamie describes how much of her journey after leaving religion involves understanding her body. She gives life-changing advice on how to become a whole person and heal from trauma. Bonus: Listen to Jamie reading her own original poems throughout the episode. To learn more about Jamie’s work, follow her on Twitter, @jamieleefinch or visit her website: jamieleefinch.com Find links for The Life After Community (our secret Facebook group), subscribing, rating, and/or reviewing on iTunes here: linkin.bio/thelifeafterorg

Vi La Bianca (Skeptic Generation co-host) joins Brady to deconstruct reason's relationship with mental health, rapture anxiety, being neurodiverse, and how to set boundaries with people AND beliefs. With Special Intermission Interview Guest, Sherman the Dog from Adventures in Odyssey. Find Vi's work with Skeptic Generation at SkepticGeneration.com | Follow Vi on Twitter on @AuthorConfusion Bookended with music by Nightlightr (CDBaby, iTunes, and Spotify) | Find links for The Life After Community (our secret Facebook group), subscribing, rating, and/or reviewing on iTunes here: linkin.bio/thelifeafterorg

Julianne King (Poet and old friend of Brady) deconstructs her LIFE AFTER spiritual abuse with intensely manipulative church leaders. A major event occurred while in the youth group and another afterward. Also, Julianne shares her theory about how the musical Cats represents Evangelicalism. Find Julianne's book of poetry, Bible Belt Revolution, on Amazon Bookended with music by Nightlightr (CDBaby, iTunes, and Spotify) | Find links for The Life After Community (our secret Facebook group), subscribing, rating, and/or reviewing on iTunes here: linkin.bio/thelifeafterorg

Sheri invited me to be on her YouTube Channel, FireSide Creators, alongside Catherine Wilcox, who has an M.A. in English Rhetoric and has researched the role of storytelling as a healing and community-building practice for individuals recovering from religious abuse and trauma. Here's the audio from that conversation as a special bonus before next Thursday's episode! Find Sheri's website at sheripallas.com and her YouTube channel at youtube.com/FiresideCreators. Find links for The Life After Community (our secret Facebook group), subscribing, rating, and/or reviewing on iTunes here: linkin.bio/thelifeafterorg

Content Warning: This episode includes mentions of sexually predatory behavior and the retelling of a racial, anti-fatness comment Emily Dukes joins The Life After to tell how her love for Christian fiction put her on the path to be groomed (use of privileged relationships to normalize exploiting a young person's body) by novelist Ted Dekker, what she's discovered about herself, and how she's pushing back. This episode begins with Brady retelling his experience of being groped by a trusted church friend during the beginning of his deconstruction. Bookended with music by Nightlightr (CDBaby, iTunes, and Spotify) | Find links for The Life After Community (our secret Facebook group), subscribing, rating, and/or reviewing on iTunes here: linkin.bio/thelifeafterorg

Alice Grecyzn (actress and upcoming author) re-joins Chuck and Brady to update her life since the recording of the last episode months and months ago. Follow her important work helping deconstructors at www.daretodoubt.org. Bookended with music by Nightlightr (CDBaby, iTunes, and Spotify) | Find links for The Life After Community (our secret Facebook group), subscribing, rating, and/or reviewing on iTunes here: linkin.bio/thelifeafterorg

Denver-based counselor and coach, Suandria Hall, joins Chuck and Brady to unpack her Life After. Suandaria's father was a preacher. So much of her life was entrenched in church culture, filled with rules and expectations. After learning beyond what the Bible could offer, she became interested in why people do what they do. She landed on counseling with an emphasis on religious trauma. Though her religious trauma experience didn't begin until leaving the community, she became a mental health provider for those leaving the faith. She helps people set boundaries, have healthier relationships with forgiveness, and become empowered to be who they are without indoctrinated expectations. In this episode, they also discuss: what it means to be "trauma-informed" growing up in a black church community forgiveness culture why it's okay not to forgive and forget community building after church To get in touch with Suandaria, visit her website, mychoicemypower.com. Bookended with music by Nightlightr (CDBaby, iTunes, and Spotify) | Find links for The Life After Community (our secret Facebook group), subscribing, rating, and/or reviewing on iTunes here: linkin.bio/thelifeafterorg

Victoria Lynn Myers (model) joins Chuck and Brady to unpack her life after! She grew up in a very strict, Independent Baptist home with many, many rules, but Victoria noticed she didn't value the beliefs over her experience like those around her. When her church community showed obsessions with modesty, she knew there were still horrible sexual abuse occurring. Her world turned up-side down when Victoria had an empowering sexual experience with someone of the same gender, an act her community strictly forbade as shameful and wrong. That wasn't Victoria's experience, and she wasn't set on reading from their script. Instead, she left the shelter of her family and church community to experience the world that she was conditioned to fear. When she faced difficulties on her own, including sexual abuse, she had to lean on herself and pulled through victoriously. Listen to Victoria's brave story of overcoming oppression and showing her true self to the world. Visit Victoria's website here: victorialynnmyers.com Transitional music by Nightlightr | CDBaby, iTunes and Spotify Connect with the Life After Podcast & Community here: linktr.ee/thelifeafter

CW: This episode includes mentions of race-based physical abuse, racial slurs, sexual abuse, and mention of childhood violence. Carrie Maya, calling from Australia, opens up to Chuck and Brady about her life after leaving a high-demand Charismatic community, spiritual abuse, and life-long conditioning to submit to authority. A very tumultuous childhood and extreme Fundamentalism positioned Carried to be victimized by self-seeking authoritative voices. First, it was family. Then her pastor. And finally, an intimate partner. Carrie retells how she changed the narrative and discovered help in finding spirituality outside of Christianity. To learn more about Carrie and her book, visit her insta @Hexvangelical. Bookended with music by Nightlightr (CDBaby, iTunes, and Spotify) | Find links for The Life After Community (our secret Facebook group), subscribing, rating, and/or reviewing on iTunes here: linkin.bio/thelifeafterorg

Elle Reneé of St. Louis Chapter of Black Nonbelievers joins Chuck and Brady in the studio. Elle's step father was a pastor for multiple churches of varying denominations and current pastor of a nondenominational church, and some of their church services would go all day long. All of this made church a very foundational part of Elle's childhood. Along with the good side of closely-knit church communities also brought the bad, including lot of unwanted touch. Elle got married during the same week she graduated high school and turned 18. After two failed marriages, she learned to stand up for herself. As she started to pull away from the faith, many church people would report back to her family. She set boundaries to protect herself and hasn't looked back since. Chuck and Elle share experiences of being People of Color, and in the finale segment, Brady and Elle discuss parenting after religion. Elle is the Chief Organizer of the St. Louis Chapter of Black Nonbelievers, a friendly, informative secular community connecting People of Color (and allies). Learn more on their website, blacknonbelievers.com. Bookended with music by Nightlightr (CDBaby, iTunes, and Spotify) | Find links for The Life After Community (our secret Facebook group), subscribing, rating, and/or reviewing on iTunes here: linkin.bio/thelifeafterorg

Dave Warnock shares with Chuck and Brady about facing his mortality after leaving Christianity and being diagnosed with ALS/Lou Gehrig's disease. He's creating new meaningful relationships and learning to savor the moments of life as an Atheist. They also discuss the pretzels they twisted themselves in to justify Biblical language, whether Dave's illness would make him want to go back, Christians who gaslight by saying people who left weren't really Christians, and finding new community that will last until the end. Episode begins with Chuck addressing a common issue people leaving dogma face, the lingering fear of hell. Stepping away from religion doesn't alway get rid of the conditioned anxiety and fear of eternal punishment, but Chuck lays out a compelling case for dismissing that concern by using the Bible. You won't want to miss it. Dave is touring from secular group to humanist church to speak on his life motto of "Carpe Fucking Diem." The juxtaposition of his inspirational outlook and somber situation is allowing many to see how people without belief in God can face mortality with unflinching optimism, sensibility, and humor --- surrounded by people who love them (and don't have an agenda). Keep up with Dave here: daveoutloud.com | Support Dave here: patreon.com/dyingoutloud Episode Content Warning: lots of language, death, Bible verses Bookended with music by Nightlightr (CDBaby, iTunes, and Spotify) | Find links for The Life After Community (our secret Facebook group), subscribing, rating, and/or reviewing on iTunes here: linkin.bio/thelifeafterorg