What happens when you stop allowing other people to control the narrative of your life and take the pen back into your own hands?

In this powerful episode of Walking in ALOHA; Let’s Talk Story, Michelle Ebalaroza Kawano sits down with Shandra Marie Johnson for a deeply personal conversation that goes beyond the headlines and gives Shandra the space to tell her story in her own voice.

Born into the FLDS community and married at age 20 into a plural marriage, Shandra shares what it was like to move from an isolated and controlled environment into a life of freedom, choices, healing and self-discovery.

Together, Michelle and Shandra explore the ALOHA Always Framework through conversations about:

• Reclaiming your worth without proving, performing or persuading
• Finding a new community and learning who is safe
• Healthy leadership, informed consent and unconditional love
• Overcoming obstacles for the sake of the next generation
• Emotional safety, healing and learning to trust yourself again
• Holding space for both love and pain without denying either
• Challenging assumptions about women from the FLDS community
• Taking ownership of your story and choosing what comes next

Shandra also shares the story behind the upcoming book The Real Lives of Short Creek Wives, created to help readers understand the everyday reality, thought patterns and experiences of women living inside the community—not simply the aftermath seen from the outside.

She also discusses an upcoming film project being created with the women’s participation and consent, her growing journey as a speaker, and her upcoming travel to Kenya.

One of Shandra’s most powerful reminders:

“God can’t steer a parked car. Stay moving. Stay in motion. Stay in action.”

This conversation is about more than surviving the past. It is about reclaiming your voice, honoring who you were, choosing who you are becoming, and realizing that you have the right to be the author of your own story.

Follow Short Creek Wives on Facebook for updates about the book, film, interviews and upcoming announcements.

Shandra Marie Johnson:

FB - https://www.facebook.com/shandra.marie.johnson

IG - https://www.instagram.com/shandra.360glow/

TT - https://www.tiktok.com/@shandrajohnson.1?lang=en

Walking in ALOHA; Let’s Talk Story
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