[Content Warning]: Discussions of childhood trafficking (including trafficking by a parent), fragmented and somatic trauma memories, mild language, two near-death experiences involving resuscitation (mention of suicide)

Kristin Howe is a Canadian author whose psychological thriller carries real trauma survivor narratives inside. Her debut novel, Unbound, follows Piper, a survivor of childhood trafficking, and the emotional truth behind Piper's story comes straight from Kristin's own life.

In this conversation with Jan, Kristin talks about writing Unbound as a way to finally hold pieces of her own memory that had been locked away for years. She describes what EMDR therapy actually felt like from the inside, how implicit memories become explicit ones, and why trusting a fragmented memory is still trusting the truth. She also opens up about the Stellate Ganglion Block, a treatment that gave her, for the first time, a sense of what it feels like to live outside constant fight-or-flight.

The conversation moves into some of the harder truths about trafficking, including how survivors are sometimes coerced into recruiting others and then charged as traffickers themselves, and into Liam, a character in Unbound whose story opens up a conversation about male survivors that doesn't get talked about enough.

Kristin also shares how healing changed her parenting, how creativity rebuilt pathways her trauma had shut down, and how two near-death experiences reshaped her sense of purpose as a child. She's the founder of Project Raven, an initiative helping survivors tell their own stories on their own terms.

This episode covers heavy ground with care. If you need support after listening, resources are linked below.

Buy Kristin's Book:
Unbound: Not All Chains Are Visible

Where To Find Kristin:
Project Raven (via Kristin's site): InnerPanda.ca
Insta: @inner.panda.ca
Facebook: @InnerPanda

Mentioned Resources:
Love Yourself Like Your Life Depends on It by Kamal Ravikant

If you or someone you know is experiencing emotional distress or suicidal ideation, please access the resources below:

National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline: Call/Text 988
National Sexual Assault Hotline (RAINN) : 1-800-656-HOPE (4673)
National Alliance for Mental Illness: 1-800-950-6264

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