I have the wonderful Nicola Hanney on the podcast today—someone I am proud to call a friend. Nicola is a coercive control survivor who has bravely shared her story. She has spoken about the terror she felt, fearing that her former partner, a Garda, would use his position to ‘come after’ anyone she turned to for help.
At the time, Nicola was a young mother battling a terminal cancer diagnosis. Over the four years they knew each other, she received more than 30,000 messages from him—many of them vile, abusive, and threatening.
In 2022, Garda Paul Moody became one of the first people in Ireland to be jailed for coercive control after pleading guilty to abusing Nicola over that period.
Now, Nicola has written a powerful new book, Stronger: What Didn’t Kill Me, Made Me, detailing her journey from survivor to advocate. This is one of my favorite books of all time. I went in not fully understanding coercive control and finished it with nothing but deep compassion for anyone experiencing it.
Nicola has helped so many simply by sharing her story. After she spoke out, an avalanche of women came forward. Beyond her bravery, Nicola is a truly beautiful person—her kindness and light radiate from her. I can't say enough good things about her.
Find Nicola: