Beyond the Monsters

Sonny Von Cleveland shares his story of being trafficked by his mother from the time he was three until he was twelve, surviving years of abuse, and growing up without the intervention or support he needed. As a child, getting into trouble became an unexpected form of safety, eventually leading him into the juvenile justice system and then prison at sixteen, where he was SAed during his first week. In the years that followed, Sonny became involved in gangs and violence, returned to prison with fifteen additional felonies, and eventually found himself facing years in solitary confinement.It was there that an unlikely friendship with a man in the cell across from him forced Sonny to confront the anger, trauma, and harm that had shaped so much of his life. Through that relationship, Sonny began taking responsibility for the pain he had caused while finding a way to give purpose to the pain he had survived. After spending a total of eighteen years incarcerated, he rebuilt his life through music, storytelling, advocacy, and a commitment to helping others. Today, Sonny works in the fight against child trafficking and exploitation, using both his lived experience and his voice to educate families, support survivors, and help protect the children he says deserve the intervention he never had.Sonny’s Links:https://www.instagram.com/sonnyvonclevelandofficialhttps://www.tiktok.com/@sonnyvonclevelandhttps://www.youtube.com/@sonnyvonclevelandofficialhttps://www.sonnyvoncleveland.comhttps://linktr.ee/sonnyvonclevelandofficialSonny’s Book - Hey White Boy: Conversations of Redemptionhttps://a.co/d/0iVuFHs6 Our Rescuehttps://ourrescue.orgSonny’s Podcast - Unlikely Allies: Inside Our Fight - Coming Soon!https://ourrescue.org/unlikelyalliesResources:National Grooming Prevention Hotlinehttps://www.ngph.org623-688-3214Suicide and Crisis Lifeline988RAINN24/7 confidential support, online chat & hotline 1-800-656-HOPEBeyond the Monsters Socials:https://www.instagram.com/beyondthemonsters https://linktr.ee/BeyondtheMonsters Disclaimer: This podcast shares personal experiences and educational discussion. It is not medical or mental health advice. Always consult a qualified professional regarding your own care.Topic: Fight Against Child Trafficking, Human Trafficking, Childhood Trauma, Prison Trauma, CSA,Child Exploitation Prevention

For our 100th episode and Suicide Prevention & Awareness Month, Chell shares one of the most difficult and personal stories she has ever told: losing her friend David to suicide. David was a successful businessman and philanthropist who was known for his generosity, but behind the life people saw, he was struggling with drugs, alcohol, and his mental health. When David reached out to Chell during a crisis in November 2017, she spent hours trying to keep him talking and convince him that what he was feeling was temporary. What happened over the course of that night would leave Chell carrying an experience she never could have prepared for.Chell opens up about witnessing her friend’s suicide, the guilt and questions she carried afterward, and the severe depression that followed. Having spent much of her career working in psychiatry and addiction, she struggled with the belief that she should have known what to do and ultimately stepped away from that work after his death. Nearly nine years later, Chell shares what this experience taught her about taking suicidal statements seriously, getting help when someone is in crisis, and the lasting impact suicide can have on the people left behind. More than anything, she shares David’s story in the hope that someone listening will check on the people they love and never assume that a cry for help shouldn’t be taken seriously.Resources:Suicide & Crisis HotlineCall or text 988Crisis Text Line741741Beyond the Monsters Socials:https://www.instagram.com/beyondthemonsters https://linktr.ee/BeyondtheMonsters Disclaimer: This podcast shares personal experiences and educational discussion. It is not medical or mental health advice. Always consult a qualified professional regarding your own care.Topic: Suicide Prevention, Mental Health, Complex PTSD, Substance Use Disorder, Loss & Grief 

LaRon shares his story of growing up in extreme poverty surrounded by addiction, violence, neglect, and abuse before entering the foster care system. After being placed in a foster home where he was starved, tortured, threatened with weapons, and made to eat from dog bowls, LaRon reached a point where he no longer wanted to live. In one of his darkest moments, music interrupted a suicide attempt and became something he could hold onto until he eventually returned to a foster mother who gave him the safety and unconditional love he had never known. LaRon opens up about being adopted, pursuing a career in music, and the ways his childhood trauma continued to follow him into adulthood, marriage, and fatherhood. After his marriage ended and the mother who adopted him unexpectedly died, LaRon found himself struggling again with grief, anger, and suicidal thoughts while trying to rebuild his life and remain present for his children. Today, he is confronting the patterns passed down through his family, navigating an ongoing fight to reunite with his youngest daughter, and using his music and story to turn what he survived into something that might give someone else hope.LaRon’s Links:https://www.instagram.com/iamlaronmusichttps://m.youtube.com/stevie3580?ra=mhttps://beacons.ai/iamlaronmusicLaRon’s Book: From My Test To My Testimonyhttps://a.co/d/0942q33mResources:Crisis Text Line741741RAINN24/7 confidential support, online chat & hotline 1-800-656-HOPESAMHSA’s National Helpline 1-800-662-HELP (4357)Beyond the Monsters Socials:https://www.instagram.com/beyondthemonsters https://linktr.ee/BeyondtheMonsters Disclaimer: This podcast shares personal experiences and educational discussion. It is not medical or mental health advice. Always consult a qualified professional regarding your own care.Topic: Foster care abuse, Child neglect, Childhood trauma, mental health, Generational trauma, Foster care system, Child welfare system

Ariel shares her story of surviving childhood SA, addiction, and years of struggling with her mental health before reaching a point where she attempted to take her own life. After six months of sobriety from alcohol, a difficult night became a breaking point, and Ariel survived a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the chest, an experience she describes as being followed almost immediately by regret and the realization that she wanted to live.In the years since, Ariel has had to confront not only the trauma that contributed to her attempt, but the physical and emotional aftermath of surviving it. She opens up about the impact on her son and family, her experiences within the mental health system, and the work it took to rebuild her life. Today, Ariel lives and works at Mattersville, a nonprofit wolf dog rescue that works with veterans struggling with PTSD, where caring for the animals and finding purpose within the community became an important part of her healing.Mattersville https://mattersvillevets.org/Resources:Crisis Text Line741741RAINN24/7 confidential support, online chat & hotline 1-800-656-HOPESAMHSA’s National Helpline (mental health and/or substance use)1-800-662-HELP (4357)Beyond the Monsters Socials:https://www.instagram.com/beyondthemonsters https://linktr.ee/BeyondtheMonsters Disclaimer: This podcast shares personal experiences and educational discussion. It is not medical or mental health advice. Always consult a qualified professional regarding your own care.Topic: Suicide Attempt Survivor, Mental Health Recovery, CSA, Complex PTSD, Alcohol Addiction, Suicide Prevention

Rhiannon Thoreson was 19 years old and washing her car in broad daylight when a stranger came up behind her, held a knife to her throat, and kidnapped her. He drove her to a remote area, where she was held for hours, repeatedly sexually assaulted, physically assaulted, and threatened with death. What followed was a years-long struggle with severe PTSD, suicidal thoughts, panic attacks, hypervigilance, shame, and the pressure to appear successful on the outside while privately struggling with what had happened to her.Rhiannon opens up about returning to college shortly after the attack, hiding how badly she was struggling from the people around her, and spending years in therapy as she learned how to live with the trauma. She shares how EMDR changed her experience with PTSD, why she stopped expecting herself to one day be completely “healed,” and how surviving the attack ultimately influenced her decision to attend law school and advocate for victims of crime. Rhiannon and Chell also discuss survivor guilt, forgiveness, restorative justice, and the complicated reality that a conviction and courtroom victory can hold someone accountable without necessarily bringing a survivor healing or closure.Rhiannon’s links:https://www.instagram.com/mybeautyfromasheshttps://linktr.ee/mybeautyfromasheshttps://rhiannonthoreson.comRhiannon’s TEDx Talkhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSV0IrT8eDARhiannon’s book: My Beauty from Ashes https://rhiannonthoreson.com/booksResources:Crisis Text Line741741RAINN24/7 confidential support, online chat & hotline 1-800-656-HOPESAMHSA’s National Helpline (mental health and/or substance use)1-800-662-HELP (4357)Beyond the Monsters Socials:https://www.instagram.com/beyondthemonsters https://linktr.ee/BeyondtheMonsters Disclaimer: This podcast shares personal experiences and educational discussion. It is not medical or mental health advice. Always consult a qualified professional regarding your own care.Topic: Kidnapping Survivor, SA Survivor, PTSD After Trauma, Trauma Healing, Stranger Abduction, True Crime, Crime Victim Advocacy

Fausto Castellanos shares his story of surviving childhood SA, grooming, addiction, and years of shame that left him questioning himself and searching for acceptance in relationships, substances, and the people around him. After being abused at 7 years old and again by an adult man while struggling with meth addiction at 14, Fausto spent years trying to outrun what happened to him, eventually reaching a point where his substance use, seizures, and suicidal thoughts left him believing he might not survive.Fausto opens up about finally asking for help, finding sobriety, and experiencing unconditional acceptance from a sponsor who helped him begin confronting the trauma he had carried since childhood. He also shares how becoming a counselor and helping others gave his pain a sense of purpose, but eventually forced him to confront another pattern: tying his worth to how much he could do for everyone else. Today, nearly a decade into his healing journey, Fausto has built a life around trauma recovery, addiction advocacy, mental health, and helping others find hope without abandoning himself in the process.Fausto’s Links:https://www.instagram.com/hopedealerfaustohttps://www.youtube.com/@HopeDealerFaustohttps://www.tiktok.com/@hopedealerfaustohttps://www.facebook.com/faustocastellanossResources:Crisis Text Line741741RAINN24/7 confidential support, online chat & hotline 1-800-656-HOPESAMHSA’s National Helpline (mental health and/or substance use)1-800-662-HELP (4357)Beyond the Monsters Socials:https://www.instagram.com/beyondthemonsters https://linktr.ee/BeyondtheMonsters Disclaimer: This podcast shares personal experiences and educational discussion. It is not medical or mental health advice. Always consult a qualified professional regarding your own care.Topic: CSA Survivor, Childhood Trauma, Grooming, Addiction Recovery, Trauma Recovery, Sobriety, Men’s Mental Health