Beyond the Monsters

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

Suzzette grew up in a family where addiction, mental illness, violence, and instability existed alongside a lot of love. Her father struggled with heroin addiction, her mother battled cancer and dissociative identity disorder, and much of what was happening inside their home became normal to her simply because it was all she knew. As a teenager, things reached a breaking point when her father and older brother were arrested, her mother disappeared, and Suzzette and her younger brother were left behind in a home that had been taken over by strangers.Years later, after losing her father, mother, and eventually her older brother, Suzzette began therapy and started looking back at her childhood with a completely different understanding. She had to untangle the complicated reality of loving her family deeply while also recognizing the ways their choices shaped her anxiety, relationships, coping mechanisms, and sense of what was normal. She opens up about the guilt she still carries over believing her father instead of her mother, the grief of losing so much of her family, and what it has taken to unlearn the patterns she grew up believing were normal.Suzzette’s Links:https://www.instagram.com/suzzettewriteshttps://msha.ke/suzzettewriteshttps://substack.com/@suzzettewritesResources:Crisis 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: Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID), Childhood Trauma, Parental Addiction, Generational Trauma

Shavon was just 11 years old when she woke up to find her mother and her mother’s ex-boyfriend dead after a murder-suicide that unfolded while she slept in the next room. She shares the trauma of discovering the scene, the warning signs she now recognizes as an adult, and how losing her mother shaped every stage of her life. Shavon and Chell discuss domestic violence, intimate partner homicide, childhood trauma, grief, PTSD, healing, family support, and the lifelong impact of losing a parent to violence. Shavon reflects on carrying her mother’s memory through adulthood, navigating profound loss after later losing her grandparents, and why sharing stories like hers can help others feel less alone. She also shares the powerful spoken-word poem she wrote about the night her life changed forever, honoring her mother’s memory while encouraging others to speak openly about trauma and survival. Resources:Crisis 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: DV, losing a parent, true crime, childhood trauma, grief and loss

Angela Harger Thompson moved to Los Angeles to pursue her acting dreams, but soon after arriving, she was drugged, SAed, and strangled by a Hollywood producer who had offered her a job. Although she immediately reported the assault, underwent a forensic exam, and fully cooperated with law enforcement, prosecutors declined to file charges, leaving her to navigate the aftermath of SA, trauma, and a criminal justice system that offered no accountability.Hoping for a fresh start, Angela joined a sailing expedition across the Pacific Ocean just before the COVID-19 pandemic brought the world to a standstill. Stranded at sea for nearly 50 days before returning to a world in lockdown, she found herself trapped in an increasingly unhealthy relationship marked by emotional abuse, gaslighting, coercive control, and isolation. What began as an adventure quickly became another fight for her safety as years of harassment, legal battles, and a deeply personal documentary forced her to keep fighting long after reaching shore.Angela’s Links:https://www.instagram.com/messengeroftruthhttps://linktr.ee/angelahargerhttps://angelahargerproductions.comAngela’s Book - Worst Tits Ever:https://a.co/d/0ie9HuRBAngela’s Documentary - Quarantine at Sea: Trapped Halfway to Nowherehttps://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/B0D33BPJMN?ref_=atv_dp_share_cu_rResources:Crisis Text Line741741RAINN24/7 confidential support, online chat & hotline 1-800-656-HOPEBeyond the Monsters’ Socials:https://www.instagram.com/beyondthemonsters/https://linktr.ee/BeyondtheMonstersDisclaimer: 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: SA, Coercive Control, Emotional Abuse, Gaslighting

Brandi Morey-Pols shares the story of her six-year-old son, Rowan, who was murdered by his biological father just days before a custody hearing that she hoped would finally bring him to safety. She recounts years of coercive control, stalking, emotional abuse, repeated warnings that went unheard, and the devastating failures of multiple systems that left Rowan unprotected despite mounting evidence and escalating concerns.Brandi and Chell explore what happens when coercive control is dismissed, warning signs are overlooked, and systems fail to recognize the danger children can face during custody disputes. Brandi also shares how honoring Rowan's life has become her purpose through the Rowan Project and Rowan's Promise, advocating for greater awareness of filicide, stronger protections for children, and legislative change aimed at preventing other families from experiencing the same unimaginable loss.Brandi’s Links:https://www.instagram.com/dollbb55https://therowanproject.org/https://www.facebook.com/brandi.brennan.3Resources:The Rowan Project - List of Resourceshttps://therowanproject.org/?page_id=1989Crisis Text Line741741National Domestic Violence Hotline1-800-799-7233National Child Abuse Hotline1-800-422-4453 – push 1 to talk to a hotline counselorBeyond 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: filicide, family court failure, coercive control, domestic violence (DV), custody system failure, true crime

Marta Barreto shares her story of surviving childhood sexual abuse, sex trafficking, addiction, incarceration, and years of being blamed, disbelieved, and left without the protection she needed. She opens up about being harmed by family members beginning at nine years old, turning to methamphetamine to cope, serving in the United States Navy, losing her military career after becoming addicted to cocaine, and later being trafficked again while trapped in an abusive relationship. Marta also recounts losing her parental rights, facing a potential sentence of 40 years to life, and the moment her family finally learned that she had been telling the truth all along.Marta and Chell discuss childhood trauma, human trafficking, addiction, incarceration, family betrayal, religious shame, forgiveness, motherhood, second chances, and breaking generational cycles. After receiving a reduced sentence under Proposition 57, Marta returned home, earned both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees with honors, and became a propulsion technician for Virgin Orbit, where she helped build rocket engines that went into space. Today, she speaks inside prisons to people convicted of sexual offenses and trafficking, advocates for formerly incarcerated people, and uses her story to show that accountability, healing, mercy, and redemption can exist together.Resources:Crisis Text Line741741SAMHSA’s National Helpline1-800-662-HELP (4357)RAINN24/7 confidential support, online chat & hotline 1-800-656-HOPEBeyond the Monsters’ Socials:https://www.instagram.com/beyondthemonsters/https://linktr.ee/BeyondtheMonstersDisclaimer: 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, Human Trafficking, Family Abuse, Childhood Trauma, Trauma Recovery, Addiction Recovery, Prison Reform

Greg Kelley was a standout high school football player with a full scholarship, dreams of playing in the NFL, and what appeared to be a bright future ahead of him. At just 18 years old, everything changed when he was falsely accused and wrongfully convicted of sexually assaulting a child, despite the absence of physical evidence. Greg shares the devastating reality of losing his freedom, spending years in a Texas maximum-security prison, and the emotional toll of being labeled one of society's most hated offenders while knowing he was innocent.Greg and Chell discuss wrongful convictions, false allegations, failures within the criminal justice system, prison survival, trauma, faith, forgiveness, resilience, and rebuilding a life after exoneration. Greg reflects on the lasting psychological impact of incarceration, the importance of choosing integrity even when the cost is unimaginable, and how his faith helped him survive the darkest years of his life. He also shares what life looks like today as a husband, father, entrepreneur, and man of faith, using his story to raise awareness about wrongful convictions while encouraging others to persevere through life's darkest moments. Greg’s Links:https://www.instagram.com/grkelley2https://www.youtube.com/@gregkelleyfreedomWatch Outcry:https://tv.apple.com/us/show/outcry/umc.cmc.4vx1rnu8swy3q1z2wn4nqei8lGreg’s Company - Tomahawk Targets:https://www.tomahawktargetsatx.comResources:RAINN24/7 confidential support, online chat & hotline 1-800-656-HOPEhttps://rainn.org/help-and-healing/hotline/Crisis 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.Topics: Wrongful Conviction, Criminal Justice Reform, Prison Survival, Exoneration, Trauma Recovery, Texas Court System

Dasan "DJ" Jones was just 15 years old when he was murdered inside his own home by the man he had called dad for nearly a decade. His mother, Latrice, shares the devastating story of trying to escape an emotionally abusive marriage marked by stalking, surveillance, coercive control, and repeated failures by the courts to provide protection. In the aftermath of DJ's death, Latrice was left to navigate overwhelming grief while raising her two younger sons and seeking justice for the child she lost. Latrice and Chell explore how coercive control, stalking, and emotional abuse can escalate behind closed doors, the devastating gaps that can exist within the justice system, and the lifelong impact of losing a child to domestic violence. They also talk about grief, healing, and how Latrice is honoring DJ's legacy through the Dasan Jones Foundation while advocating for stronger protections for families facing abuse.The Dasan Jones Foundationhttps://www.instagram.com/dasanjonesfoundation0201?igsh=bTQwdXluYXpob2Znhttps://www.bonfire.com/store/djf-merch/?utm_source=copy_link&utm_medium=store_page_share&utm_campaign=djf-merch&utm_content=default&utm_id=97760_v0_s00_e0_tv3Resources:Crisis 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: filicide, family court failure, coercive control, domestic violence (DV) true crime