american daughter

Let's talk about TRAUMA. How do you work through it? Or do the feelings and emotions just eventually go away?

Stephanie Thornton Plymale has had a LOT of trauma to work through in her life - and it took her a long time and a lot of therapy, but she’s come out on the other side and is sharing that beautiful journey in her memoir, American Daughter. 

Through the book, she finally learns about the trauma her mother experienced, and working through that and her own trauma has led her to the person she is today: a confident professional woman who is truly, fully herself. She’s the owner and CEO of her own interior design school - Heritage School of Interior Design.

From homelessness to foster care, abuse and neglect, Stephanie was put through a LOT throughout her childhood, including her mother’s mental illness. For decades, she didn’t talk to anyone about it, except her husband.

So I loved talking to Stephanie about how therapy helped her work through her trauma, how writing allowed her to release some of it too, and how creating an interior space that we love can help our brains and bodies feel better too.

Now Stephanie’s life, and therefore what we talk about in this episode, does include many subjects that may be alarming to some listeners, including sexual abuse, suicide, and child abduction. So as always, please make sure to take care of yourself, and if anything is triggering or disturbing to you, don’t be afraid to ask a professional for help.

You can keep up with Mentally Together on Instagram @mentallytogetherpod. Cassidy's Instagram is @cassidyquinntv, and you can watch the video version of each podcast episode at YouTube.com/cassidyquinn.

Books recommended by Mentally Together guests (including Stephanie's book, American Daughter): https://bookshop.org/lists/mentally-together

Mentally Together is a creation from Cassidy Quinn in collaboration with Coba.fm.

You can keep up with Mentally Together on Instagram @mentallytogetherpod. Cassidy's Instagram is @cassidyquinntv, and you can watch the video version of each podcast episode at YouTube.com/cassidyquinn.

Books recommended by Mentally Together guests: https://bookshop.org/lists/mentally-together

For 50 years, Stephanie Thornton Plymale kept her past a fiercely guarded secret.

No one outside her immediate family could have guessed that her childhood was fraught with hardship: neglect, hunger, poverty, homelessness, truancy, foster homes, a harrowing lack of medical care, ongoing sexual abuse, and a perpetually absent mother—a mentally ill woman who was in and out of jails and psych wards. Stephanie later uncovers that the terror and fear that she experienced as a child are the insidious ripple effects from an appalling crime that occurred in the summer of 1953 in Baltimore, Maryland, and made national news.

Stephanie began a series of “interviews” with her mother in an attempt to find answers and to get her mother to take personal responsibility for the past. The two embark on a journey of discovery in American Daughter  as a series of shocking revelations forces Stephanie to see every aspect of her painful childhood and her mother with fresh eyes.

About the author:    Stephanie Thornton Plymale is the CEO of Heritage School of Interior Design and the founder of the Heritage Home Foundation, a nonprofit serving families transitioning from homelessness. Stephanie has supported hundreds of students in achieving their dream careers. Many alumni have gone on to win prestigious awards and begin wildly successful businesses. Stephanie continues to balance family life with promoting Heritage, the success of its students, staff, and continually growing community and philanthropic efforts. Stephanie also serves on the board for Project Lemonade. She lives with her husband and three children in Portland, Oregon.

More at: www.american-daughter.com