The Old Man and the Mule: Sasha's Path Through Pain to Freedom

In this powerful and deeply moving episode of The Empowered Adoptee Podcast, we sit down with Sasha Frugone, a transpersonal empowerment coach, motivational speaker, and published author who helps people shift trauma-driven patterns so they feel safer in their bodies, clearer in their choices, and more connected in their relationships.

Born in Seoul, Korea, and adopted into a German-American Pentecostal family in Kansas in 1957, Sasha shares her story with raw honesty and remarkable wisdom. She walks us through what it was like to arrive in the U.S. at age three carrying the weight of early loss, only to be raised inside a family system steeped in rigid religious beliefs, racism, and abuse. Sasha opens up about the erasure of her Korean identity, the shame she wore "like a coat I couldn't take off," her teenage suicide attempt, her time in the state mental hospital, and the moment she realized her death was not even in her own power.

But this is also a story of profound transformation. Sasha describes the therapists, books, and unexpected teachers who guided her into inner child work, present-moment consciousness, somatic awareness, and visualization — the three pillars that became the foundation of her healing and her coaching practice today. She shares how she learned to see her younger self not as broken, but as brilliant — a child who creatively and courageously found ways to survive.

Content Warning: This episode contains candid discussion of childhood sexual abuse, suicide and a suicide attempt, religious trauma, racism, and physical abuse. Please listen with care and protect your nervous system — pause, skip, or come back to this episode when you feel resourced and supported. If you are struggling, you are not alone. In the U.S., you can reach the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by calling or texting 988, and RAINN's National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673). Your wellbeing comes first. 💜

In this episode, we explore:

• Why traditional talk therapy didn't work for Sasha, and what finally did
• The lifelong impact of being adopted as "a solution" rather than welcomed as a family member
• The loss of Korean identity and the painful journey of trying to be white
• Inner child work and the power of separating the adult self from the wounded child
• Present-moment consciousness as a daily practice 
• Visualization as a tool for healing the body and changing what feels possible
• The reframing tool that still makes us laugh ("maybe they just have to fart")
• Why our coping mechanisms are tools — not flaws — and how to choose which ones to keep
• Grandmother Mago and the call to the children of the stars to come and heal
• A tender and crucial message for survivors of childhood sexual abuse

Sasha leaves us with a reminder that healing is not linear, that we don't need to relive our trauma to release it, and that the parts of us that learned to survive deserve admiration, not shame.

If anything in this conversation resonates with you, we encourage you to reach out to Sasha — and to keep coming back to your own healing, one present moment at a time.

Resources mentioned:

Somatic Breathwork Daily Practice: 

https://www.somaticbreathwork.com/thank-you-free-daily-practice-page

Get in touch with Sasha Frugone:

coachingbysasha@gmail.com

https://www.facebook.com/sasha.frugone