Dismissed True Stories
Dismissed True Stories is a survivor-led podcast that dares to break the silence around domestic violence, emotional abuse, and toxic relationships. Each episode shares the raw, unfiltered realities of what abuse really looks like. From overlooked red flags to moments of escape, and everything in between.
Created by a survivor-turned-advocate with a broadcasting background, DTS is where stories once silenced are now spoken. Loudly, honestly, and without apology. We’re not here to sensationalize abuse; we’re here to humanize survivors.
You’ll hear from survivors finding their voices, families forever changed by loss, and organizations working to support healing and recovery. Sometimes, it’s one survivor passing the mic to another with a piece of advice that could change or.. save a life.
But DTS isn’t just about telling stories of survival. Each episode's commentary helps you decode your own story, make sense of your experiences, and see the patterns you might have missed while in survival mode.
The tone? Like talking with a trusted friend. No fluff. Just truth.
Whether you're navigating narcissistic abuse, gaslighting, or coercive control or you're in the process of rebuilding your self-worth and healing your trauma this space is for you.
Sometimes the most powerful thing you can do is finally tell your own story.
Survivor-led. Heart-led. Truth-led.
#DismissedTrueStories | A podcast for survivors and victims, by survivors.
Dismissed True Stories
Quick Update
Hey friends — welcome back to Dismissed True Stories.
I’m your host, Elissa, and you’re probably already clocking that this episode sounds a little different.
No intro music.
No disclaimer.
Just me and you.
In the spirit of keeping it quick and honest, here’s the update:
Sarah won’t be joining us today —
but that’s actually for all the best reasons.
She’s safe.
She’s happy.
And she’s officially relocated.
Which, if you’ve been following along since episode one,
you know how huge that is.
It means she’s out of immediate danger,
and finally has the chance to start settling into her next chapter.
So today, instead of a full episode,
I just want to take a minute to say thank you.
Thank you for coming back week after week.
Thank you for listening to Sarah’s story,
for sharing it,
for donating,
and for showing up for her in ways that truly made a difference.
Because of that support — your support — Sarah gets to breathe again.
And that’s what this work is all about.
Now, life is lifing — as it does —
so I’m going to give her a little space to get settled and grounded.
But hopefully, next week, we’ll be back with that girl chat we talked about in the last episode —
a real conversation about how she’s feeling now that she’s safe,
and what this next season of her life might look like.
Until then,
thank you for being here,
thank you for caring,
and thank you for helping us do what we set out to do from the very beginning —
help survivors feel seen, heard, and supported.
I’m Elissa,
and this is Dismissed True Stories.
I’ll talk to you soon.
National Domestic Violence Hotline: 800-799-7233 OR text begin to 88788
Give me a call! 1-844-TELLDTS
Come join our community of survivors who are looking to meet someone just like you! See the behind the scenes work that goes into the sisterhood non-profit business, discuss DTS episodes, and of course find your survivor sister.
🔗 Follow Along:
- TikTok: @thedvsurvivor
- Instagram: @thedvsurvivorsisterhood
- Join the Sisterhood! The Survivor Sisterhood
Ready to share your story? Send me an email with the main talking points of your experience and I'll reach out to book an interview.
dismissedtruestories@thesurvivorsisterhood.com
Give DTS a 5 star rating! It helps this podcast reach other victims and survivors who NEED these stories! Help us find each other, help us heal, and help us find safety. Love you, mean it.
All sound and music courtesy of Epidemic Sound
Hey, and welcome back to Dismiss True Stories. I'm your host, Elissa. Thank you so much for coming back for six episodes of Sarah's story. And this episode sounds different because Sarah will not be with us today. Um, but in the best way possible, Sarah is safe. Sarah is happy. I wanted to just take a second to say I know that looking back on this season, it wasn't perfect. Everything was done on the fly, um, interviewing, writing, editing. We were taking it week by week, trying to live around each other's lives and schedules and time differences. And even though it may, at least to me, feel a little messy, I looking back on this time that Sarah and I have spent together, am so proud of how much I have personally grown, but how much I have also seen Sarah grow as a survivor, as someone who is self-aware enough to be like, I am so ready to end this. This ends with us. It's been beautiful. So I know that this season wasn't perfect, but it was real. It was messy, it was honest, it was full of heart. And I think that that's what true advocacy looks like. Because yes, I may be a podcast host, but above all else, I'm an advocate. And I'm a survivor. And I do the work because I care. I do the work because I truly believe that healing happens in community. And I truly believe that we really begin to heal when we are finally heard. So thank you for making the time to hear Sarah. And to Sarah, thank you for trusting me with your story. I am now a better podcaster, a better interviewer, a better human, a better advocate. Because you trusted me with the most vulnerable points of your life. And to every other survivor who has come on this podcast, thank you. We're all learning and healing and growing together. And sometimes it hurts and it sucks, but then other times you're like, damn, this is beautiful. This is beautiful work. I was at a women's summit today, and somebody was talking about wood. They were putting wood floors in, and they were looking at a certain wood plank. And the salesperson came over and was like, Yeah, that's great. I love that for you. I want to bring your attention to this other wood plank. And he goes on describing how the wood has been through a hurricane. It's been through flooding, it's been through this and that. And it was a beautiful plank because you could see all the rings in it and all the details. And to me, listening to that, I was like, wow. We don't treat ourselves like that. We have all been through so much. But do we ever look at our story and be like, you know what? I have been through so much. And that made me even more beautiful. Like you may feel so fucked up. And I used to tell myself that a lot. So if you're in that stage of your healing, I totally get it. But you won't be that way forever. But now I I do feel like I'm I'm at a place where I can look at that and say, wow, she's been through flooding. She's been through a hurricane. And she is beautiful. Tonight I just wanted to say thank you. Thank you for coming along for the ride. Thank you for listening. Thank you for sharing. Thank you for donating if you if you did. Thank you for making space. Thank you for learning with me. Thank you for giving me the space. I really do want to be able to check in with Sarah and see how she's doing, but I cannot make a promise on a timeline for that right now. Um, her life is life. And I want to give her the space that she needs to life. We have all probably relocated to start over. And that's just not easy. But I do want to see how she feels since putting all of this out into the world eventually. Thank you so much. And I am so glad that we had the best, the best outcome that we could have possibly asked for through us working together. I hope all of this made sense because I didn't write for this. I love you. I hope you appreciate the messy ass update I just gave you. And remember we are breaking the silence, one story, one sentence, and one episode at a time.
