Episode 14: Sonja de Sterke’s Journey Through Trauma, Travel, and Transformation

Content Warning:
This episode contains discussions of childhood trauma, parental abuse, war-related experiences, and chronic illness. While shared with compassion and healing intent, some listeners may find parts of this conversation emotionally challenging. Please take care while listening.

In this deeply personal episode of Your Neighborhood Show, host Carolyn is joined by the courageous and soulful Sonja de Sterke for a conversation that explores the full spectrum of human experience—from inherited trauma to radical self-discovery.

Born in post-war Netherlands to a Holocaust survivor father and a German mother who lived through the bombing of her hometown, Sonja’s early years were marked by emotional disconnection, instability, and silence. But her story doesn’t stop there. What unfolds is a powerful narrative of resilience as she seeks—and finds—connection through community, spirituality, global travel, and art.

From living with Bedouins in the Sinai desert to forging lifelong friendships in a Steiner boarding school, from spiritual awakenings in Nepal to building a fulfilling creative career in Australia, Sonja’s story is both extraordinary and universally human. In her later years, she confronts chronic illness and the limits of doing, learning to surrender into rest, self-care, and presence.

This is a conversation about what it means to survive, adapt, and eventually thrive—not by denying pain, but by integrating it into a rich and meaningful life.

📚 Episode Breakdown:

00:00 – 06:00 | Welcome & Guest Intro
Carolyn introduces Sonja de Sterke and shares how they met through the Ubuntu Wellness Choir. Sonja joins to share her life story, beginning with a war-shadowed childhood.

06:01 – 16:00 | A Childhood Shaped by War & Silence
Sonja recounts her early life in the Netherlands, her father’s Holocaust survival, her emotionally distant mother, and growing up in an atmosphere of fear and disconnection.

16:01 – 26:00 | New Beginnings in a Dutch Village
A move to a peaceful village transforms Sonja’s life as she finds joy, friendships, and a sense of belonging for the first time outside the family home.

26:01 – 36:00 | Steiner School & Spiritual Foundations
Living with a foster family to attend a Steiner school, Sonja discovers holistic learning, community, and spiritual inquiry—tools that will serve her for life.

36:01 – 49:00 | The Journey of a Lifetime: Travels Through the Middle East & Asia
Sonja travels the world with her friend Danielle, living barefoot with Bedouins in Egypt, wandering through Nepal, and navigating kindness and danger with intuition as her compass.

49:01 – 56:00 | Love, Immigration & Reinvention
After marrying a refugee and immigrating to Australia against the odds, Sonja builds a new life—fueled by passion, courage, and an unshakable sense of purpose.

56:01 – 1:02:00 | Loss, Grief & Self-Healing
The death of her mother triggers a deep emotional reckoning. Sonja enters the realm of therapy, Buddhism, and inner child work to begin her healing journey in earnest.

1:02:01 – 1:07:00 | Stillness, Self-Care & Surrender
Now retired and navigating chronic health issues, Sonja finds herself in a new chapter—learning to rest, reflect, and reconnect with herself in ways she never imagined.

🎧 Why Listen?
Sonja de Sterke’s story is a powerful reminder that healing is not linear—and that connection, even when delayed, can change everything. For anyone who has felt unseen, unheard, or untethered, this episode offers both solace and inspiration.

📍Ready to listen?
Hit play and let Sonja’s beautifully human journey resonate in your heart.