Hey friend welcome to another episode of Java with Julie. I'm Julie Slattery and this

podcast Java with Julie is an outreach of a ministry called Authentic Eimacy and we are

dedicated to helping people make sense of God and

sexuality. When you hear the word abuse let me ask you what comes to your mind.

Many of us are familiar with more common narratives around abuse.

An older male figure takes advantage of a weaker or younger person

or an older family member takes advantage of a young child.

But what about relational abuse?

What if you're a strong intelligent adult who suddenly find themselves in a relationship

where something feels off but you also feel bound to loyalty.

And what if you built a level of trust with somebody who breaches it in the most unexpected way?

Well, this is a story of my guest today, teacher and author, Tricia Lott Willeford.

If you've been a job with Julie Listener for a while, you might have heard her story before,

but this is a more private element of her story that she's only recently shared through a book co-written with her therapist

Jaina Richardson who is also joining her to explain some of the lesser known aspects of abusive dynamics and what it takes to break free from them.

The content of this conversation is serious and is potentially triggering for some so I

encourage you to listen with care.

All right let's get into my conversation with Tricia Lott Wilford and her therapist

Jaina Richardson.

Well Tricia what a pleasure to have you back on Java's Julie. I always have so much

fun in our conversations and you just bring a depth and a joy to every topic.

But I'm going to warn our listeners

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