Elena Joy Thurston

Back from Broken

Colorado Public Radio

Society & Culture

5 • 703 Ratings

🗓️ 2 April 2021

⏱️ 36 minutes

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Summary

Elena Joy Thurston was a devout Mormon, and took her faith seriously. Then she fell in love with another woman, and found herself in punishing sessions of what's often called conversion therapy -- a process meant to turn gay people straight. Elena shares the story of how she handled that trauma, learned to accept herself and ultimately find love.

Back From Broken is a show about how we are all broken sometimes, and how we need help from time to time. If you’re struggling, you can find a list of resources at BackFromBroken.org.

Host: Vic Vela
Lead producer: Jo Erickson
Editor: Dennis Funk
Producers: Luis Antonio Perez, Rebekah Romberg
Music: Daniel Mescher, Brad Turner
Executive producers: Brad Turner, Rachel Estabrook

Thanks also to Hart van Denburg, Jodi Gersh, Clara Shelton, Matt Herz, Martin Skavish, Kim Nguyen, Francie Swidler.

BackFromBroken.org
On Twitter: @VicVela1

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey, it's Vic with a quick note. This episode contains discussion of suicide and a sexual assault.
0:07.0	Please be advised.
0:09.0	In three, two, one.
0:13.0	A lot of people get caught up on the American dream journey to live a perfect life.
0:20.0	Movies, TV shows, commercials.
0:22.2	Everywhere you look, you see happy families who seem to have it all.
0:26.0	And for Elena Joy Thurston, this dream was a reality.
0:29.4	I lived in a beautiful home with four beautiful, incredible children, and a great husband,
0:35.4	and he drove the Tesla, and I drove the minivan and tree-line
0:38.7	streets and white picket fence, like literally, all of this stuff.
0:43.3	I knew how blessed I was.
0:45.4	As a Mormon, she strived for perfection in family life and with God.
0:49.6	But a new friendship with a woman caused her to have doubts about her perfect life as the pair grew closer.
0:55.5	And then it also became, wow, my heart beats faster. Every time she text me, this is kind of fun,
1:03.0	you know, and then we finally got together for lunch. And it was a three-hour lunch. And every time
1:09.0	she looked at me, my heart kind of skipped a beat.
1:12.2	Elena felt trapped and confused. Everything she had worked so hard to achieve was telling her to
1:18.1	stick with the plan, but her heart was saying something else. Her obsession with living a
1:24.0	perfect life led her to a dark and dangerous place.
1:36.2	I'm Vic Vela. I'm a journalist, a storyteller, and a recovering drug addict.
1:41.5	And this is back from Broken, from Colorado Public Radio. Stories about the
1:46.3	highest highs, the darkest moments, and what it takes to make a comeback.
	...

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