Survival Into Service: The Night a Dog Changed Everything

Some stories ask a lot of you. This is one of them. But it gives something back too. Karen Diskin-Dickson grew up in a house where silence was survival. From her earliest memories, she carried fear the way other kids carried backpacks, always aware of what the next moment might bring. She was a twin, a straight-A student, a girl who rescued stray dogs, and a child who believed it was her job to protect her sisters from what was happening inside their home. She never got a carefree childhood. She got a crash course in endurance. When she was 12 and a half, the weight of it all became unbearable. What followed was a moment by a river, a dog who changed everything, and a voice she had never heard before that told her she was loved. She chose to believe it. And somehow, improbably, that choice held. This episode traces what happened next. The escape. The years of silence. The therapy that helped her learn to play. The confrontation with her father at 24 finally freed her from fear. The decision, later in life, to move her elderly parents into her care, not out of obligation but out of grief for the mother she had never had, and a hunger to finally learn how to be someone's child. And the foundation she now runs with her sisters, helping trauma survivors understand that it's not what's wrong with them. It's what happened to them. What You'll Hear: The moment at 12 and a half that became Karen's life shift, and the dog who stopped it from going another way What it felt like to grow up not knowing what carefree meant, and how animals became her refuge How she learned to parent without a map, and why asking for help was one of the bravest things she ever did The long road to confronting her father and finally releasing a fear that had followed her across state lines Why she chose to care for the parents who hurt her, and what she was really looking for in that choice How the Remarkably Resilient Foundation grew from a shared question among sisters: who was going to teach this? Guest Bio: Karen Diskin-Dickson is a retired nurse, EMT, Reiki master, grandmother, and co-founder of the Remarkably Resilient Foundation, which she runs alongside her sisters. She is the co-author of Remarkably Resilient: Community Matters, published in 2019. Karen speaks publicly and volunteers with incarcerated individuals, helping trauma survivors understand their own responses and find a path toward healing. She lives with her life partner and four grown children nearby. You can reach her and explore her work at www.remarkably-resilient.com. Listen and follow: www.thelifeshiftpodcast.com/follow Subscribe to the newsletter: https://thelifeshiftpodcast.beehiiv.com/ ---- healing from childhood trauma, generational abuse, breaking the cycle of trauma, surviving childhood neglect, trauma recovery journey, choosing love after abuse, ACEs and resilience, trauma informed healing, finding joy after hard things, incest survivor story Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices