Clark Fredericks sits down with Vanna — a survivor of childhood instability, severe abuse, and a terrifying knife incident — who found her way through faith, poetry, and the decision to break the cycle. | Free Like Me Podcast with Clark Fredericks

Vanna grew up in constant chaos. Her mother had her at 13, later battled bipolar disorder and substance abuse, and made stability feel impossible. Her father was incarcerated until she was 13. By high school, Vanna was isolated, depressed, and facing suicidal thoughts with no support system. Then came the night her mother ran at her with a knife — the moment that changed everything.

In this episode, Vanna opens up about CPS involvement, being parentified too young, moving out at 18, and the long road through therapy and numbness before real healing could begin. She talks about how faith, reading, and writing poetry became her lifeline — and why she's choosing stability over the cycles she was raised in.

What happens when a life marked by addiction, crime, and chaos turns into a mission to help others heal?

In this episode of The Free Like Me Podcast, Brian McAlister shares how recovery became the foundation for a new purpose: building MyMentalHealth.org and VRS Freedom 365, a self-guided mental health and recovery program designed with privacy in mind. Brian breaks down the real turning points, what the 12-step process taught him, how he rebuilt his life from the ground up, and why personal accountability and daily habits can completely change your future.

You’ll hear how Brian went from surviving day-to-day to creating tools meant to support people battling addiction, trauma, and mental health challenges. This conversation covers recovery, entrepreneurship, resilience, and the mindset shift that turns setbacks into fuel.

Kelly didn’t just serve, she survived a system that wasn’t built to protect her.

In this episode of Free Like Me, Clark Fredericks sits down with Kelly, a veteran who shares what happened behind the uniform: the night that changed everything, the disorienting aftermath where time didn’t feel real, and the terrifying moment she realized she couldn’t simply “walk away.” Kelly describes the chilling calm of someone who never showed obvious warning signs, and how that silence became its own kind of threat.

Kelly also pulls back the curtain on the culture that many women quietly endure, where young newcomers are treated like targets and speaking up can cost you everything. From testifying about military sexual assault to navigating retaliation, bureaucracy, and trauma recovery, Kelly’s story is a raw look at what it takes to fight for yourself when the system fights back.

This conversation is about more than trauma, it’s about reclaiming power, telling the truth out loud, and rebuilding a life on your terms.

⚠️ Viewer discretion advised: this episode discusses sexual assault, trauma, and PTSD