Words can wound as deeply as actions.
In this episode of Voice Unchained, Jacqueline explores how cruel sentences spoken in moments of anger can cling like curses, shaping a survivor’s sense of self for decades.
She recalls her ex’s cutting words — “If you ever leave me, you’ll amount to nothing”— and a painful memory at fifteen, when her mother called her something she would never forget. These words became spells, echoing through the years, casting doubt and shame long after the moment passed.
But spells can be broken. Jacqueline shares how returning to school during the pandemic and graduating magna cum laude became an act of defiance, a sword against the lie that she’d never be enough. She reflects on the persistence of these shadows, how cultural “spells” like “women lose value with age” and “single moms can’t make it” continue to silence survivors — and how naming them for what they are begins to break their hold.
With honesty and courage, this episode reminds us that forgiveness cannot be demanded and healing cannot come through denial. It begins by returning to the wound, telling the truth, and breaking the spell.
Each short episode of Voice Unchained closes with a moment of breathwork. Here, Jacqueline guides listeners to release the weight of words spoken over them and reclaim their voice.
Your story matters. Your truth matters. And you have the power to break the spell.
