The Survivors Podcast
Surviving Life, Death and Everything In Between
Survival isn’t just about staying alive—it’s about finding the strength to rebuild, reclaim, and rise.
That’s the foundation of The Survivors Podcast, where three-time suicide loss survivor, author, crisis counselor, and mental health advocate Lisa Sugarman joins Natasha J. Layton—a multiple suicide attempt and loss survivor, advocate, sexual abuse survivor, and former member of the FLDS polygamy cult—to change the way we talk about suicide, survival, and mental health.
Through raw, unfiltered conversations, Lisa and Natasha explore the realities of surviving trauma, grief, abuse, mental illness, and everything in between—with honesty, hope, and humanity. Their unique perspectives—one shaped by profound loss, the other by unimaginable adversity—create a space where the hardest stories are told with compassion, courage, and vulnerability.
By opening up the conversations we’ve been taught to bury, The Survivors invites listeners into a safe, stigma-free community to reflect, connect, and heal. Together, Lisa and Natasha push past stigma, challenge everything we think we know about survival, and reveal that life after darkness can be filled with meaning, connection, and hope.
Subscribe now and join the conversation about surviving life, death, and everything in between.
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Family Secrets, Donor DNA & 1,000 Siblings: Lee Freeman’s Extraordinary Story
*WARNING: This podcast mentions sexual abuse, CPTSD & trauma and may be triggering. Episode Summary UK-based psychotherapist Lee Freeman shares his story of surviving childhood abuse, being diagnosed with CPTSD, and the life‑shifting discovery that he was donor‑conceived with over 1,000 biological h...
Leaving the FLDS: Ange Johnson on Marriage, Escape, and Rebuilding (Part 2)
*WARNING: This podcast mentions suicide & trauma and may be triggering. Episode Summary In part two of our conversation with Ange Johnson, Ange continues her story about leaving the FLDS polygamist community, the unexpected reunion with her teenage husband after a year apart, navigating early parent...
Child Bride at 16: Ange Johnson’s FLDS Story (Part 1)
*WARNING: This podcast mentions suicide & trauma and may be triggering. Episode Summary This week we're sharing part one of a two-part conversation with Ange Johnson. Ange, raised in the FLDS polygamous cult and married as a child bride, shares how she was raised, the beliefs that shaped her, the ar...
Turning Grief into Purpose: Jake & Joe Sharp on Loss, Shame, and Advocacy
*WARNING: This podcast mentions suicide & trauma and may be triggering. Episode Summary This week on The Survivors, Lisa & Natasha continue their conversation with Jake and Joe Sharp about the 2020 suicide of their brother Sam and how they channeled their grief into advocacy, mental health work, and...
Jake & Joe Sharp Remember Their Brother Sam: Part 1 of Life, Loss & Suicide
*WARNING: This podcast mentions suicide & trauma and may be triggering. Episode Summary Part one of a two-part conversation with twins Jake and Joe Sharp about losing their 16-year-old brother Sam to suicide. They focus on who Sam was—his humor, kindness, athleticism, and faith—and share the shock, ...
Season 6 Launch: A Raw Conversation for Suicide Prevention Month
*WARNING: This podcast mentions suicide, sexual abuse & trauma and may be triggering. Episode Summary Lisa & Natasha kick off Season 6 during Suicide Prevention Month with a candid, real-time conversation about lived experience—suicide attempts, multiple losses, childhood trauma, and the daily reali...
The Survivors Season 5 Recap: 14 Stories of Survival, Resilience & Hope
*WARNING: This podcast mentions suicide, abuse & trauma and may be triggering. Episode Summary Season Five of The Survivors took us into some of the hardest, most honest conversations we’ve had yet. Across 14 episodes, we talked about what happens after someone says “I’m fine.” We explored how our i...
The Conversation After “I’m Fine” — How to Help Someone in Crisis
*WARNING: This podcast mentions suicide & trauma and may be triggering. Episode Summary In the final regular episode of Season Five of The Survivors, we’re talking about what happens after someone says, “I’m fine.” Because when you have a feeling they’re not fine, the most important part of the conv...
Silent Killer: A Christmas Tragedy and One Man’s Fight to Save Others
*WARNING: This podcast mentions grief, loss & trauma and may be triggering. Episode Summary In this episode, guest Wes Bruns recounts the 1992 carbon monoxide poisoning that killed 4 of his family members and left him critically ill. He shares waking from a 5-day coma, coping with survivor guilt, re...
She Got Out. Then Her Story Went Viral: Beany Trapani on Breaking Free From Abuse
*WARNING: This podcast mentions suicide, sexual abuse, domestic violence & trauma and may be triggering. Episode Summary After 10 years in an abusive relationship, Beany Trapani found the strength to get out, start over, and rebuild a life that felt like her own again. But what happened next was som...