Have you ever had a really big vision of doing something, and then
the way it turned out was actually very different from what you had
planned?
I
think this is almost universal for us as humans. Think back to when
you were a teenager. You probably had some ideas about becoming an
adult and what that would look like. What kind of career you might
have, or not. Finding a partner if you wanted one. Thinking about
being a parent, or not having kids at all.
A
lot of young people have this vision of how they think their life is
going to play out. And at that age, we don’t really have enough
experience to know that those things almost never actually play out
exactly as you expect them to. I mean, just by listening to the
guests that I talk to here on the podcast, we know that things happen
that we never would have imagined – and life can take a completely
different path.
My
guest today is Mae. In high school, she had her life planned out. She
had already met and was in Love with her life partner, and they were
going to get married as soon as they could, and they were going to
have children, and live happily ever after.
That’s
not what happened. This episode has a content warning for domestic
abuse and graphic sexual violence, because the fairy tale life Mae
had planned gradually turned into a nightmare. Until she finally
decided that she’d had enough.
Resources:
Crisis
Center brochure (Castle Rock,
CO):
https://whatwasthatlike.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Crisis-Center-Brochure.pdf
Domestic
violence safety
planning:
https://whatwasthatlike.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Domestic-Violence-Safety-Planning.pdf
How
does domestic violence affect
kids?
https://whatwasthatlike.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/How-Does-Domestic-Violence-Affect-Kids.pdf
Keeping
your children
safe:
https://whatwasthatlike.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Keeping-Your-Children-Safe.pdf
The
National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1.800.799.7233
National
Resource Center for Domestic Violence: 1.844.762.8483
Local
in Colorado: Rose Andom Center: 720.337.4400
Local
in Colorado: Porch Light: 720.853.8850
Local
in Colorado: Gateway Domestic Violence Services: 303.343.1851
Location
in Colorado: SafeHouse Denver: 303.318.9989
If
you’d like to contact Mae:
email: [email protected]
Mae’s
website: https://MaeScottOfficial.com
Mae’s
book, An Embarrassment of Pandas: Exposing an Abusive Family and a
Flawed System, is available
here:
https://www.amazon.com/Embarrassment-Pandas-Exposing-Abusive-Family/dp/B0G548WTHP
Her
FB:
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61577182454783
Her
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/maescottofficial/
Full
show notes and pictures for this episode are here:
https://WhatWasThatLike.com/257
Graphics
for this episode by Bob Bretz. Transcription was done by James Lai.
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