Diana joins The Now What Pod to share her story of surviving The Troubled Teen Industry. She describes herself the trauma she experienced as a child when her father was killed by a drunk driver, and how in part, that trauma led to her “acting out” as a teenager. Her mother, desperate for help, then sent Diana to a residential treatment program designed to reform youth.  Diana would spend the next three years of her life enduring isolation, abuse, and brainwashing. She now bravely shares her story to help raise awareness about this industry. 

Topics Discussed:

• The Troubled Teen Industry
• Childhood trauma
• Arriving at Ivy Ridge
• Life in “treatment”
• Lasting effects of the Troubled Teen Industry
• Advocacy

Resources:

Breaking Code Silence 

https://www.breakingcodesilence.org/

Trapped in Treatment https://podsauce.com/articles/paris-hilton-shares-her-survival-story-in-trapped-in-treatment/

The Now What Pod Episode Quotes: 

“This is a Cult, I’m being lied to”

“What are you doing to make up for what you did to us?”

“This is why I don't forgive them is because we were young. Our brains were still forming. We were still trying to understand the world and make sense of our existence.”

“I'm not gonna lie. I'm afraid of pain, but I do know that unless I like look at it and deal with it, it's not gonna go away.”

About Diana Nowak:

Diana is a survivor of the troubled teen industry (also referred to as the TTI), where she spent over three years in her youth. In addition to being an advocate for other survivors, she is now a writer, tutor, and manager of her company’s event coordinating department in Chicago. In her free time, she collaborates on documentaries and photography projects to try to bring an end to the TTI’s corrupt programs and schools.

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