EP36:
Navigating the Unthinkable - The Trauma and Stigma of Rape with Marnie Goodfriend
Today’s guest, Marnie Goodfriend, a survivor turned advocate, gives us a deeper understanding of the stigma associated with rape and the traumatizing effects it has on victims of sexual assault. Join us to explore the power of healing through advocacy, writing, and taking back your power.
Key takeaways to listen for
The benefits of helping others while healing from trauma
Negative impact of victim blaming
How does retraumatization happen?
Ways to support rape and sexual assault survivors
The power of sharing and writing your own story
Importance of understanding trauma responses
Resources mentioned in this episode
About Marnie Goodfriend
At age 22, Marnie Goodfriend was attacked at knifepoint and raped inside her West Village apartment. Her home became a crime scene; she lost her job, friends, family members, security, and identity. She spent months building a mixed-media installation so people could “see” rape and lept into the role of a public survivor. Programs and resources for trauma were limited, and it was admittedly easier to focus on others than her recovery.
She found purpose, a new identity, and a community, but inside, she was a shell of herself. She became masterful at putting on a brave face and hid her PTSD, panic attacks, eating disorders, and isolation from the world. She focused on busyness, working a full-time job and, as a member of three speaker’s bureaus, speaking at schools, hospitals, and events, during her lunch breaks or “doctor’s appointments.” She became a trained emergency room advocate and lobbied for bills on Capitol Hill, but it was years before she looked inward to heal her trauma.
A decade later, the perpetrator was caught through a cold case hit. The NYPD SVU, friends, and advocates were immensely supportive, but the trial re-traumatized her. She left the events industry and transitioned to freelance writing to write what was true for her in her language, on her timeline. Leading workshops and coaching writers and non-writers felt so natural that she decided to merge her advocacy, activism, and write under one umbrella.
Today, she helps survivors, including MeToo activists, Weinstein victims, and the Silence Breakers, with their statements, articles, personal essays, and op-eds. She uses narrative techniques to help non-writers heal and rediscover their true selves. She also offers services to those who work with survivors: lawyers whose clients need guidance with their victim impact statements and therapists who integrate creative writing into survivors’ healing process. Recently, she launched a weekly workshop and movement, Sorry That Happened to You, taught a class on Writing and the Body, completed a book proposal on her experience as a sexual assault survivor who was barely surviving, and a screenplay based on these events.
Connect with Marnie
Website: writetohealing.com
Instagram: @marniegoodfriend
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