Animals & Us
Rebuilding My Life After the Unthinkable | Donna Kent
Donna Kent
Donna Kent survived childhood abuse, domestic violence, and suicide attempt by learning to speak, heal actively, and help others find hope.
Kintsugi Studio
Animals & Us
Donna Kent
Donna Kent survived childhood abuse, domestic violence, and suicide attempt by learning to speak, heal actively, and help others find hope.
You don't have to be in crisis to call.
Donna Kent grew up in constant fear, unable to speak. Her earliest memory is of abuse at three years old, on Christmas Eve. What followed was a childhood marked by sexual abuse at home, on the street, and in places she was taken by adults who should have protected her. She learned early that speaking up meant severe consequences, so she stayed silent, letting out only small tears before pulling herself back together. Survival meant moving forward, no matter what.
At fifteen, pregnant and cast out with ten dollars and an hour's notice, Donna landed in the care of her ex-boyfriend's family. A few years later, at a party, she was raped for hours by someone her friend had set up. That night, alone at a train station with a handful of pills, she decided she could not survive anymore. A stranger on the first train found her and called an ambulance. Donna woke in hospital terrified of police, grabbed her clothes, and ran.
She met her first husband in a pub and settled for what felt like a step up from where she had been, only to find herself in another abusive relationship. When he found her new place, she fled to Mount Isa with a friend, where she met the man who would change everything. Her second husband saw her as whole, not broken. He gave her safety and time to heal at her own pace. At 38, finally in a safe marriage, Donna told someone her entire story for the first time. Through hypnotherapy and later EMDR, she confronted her father, wrote him a letter, and felt the grip in her throat finally loosen. The memories stopped replaying. She could start living instead of surviving. Then, at 44, just as she felt ready to stand as an equal beside her husband, he was diagnosed with terminal cancer and died two weeks later. Donna now helps others find hope by showing them how to look at their problems from a different angle. Her message to women in abusive situations is clear: speak up, and the prison door breaks open.
⚠️ Content advisory: this episode discusses abuse & exploitation, which some listeners may find distressing.
If you need support, you're not alone. Help is available: • Blue Knot Foundation (complex trauma): 1300 657 380 · blueknot.org.au • 1800RESPECT (family, domestic & sexual violence): 1800 737 732 · 1800respect.org.au
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