Kintsugi Heroes
Judy Van Niekerk · 49 min
Locked up and enslaved by her father from early childhood until her early twenties, Judy Van Niekerk escaped with nothing and built multi-million dollar businesses almost immediately — not despite her trauma, but through a transcendent spiritual connection forged in its darkest moments.
Judy Van Niekerk was locked away and tortured from age three until her early twenties. She escaped with nothing and within a week had two job offers in London. Within years, she built multiple multimillion-dollar businesses, became a competitive paragliding pilot, and represented South Africa in swimming and scuba diving. Yet despite having everything, she was in hell. The turning point came when she woke from her ninth overdose in eighteen months and understood what had happened: she had sacrificed her connection to her soul in order to fit in and be normal like everyone else.
At fifteen, locked in a bathroom after twelve hours of torture, Judy had a transcendent spiritual experience. She reached past her bruises and found something untouchable inside herself. In that moment, she was transported out of her body into nature, wrapped in unconditional love, and given absolute certainty that she would escape and live a life of love and prosperity. That knowing sustained her through six more years of captivity without a single moment of doubt. When she finally fled Dublin in the rain with nothing, her connection to something greater than herself was unshakeable.
Years later, after nearly losing everything to the overdoses, Judy made a choice that changed everything: she would rather have the whole world against her than lose her own soul. She went on to report her father to the authorities, leading to a public trial that opened conversation about abuse in Ireland. When her dying father finally called years later, Judy returned to his bedside and spoke words that surprised even her: thank you, Dad, I love you. In that moment of soul-to-soul connection, everything made sense, and she felt truly free. Her message to anyone struggling is simple: find love in small moments throughout your day, and watch how your connection to yourself grows stronger.
⚠️ Content advisory: this episode discusses abuse & exploitation and suicide & self-harm prevention, 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 • Lifeline (24/7 crisis support): 13 11 14 · lifeline.org.au
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