Speak LOUD

Born and raised in Salt Lake City, Tiffany has made it her mission create real change, one person at a time; this was the premise for her podcast, ‘Speak Loud’. The objective of ‘Speak Loud’ was to create a platform that supports anyone that is currently suffering abuse in their life. The podcast consists of stories told by previous victims of abuse, that will showcase their triumph and provide hope and encouragement through the stories shared.The host, Tiffany, has experienced a lot during her life. With experiences like being emancipated at age 15 – the second case in the state of Utah for a child of age 15 to become legally emancipated from their parents, due to abuse – to working 3 jobs to support herself and her education, and being torch bearer of the 2020 Olympics, among many more achievements, Tiffany recounts her stories and experiences to help victims of abuse.Tiffany also founded S.H.A.R.E; an advocacy group for students by students who have experienced abuse. Tiffany and the S.H.A.R.E team were able to grow the advocacy group into a 501c3 non-profit – a huge accomplishment.‘Speak Loud’ has already grown rapidly and created a close-knit community. Being so early in its creation, the accomplishments already achieved by ‘Speak Loud’ shows a positive future for the podcast.Tiffany is also in the process of releasing her first book and autobiography, ‘The Throw Away Girl’, which is expected to release soon.Her motto is “It’s the START that STOPS you” – a line that sums up ‘Speak Loud’ and Tiffany’s mission to help victims of abuse.

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Speak LOUD

False Memories with LYNN CROOK

May 05, 2023 • Tiffany Barnes/Lynn Crook • Season 5 • Episode 139

Today I’m talking with Lynn Crook, author of “False Memories: The Deception that Silenced Millions.” After suffering sexual abuse as a child, she sued her parents for damages and won, which led her down the investigation path that inspired her book. Today, she’s here to speak loud about encouraging survivors to speak publicly about their experiences, and combating shame with compassion.

Uncovering Repressed Memories

Lynn was the oldest of six children who were all molested. Her father forced her to repress the memory after punishing her for talking about it, and over her young lifetime, she eventually forgot about it completely. It wasn’t until 40 years later when Lynn was working in a sexual abuse response center that the memories started to resurface in panic attacks and flashbacks.

It took Lynn months to speak about and accept what had happened to her, but when she did, she decided to sue her parents for damages due to sexual abuse. She had the means to go to court and wanted to make the world safer, eventually winning her case. However, her interest turned to the concept of ‘false memories,’ which her parents tried to use in their defense—attempting to claim that Lynn’s memories were made up.

Disproving False Memories

After the trial, Lynn’s excitement from winning died down as she heard more and more people talk about ‘false memories.’ People didn’t believe her or sided with her parents, showing her firsthand the impact of the false memory campaign. Over the next decade, Lynn dedicated herself to investigating false memory claims, and deducted that it was a complete scam.

Lynn told the story of how the false memory campaign began and decided to put it in her book, believing that if people were able to read it, then they would learn more about how child molesters try to silence their victims. “You believed that?” Lynn will say now. “Really?” Her passion project has now evolved into her published book, after she spent 3 years compiling all the information she had learned over the decade.

Living with Confidence

Lynn shares that her panic attacks have now stopped, but the childhood trauma will be there for the rest of her life. She says that it’s up to the individual to find the tools that work for them in order to live a life that’s not impacted by shame or fear. For her, that’s seeing her therapist regularly and making sense of things through journaling.

Lynn wants readers of her book to gain confidence in coming out about what happened to them—even if someone chooses not to believe them. With that confidence, she hopes people will be able to share their story, awful as it was, and start to stop it.

Listen to learn more about where the false memories movement started, the role of women and spouses with child molesters, and what makes Lynn feel empowered today.

Resources Mentioned

Join Me on Speak Loud Platform

Speak Loud Podcast on the web

Connect with Lynn on her website

Purchase “False Memories” on Amazon

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