A Parent Worth Mourning: Justine on Abuse, Surrogacy Loss, and Choosing Herself

Trigger Warning: This episode discusses childhood sexual abuse, physical abuse, alcoholism, a disclosure that wasn't believed, pregnancy loss, surrogacy, and estrangement from a parent. Listener discretion is advised.For most of her life, Justine's family ran on one rule: keep mom happy, whatever it costs you. She started paying that bill as a kid trying to survive her father. At 14, she finally told someone the truth and got handed an ultimatum instead of help. She spent years after that finding new people to save, because saving herself was never on the table.A husband. A son. And for a while, two strangers on the other side of the world she agreed to carry a baby for. In this conversation, Justine talks about a house that looked completely normal in the school photo, what it costs to keep protecting people who don't deserve it, and the morning she wrote two goodbye letters and drove across the country with a U-Haul running.This is a story about the difference between the parent you thought you had and the one you actually did, and what finally happens when someone decides it stops with her.For The Hayters is a podcast that normalizes hard conversations. Listener discretion is advised.Interview, narration, and editing by Becky Hayter, with post-production, scripting, and sound design by Emily Nadal.Don’t forget to subscribe, like, and share to help us continue bringing these stories to light.🔹 New episodes drop every Sunday!🔹 Join our community! patreon.com/beckyhayter🔹 Follow us on Instagram: @forthehayters🔹 Submit your story: [email protected]🔹 Grab some merch! beckyhayter.com🔹 A KILLR Network podcast! killrentertainment.comSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.