I Lost My Innocence At 12. I Found My Freedom Years Later. | Anna Janssen | Her Side of the Stories

Anna Janssen was twelve when something happened that shaped the way she would love, grieve, mother, and trust for the rest of her life. Decades later, she found her own daughter on the other side of the same nightmare — and became the only person who could meet her there.In this episode of Her Side of the Stories, she sits with Asal Zara and tells the truth about silence, the love she lost in a single phone call, and the woman she became on the other side of all of it: a healer, a mother, a power woman who is finally soft. This isn't a story about what happened, it's a story about what stays. What it does to the way you love. The way you grieve. The way you mother. The way you finally, after everything, learn what forgiveness actually means — and who it was always for. Anna speaks about losing the man she loved in a single phone call. About anger. About the years she spent avoiding pain by avoiding everything. About the moment she became the only person her daughter could turn to — and what she said. About finding herself again on the other side of all of it. This is one of the most honest conversations we've had on Her Side. If you've ever survived something you weren't ready for, kept something to yourself for too long, or wondered whether the past will ever stop sitting in your body — this is for you. — — — CHAPTERS00:00 Welcome02:01 Three years after the war03:38 A happy childhood06:45 At 12, something happened09:28 The strength that came out of her11:54 Telling her mother12:45 "Don't tell your father"15:02 What it did to intimacy — until today15:22 Forgiveness is for yourself15:40 The pattern survivors don't talk about17:16 The smell that stayed20:43 Anger and forgiveness22:46 Seeing him again at 2326:43 Blaming herself28:13 The school years30:27 The confusion no one names33:18 The anger her son could see37:27 Texas38:50 Falling in love in America39:38 The day he didn't come42:14 The funeral she ran from43:18 Italy47:56 Meeting the father of her children51:18 Her second great love54:48 Living on a boat57:24 The Sunday afternoon59:41 Walking back onto the boat61:50 What her daughter did65:07 The silent retreat66:33 A year of teaspoons67:12 The letter69:10 Becoming a power woman70:34 Her trauma vs her daughter's72:13 "The trauma stays. But you can change it."73:12 Becoming a healer78:45 How to actually forgive80:20 Walk in the water and forgive81:33 What she'd say to them now82:25 Her advice84:36 Becoming softer — — — Her Side of the Stories is a cinematic, emotionally honest conversation series exploring the inner lives of women — what they've survived, what they've become, and what they've never said out loud until now. Hosted by Asal Zara. Filmed in Ibiza, Spain. Her Voice. Her Truth. Her Side. New episodes every Tuesday, 3PM CET. If this episode meant something to you, the kindest thing you can do is share it with the woman who needs it. And subscribing (it's free) is how we keep telling these stories. — — — FOLLOW HER SIDE OF THE STORIESYouTube: https://youtube.com/@hersideofthestoriesofficialSpotify:https://open.spotify.com/show/0NdDte4w6fgcuZZwZH1rpi?si=5u1ARRWURf2ynKa0n3Fe8gApple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/her-side-of-the-stories/id1890695561Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hersideofthestoriesWebsite: www.hersideofthestories.com FOLLOW ASAL ZARAInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/asal_zara__LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/asal-zara-aa845766 — — — #hersideofthestories #asalzara #annajanssen #childhoodtrauma #traumahealing #grief #forgiveness #motherdaughter #womensstories #realstories #survivorstory #generationaltrauma #healingjourney #losingapartner #emotionalhealing