In this episode, Carrie and I talked about lots of intense things. We started out talking about the abuse she suffered as a child, then went into her getting pregnant and being in foster care, then getting pregnant again and giving the baby up for adoption, then pregnant again for the third time and getting married. We talked about her first two divorces and meeting her second child that she placed, as well as her going to nursing school and becoming an RN by the age of 22. This is a great episode with lots of things for all to hear! Carrie is walking proof that you can do anything you set your mind to.*

Carrie is the oldest of three. Her parents divorced and her mom left to another state when she was 3.5 years old. Her dad remarried and his new wife adopted the three kids when Carrie was 8. Her dad was abusive to both her and her brothers growing up. Carrie had a lot of molestation and a rape from men when she was young.

The first time Carrie had consensual sex, she ended up pregnant. She was 15, a Freshman in High School. At this time, she ended up in a foster home. Over the years, she attended four different High Schools. When she went into labor, she had to have an emergency C-section and the nurse actually made Carrie prep herself. She was treated very poorly by many people on the hospital staff.

After she had her baby, she went back home with her parents. She started her Sophomore year of High School, rebounded into another relationship and ended up pregnant again. At this time, she moved to Logan to go to a school for young moms. The kids were downstairs at a daycare while the moms were upstairs taking classes. She obtained her CNA. She said this was the hardest time of her life. She had her second baby just a couple weeks after she turned 17. She ended up placing this baby for adoption. Carrie got to meet her second son when he was around 17, right before her first son went on his mission.

After that, Carrie came back home and met the man she ended up married to for about 16 years. She ended up having two more kids with him, one of them she was pregnant with her Senior year of High School. After High School, Carrie buckled down with school and had her RN by the time she was 22. She reflects back to when she was pregnant with her first son and a teacher had told her she’d amount to nothing. She’d live off of welfare for the rest of her life. Carrie chose to let that fuel her fire, instead of dwell in his harsh words.

Carrie ended up divorced and remarried pretty quickly. She was with someone that she felt safe with. Carrie wanted to be married in the LDS temple and this husband could give that to her… But the fact that her kids would have to be sealed to him and not their actual dad was a deal breaker for her. They did end up getting a divorce.

Listen to the full episode for all the details.

*Please note: this is the guest’s story. Their story is how they perceive it. It is not my judgement or responsibility to determine whether or not this story and the things said are true. Please be open minded when listening to/reading these stories.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:
-You can do anything you put your mind to. If someone tells you you can’t, use that as a driving force to prove them wrong.
-Look at your life like a book. When one chapter closes, you can look back and see all that you’ve went through and how you were still able to rise.
-Be the best you.
-Let your hard times be stepping stones to get to where you’re going.

LINKS TO THINGS REFERENCED IN THIS EPISODE:
–Episode 4: Carissa Makinen
-Carrie’s book recommendation: Girl, Wash Your Face by Rachel Hollis and The Hunger Games, as well as The Murph Story
–Carrie’s Instagram
-Ending song: Radiate by Puddle of Mudd (listen on the Hard Knocks playlist on Spotify)

You may not see it today or tomorrow, but you will look back in a few years and be absolutely perplexed and awed by how every little thing added up and brought you somewhere wonderful or where you always wanted to be. You will be grateful that things didn’t work out the way you once wanted them to.

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