She Refused to Stay Silent About Abuse
5/3/20261 hr 22 min
In this week’s episode of the Stories of Hope, we sit down with Zeldy Broyde and Malky Mayerfeld to explore one of the most difficult and least understood topics: surviving sexual abuse and finding a path forward. Through raw honesty and lived experience, Zeldy shares how her own pain led to the creation of Ray of Hope, now a lifeline for thousands of survivors. This conversation goes beyond awareness. It is about breaking silence, rebuilding identity, and redefining what healing actually looks like
From navigating dating and relationships to confronting shame, rejection, and the fear of never being loved, this episode offers a perspective most people never hear. It challenges assumptions, reframes what it means to be a survivor, and shows how deep pain can coexist with growth, meaning, and even joy. Whether you are struggling, supporting someone who is, or simply trying to understand, this is a conversation that can change how you see others and yourself.
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Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsZeldy Broyde· Guest0:00
I literally thought that I was the only one in the world who had experienced something like sexual abuse.
Tzipora Grodko· Host0:05
The purpose of this podcast is for anyone who's been a survivor of sexual abuse to hear this episode and know that it will not suspend them from any joy, any relationship, any goodness that life has to offer.
Zeldy Broyde· Guest0:16
I remember the feelings of just the utter loneliness and the silent suffering. That was the killer.
Speaker 2· Soundbite0:22
There's so much silence in sexual abuse. You weren't allowed to tell. It was a secret. You were ashamed. You were alone. You don't wanna express it to anyone, ever. You may not be allowed to. Your life may be on the line.
Zeldy Broyde· Guest0:33
Where are you, Hashem? How can you stand by and watch this? What did a child do to deserve having to go through something like this? I wasn't really supposed to be living.
Tzipora Grodko· Host0:42
Right.
Zeldy Broyde· Guest0:42
I knew at that age of, like, 15, 16, 17, like, that's kind of where it's going to maybe end. Like, there's death and life, and, like, that kind of looked a little more appealing. And I'm still just begging and pleading, like, "Hashem, just pull me through this. Don't let me fall. Hold my hand. Be there for me."
Speaker 2· Soundbite0:57
To be known could be rejected, because why would anyone? Once they know the real me, would they want me?
Tzipora Grodko· Host1:02
I really hope this episode reframes to everyone who's connected in any capacity, as a matchmaker, as a parent, as a mentor, as a survivor. Instead of looking at yourself or this person as someone that is flawed, what does the process of healing look like for someone who's navigating through trauma of sexual abuse? Welcome back to the Stories of Hope podcast. Every week here at Stories of Hope, we work so hard to hit a demographic that you have