What happens when you realize the beliefs, patterns, and survival instincts that shaped your life were never truly yours to begin with?In this episode, I’m joined by Luna, writer and author of Meet Me at the Ruins, for a powerful conversation about growing up in a high-control religious environment, the long road of unconditioning, and what it means to rebuild identity after trauma.Luna shares how discovering the public history of the group she was raised in changed the way she understood her childhood, her family, and herself. We talk about consent, agency, boundaries, parenting after harm, and the layered work of deciding what parts of you are rooted in truth and what parts were formed through fear, control, or survival.This conversation is honest, thoughtful, and deeply human. It explores what healing can look like when there are no simple answers, no neat endings, and no perfect way to parent, recover, or move forward. It is also a conversation about legacy: how we choose not to pass certain patterns on, how we repair in real time, and how we learn to live with more integrity in our bodies, relationships, and homes.If you’ve ever had to question the systems that raised you, untangle inherited beliefs, or choose a different path for the next generation, this episode will stay with you.In this episode, we explore:growing up in a high-control religious environmentfamily estrangement and the cost of naming harmparenting with consent and gentle boundarieshealing through research, writing, and reflectionbody autonomy, identity, and inherited patternswhat it means to build a different legacyTo connect with Luna:FB: https://www.facebook.com/lunawestishIG: https://www.instagram.com/lunawestish/TikTok: **Luna Westish (@lunawestish)**Luna’s Book: https://bookshop.org/a/115025/9798986371665Recommended book: The body is not an apology https://bookshop.org/a/115025/9781523090990Suggested books on cults: https://bookshop.org/shop/lunawestishIf this conversation stirred something in you, join the Inner Circle a private space for listeners and guests to stay connected and continue the reflection beyond the showwww.willijahdawson.com/innercircle