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The Nightmare Marriage: The Leah Howard Story · Nightmare Success In and Out

0:01
What happens when your worst fear becomes your reality?
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Hi, I'm Brent Cassidy, welcome to the Nightmare Success In and
0:08
Out podcast where we explore how to overcome your fears and
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nightmares that set yourself free.
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We're going to be exploring this topic with guys that was in
0:16
Leavenworth with and others who survived their own nightmare.
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These stories can be inspiring, sometimes sad.
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There's some humor, but hopefully you can come away with
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a nugget of something that'll help you knock down some of the
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prisons you built up in your own mind.
0:33
All right, welcome back nine more success and now listeners.
0:37
You know this is where you come from.
0:38
What happens when your worst fear becomes your reality?
0:40
How do you adapt, survive, overcome, set yourself free.
0:43
Don't forget to hit that follow subscribe button.
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Share like this thing out, like it out, get it, get it to
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whomever. If you get something good out of
0:52
it, like it up, share it. I want to I want to give a shout
0:56
out to Mike Murawski. He set me up with Leah Howard
1:00
and I love it when alums from the show give me people an
1:03
interview because they're always great people and I Leah Howard
1:07
is a fascinating story in person.
1:10
I, I had this telephone conversation with her not too
1:15
long ago and I got off the phone thinking, my gosh, what a
1:17
fascinating story. What an unbelievable story.
1:21
Just to give you a little bit of, and you might have, you
1:23
might have seen or heard of Leah 'cause she was on interview by
1:27
Doctor Phil. So if anybody fathers follows
1:29
Doctor Phil, you might have heard a little bit about Leah.
1:33
But Leah Howard was a wife, a mother, a pediatric nurse.
1:38
He was desperately trying to get out of a broken marriage.
1:41
And so she got into this crazy marriage and tried to get out of
1:46
it and, and she got stalked by the ex-husband and she finally
1:50
snapped and it landed her in prison.
1:54
I think she served about four years.
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And it's, it's, it's kind of one of those stories like what would
2:01
I have done? What would I have done if I was
2:03
in that situation? And the stalking and, and the
2:07
desperation and the anxiety and everything that was going on
2:10
around this was a lot. And, and I think it'll be
2:14
interesting to get into this to see how she did snap.
2:17
But there was a gun used and she fired it.
2:19
And she didn't know if she had killed him, maimed him, missed
2:22
him, whatever. When she called, that's that's
2:25
where she was in her head at that time.
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She just knew that she shot and then she ran out of the house.
2:33
But you know, she found herself in prison.
2:36
She she found her purpose and she now manages prison ministry
2:44
that's in four states. She's a public speaker and she
2:47
vows to give hope to the broken hearted and the people that she
2:49
left behind. So I just, I just told her
2:51
before we got on here, it's so cool when I interviewed people
2:54
who use their experience of what they've gone through to be able
2:56
to help people. I love it.
2:58
I can't wait to unpack all this before we deal.
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buying experience you deserve Auto Plaza direct telling Brent
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from nightmare success sent you. Hello Leah, how are you?
3:39
Hello. Hello.
3:42
Thank you for coming and talking and being interviewed today.
3:46
Thank you for allowing me to share my crazy story.
3:49
It is quite a story, Leah. I mean, you had me.
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I was sitting in the car that day and we were talking on the
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phone and I was thinking, wow, this, I mean it, it kind of is
4:01
like one of those stories that you, you pull up on a like a
4:05
lifetime channel or something and it's like one of those true
4:08
stories and then you wonder how it ends.
4:10
And yeah, it's one of those. And and you know, you and I were
4:14
just talking about and I you know, I I'm sure I'm jumping
4:19
ahead here and we'll get ahead and we'll get into the story.
4:22
But I thought it was pretty fascinating that all this comes
4:26
about and you do all this and go to prison and you kind of find
4:31
yourself in what you want to do and your passion, your purpose.
4:34
But the person that you shot, the person that was stalking
4:37
you, you went back into the prison for a victim class in a
4:41
prison with your ex-husband, which is I can't wait to jump
4:44
into that. But tell me a little bit, Leah,
4:48
like how did, what was it like for you growing up?
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Because I know that you, you got married really early as a kid,
4:54
like 17. What was life like for you
4:57
growing up as a kid? Yeah, I was raised on a farm,
5:01
born and raised in Missouri. And when I say farm, I'm not
5:04
talking about like 3 acres and a couple chickens.
5:07
I'm talking about crops and pigs and cows and all the things.
5:10
We're at in Missouri. I'm I'm here in Missouri.
5:12
Where, Whereabouts? Out in the sticks of Bowling
5:16
Green, MO. OK, Bowling Green.
5:18
Yeah, Yeah. In that area.
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So I was raised out there, raised on a farm with all boys.
5:24
And so I just knew when I was a little girl, when I left the
5:27
house that I had to grab a club, a stick or something because
5:31
something on that farm was going to come at me, usually a
5:34
rooster. And of course I never tried to
5:37
seek out using the stick, but I had to protect myself.
5:41
So that and you know, I think. You said it was all boys.
5:44
Was this all your all brothers? Well, I had two brothers, one
5:49
older and one younger, but I also had a whole lot of boy
5:52
cousins, so they called me a tomboy and it fit very well.
5:57
I was a tough little firecracker.
6:00
OK. And you, I guess you had chores
6:02
where you took care of all these Roosters and pigs and cattle and
6:07
crops and. Yes, yes, As a child I always
6:11
loved our pigs and I actually have a potbelly pig still to
6:15
this day who's my pet potty trained.
6:18
And so I would go out and lay with the pigs and slap the pigs
6:21
and clean the pig pen and gather the eggs and all that.
6:25
Yeah, that was my tour and a lot of gardening, a whole lot of
6:29
bean pig and wedding. What fun.
6:33
So your school, what was it like?
6:35
Did you, did you have like a normal growing up, school, high
6:39
school experience? Yeah, pretty.
6:42
It was pretty normal. I had probably, I don't know,
6:44
seven friends who are our core, but I was one of those people
6:48
who really got along with everyone, you know, people in
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our school. It was a small school, but there
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wasn't a whole lot of cliques and stuff.
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So high school was pretty normal except for I got pregnant my
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senior year and so I moved from Bowling Green MO all the way to
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Ohio. I met my ex-husband he was
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stationed in Kansas and he came home with an army buddy.
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So when I found out I was pregnant, we got married and
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moved out to Ohio, which is where all this crazy story
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comes. From well, how crazy must that
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have been at at a senior in high school, you get pregnant and you
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marry a guy and he takes you to Ohio.
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And I'm sure you didn't know anybody on Ohio.
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What was that like? It was extremely traumatic.
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Not only did I not know anyone, but I was raised in a little
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tiny community my entire life, knew everyone from kindergarten
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to a senior year. And now I am pregnant and
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married, going to high school and there was probably 1020
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times bigger than where I came from.
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So it was it was extremely traumatic.
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And then also, I had moved there on December 19th and right after
8:05
the new year I started not only going to high school, but
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working full time as a nursing assistant in a nursing home.
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So there was so many transitions.
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Sometimes when I think about my life and all that I've been
8:18
through, I think back to that time when it was, it was hard at
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the age of 17 to adapt to all that.
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And of course I moved there in December and June is when I had
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our first child and the following June the second child.
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So it was, it was a whirlwind while I was working full time
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throughout the whole thing, so. Wow.
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And, and what was it that got you into the nursing part of
8:43
things, Leah? What was that something you'd
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always thought of? Or is it something that was just
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an opening and you went for it and and took it?
8:50
Well, all the above, most of my life, I always wanted to be a
8:54
nurse. Ironically, about five of those
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seven individuals that I talked about being my friends, we're
9:00
all nurses. It's just we were all, we all
9:03
turned out that way. And so also like nursing came
9:06
easy for me as a nurse's aid. I loved the people, I loved what
9:11
I was doing. But even when I was in nursing
9:13
school, grades came really easy, Easy to memorize healthcare
9:17
things and just love taking care of people.
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But especially when I got into Pediatrics, I just love children
9:24
so much and just love taking care of them.
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It was just a joy when I became a nurse.
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And you're, gosh, what would you have been 19 years old when you
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had the two kids? 18 with the 1st and 19 with the.
9:39
Yeah, so a mother of two kids at 19.
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And working full time. Yes, and working full time.
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Wow, it was a lot. So and, and then, and this time
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period was how long did you guys know each other before you got
9:54
married? Approximately 9 months, I would
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say. So he came home in April and
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then we got married in December. So it was a very short period of
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time. And you know, as sad as it is,
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when I look back at our high school yearbook and I circled
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the names of how many people, it was like a third of our class
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got pregnant. I'm not justifying what I did,
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but where I was raised, sadly enough, it was more than norm
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than anything. When you're raised on a on a way
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out in the country, you know, it's not like you can go out to
10:28
clubs very much or go on the standard normal dates.
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And so there's a lot of driving around and parking in fields and
10:36
those kind of when you're a country kid.
10:38
Oh well. Especially back in the day when
10:40
I was being raised. Sure, yeah.
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And then so you're, you're getting along, Leah.
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I mean, you've, you've had the kids.
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You you're getting in you like the the nursing on your personal
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life. Was was the marriage a good
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marriage at the beginning, or was it a strained marriage from
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the beginning? It was very much a strained,
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strained marriage from the beginning.
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We were married one week when I caught him in his first lie.
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So the way I was raised, liars are completely repulsive.
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Lying in general is repulsive. You be honest, you have
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character and integrity. And so I caught him in his first
11:23
lie the first week and throughout our marriage, it was
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even during that time, it was a roller coaster.
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Usually I'd catch him in a fight, we would fight for two
11:33
weeks. I would be very angry, build up
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my emotional walls, and then he would build my trust back up.
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And then two weeks later I'd catch him into an another lie
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and this whole roller coaster would start all over again.
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So from the very, very beginning, our relationship was
11:48
rocky, but both of us came from families where you do not get a
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divorce no matter what happens. You just stick it through and
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and just push through. So.
11:59
That's So what? What like in his world, like for
12:01
a lie, I'm trying to think like, was he lying that, you know, he
12:04
said he was gonna be home at whatever time and he went
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somewhere else or was it like, what kind of lies is he?
12:13
Is he throwing at you? Yes, all of that.
12:17
The one that I found was he said, I don't know, he got $20
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out of an ATM and I found the receipt.
12:24
It was $40.00. But why did you even bother
12:26
lying? Or he said he was going to work,
12:28
but come to find out he was really golfing or he's going to
12:32
be home for dinner. But then he went out with his
12:34
buddies and he gets home at 2:00 AM when I'm going to nursing
12:37
school. Got a job raising the two kids.
12:40
So it was just, it was a. Just constant.
12:42
Battle, yeah, and just. A lie about lie.
12:46
It wasn't sometimes didn't need to.
12:49
Right and also I I don't want to throw shade on him because there
12:54
is forgiveness in our relationship, but a lot of
12:57
narcissistic tendencies. So the world thought he was the
13:01
hero and thought he was the best thing since sliced white bread.
13:05
But at home it was a completely different individual.
13:08
So socially and at home was two different people.
13:14
So you you're, I'm trying to think because I remember when we
13:18
were talking on the phone, you guys want you guys because you
13:21
both believed that you didn't get a divorce.
13:22
You were married for a while. Oh yes, Oh yes.
13:26
Well, we ended up being married for 21 years, but I just a
13:32
little bit. So we talked about me being
13:34
married at or excuse me having a baby at 18 and another one at
13:37
19. Well in 2004 my mother passed
13:42
away the same week that I had my last child.
13:45
So it was a planned child. I gave birth the same week my
13:49
mother passed away and of course the child was by him.
13:52
So that was our third child, but I was much older.
13:55
I was 32 years old when this happened and through that
13:58
situation we started going to Christian marriage counseling.
14:02
So I had given my life to the Lord when I was 21 years old,
14:06
went to church three times a week.
14:09
And then here we are, you know, church going people and our
14:12
marriage is just on the rocks going through 4 1/2 years of
14:15
Christian marriage counseling with this baby in tow.
14:19
So that's what. Was going.
14:23
Well, I think in a lot of ways it helped me because throughout
14:29
our marriage, every single issue that we ever had was my fault.
14:34
And it was mostly my fault because I was just crazy or I
14:38
was just paranoid because my tummy told me there was a lie
14:42
brewing, but I couldn't really put my finger on it, which makes
14:45
you feel a little emotionally unbalanced.
14:47
So it was good to hear after we had been to marriage counseling,
14:51
then it wasn't just me, that I wasn't just imagining it, that
14:54
it really was an issue. We really did have problems.
14:57
And he really, really had a problem with lying.
15:02
And also around the same time that our daughter was born, he
15:05
developed a gambling problem. So he was having people at our
15:08
house all the time. He was saying that he was at
15:11
home with our baby, but really he was having the older kids
15:15
watch the baby while he was out gambling all night.
15:19
But I didn't know about that either until I caught him in
15:22
that for a few times too. So it was just by that point it
15:25
was spinning out of control. When we went to the marriage
15:29
counselor, the marriage counselor after 4 1/2 years met
15:33
with me privately and he said, Leah, God hates divorce and I
15:39
hate divorce. And it doesn't matter how
15:41
beautiful you are, it doesn't matter how successful you are,
15:43
it doesn't matter how good of a wife you are.
15:46
He is who he is and he's probably never going to change.
15:49
And at that moment I actually told God that if he was going to
15:55
make me stay with this man, that me and God could not be friends.
15:59
You really shouldn't tell God that it doesn't work out very
16:01
well. So in that very moment, not only
16:04
did I give up, but I also just started living like a dumb
16:09
teenager. I'm like, if I've been good all
16:11
this time and it didn't do me any good whatsoever, then I'm
16:14
just going to go off the rails. I suppose.
16:17
Not a mature thought, but I think a lot of people who go
16:20
through divorce kind of go a little wonky for a little.
16:24
While, yeah, yeah, 'cause you get completely out of your
16:26
routine, obviously, yes, you've been married for 21 years and
16:30
all of a sudden you have a whole different life and, and what you
16:35
have to do and, and how you do it.
16:37
And, and you were married so young at 17.
16:42
So you probably thinking you missed out on something, you
16:45
know, all those college years or whatever that wildlife is that
16:48
you, you have concocted up in your head.
16:50
So then what happens? Well, then I leave him and I
16:54
move into an apartment. And so just so everybody knows,
16:58
like we were living in a really nice house in a really nice
17:01
town. It looked like we had the
17:03
American dream, especially from the outside, right?
17:06
People who didn't know what we were going through probably
17:09
thought we had it all together. So I lit, I moved into an
17:13
apartment. And so instantly he began
17:16
stalking me. And so through that time of him
17:22
stalking me, like there was slash tires, there was chemicals
17:26
poured into an engine, he broke into my apartment, was watching
17:29
me sleep, which is a completely freaky feeling.
17:35
He would follow me around everywhere I went.
17:37
I eventually got a restraining order, but it really wasn't all
17:41
that helpful because you have to be caught in the moment and a
17:44
lot of people who have went to the point of stalking someone,
17:50
the restraining order can be more of a temptation to see if
17:58
you can beat it. So it was really hard to catch
18:01
him when he was stalking me. But the thing that pushed me, I
18:05
think completely over the edge was my children at the time of
18:11
this 21 year ending part were 1819 and six.
18:16
And he was telling all these horrible things to the adult
18:21
children, but he was also saying it to the little one.
18:25
And as sad as it is, when the little one was born, the same
18:28
week my mom died, she was like my everything.
18:31
She became my idol and my Angel from heaven because she kind of
18:35
replaced my mother who I was really close to.
18:38
And so he would take her and from me and tell, tell her your
18:43
mother doesn't love you because if she did, she would come home
18:47
or say, you know, I'm going to get one visit with her and
18:50
you'll never see her again. And he would take her away to
18:53
places and not tell me where he took her.
18:56
And so it. It had to be really scary, Leah,
18:58
right? Terrifying because again, she
19:01
was my everything. And so that's what led to the
19:06
major climax that happened. And if I remember right, you had
19:13
been, had you been dating a police officer?
19:16
Is that what? OK.
19:18
At the hospital I started dating a man who was an ex police
19:21
officer and he was insecurity and he had already heard when he
19:27
got hired there that I was going through a divorce and it was
19:30
really ugly and he was kind of warned to stay away from me.
19:33
But he had given me a cock loaded gun and told me if this,
19:38
this, this happened, shoot him. And so that that gun had been in
19:43
my possession from I think probably March until September.
19:49
So it wasn't like he gave me a gun.
19:52
I instantly went and shot somebody.
19:53
No, it was in my possession for all those months.
19:57
However, when right before all this came to a head, it was, I
20:04
don't know, four or five days before that he, my ex-husband,
20:08
had made a threat that he was going to go get my little one
20:11
who was six from the 18 year old daughter who was nearby the
20:15
hospital and he was going to go get her and I would never see
20:19
her again. And so I actually left the
20:21
hospital and I went and got my two daughters and took them to
20:26
my apartment while he I could see him driving around.
20:29
Around our apartment, you know, through the windows.
20:32
And at that point I moved the cock loaded gun from the very
20:35
tip top of my bedroom closet to the main living space in a
20:40
drawer. OK, so a few days later I'm
20:43
getting ready to go to work and I was reliving the past weekend
20:49
and all the trauma and all the things that had happened.
20:52
And so I thought, OK, I have to work the next three nights, and
20:56
I cannot afford any of this chaos in my life.
21:02
And so even though I had a restraining order, I tell people
21:07
I've done some dumb things. But at the top of the dumb list
21:10
was I thought that day, OK, I'm going to have him over and we're
21:15
going to talk about it. And I'm going to convince him
21:18
that I'm not coming home and. So, and at this time, at this
21:23
time, Leah, because I was going to ask you earlier, had you guys
21:26
been communicating and all back and forth once you got the
21:28
restraining order? Or was it, was it just him
21:30
stalking you and, and causing all this anxiety and strife and
21:35
whatever? Or had you guys been trying or
21:38
this was your, your time where you said, hey, let's, let's put
21:42
an end to this. Let's let's try to see if I can
21:44
pot talk some sense into him. Well, technically you're not
21:49
supposed to communicate. So a lot of it we were not
21:52
communicating. However, he would even call the
21:55
hospital where I was managing and like asked to speak with me.
21:59
And so again, it was hard for anybody to prove that right
22:02
because it was on. A Well how would it work like
22:03
with the kids? Like if cuz were you sharing
22:06
custody? Yeah, pretty much.
22:08
They're in custody. I, I thought I remember right,
22:10
it was a while back, but I feel as if they let us communicate
22:14
through text message for that reason.
22:16
OK. However, a lot of the
22:18
communication too would go through our children.
22:20
So we were trying to manage having kids and the restraining
22:23
order all at the same time. Yeah, sounds like a lot.
22:27
Yes. OK, so the night that this all
22:30
takes place, you say you're going to call him up, We're
22:33
going to talk like rational adults and he comes over.
22:38
Yes, it was in, it was actually in the morning because I worked
22:41
night shifts. So I slept.
22:43
I had woken up that morning and thought, oh goodness, I've got
22:45
to work the next three days. I have got to get this situation
22:48
taken care of. And so I invited him over so
22:53
that we could talk and he came over and we talked probably in
22:58
total maybe like 3 hours, I don't know.
23:01
But in that in that time that we were talking, there was times
23:07
when it was more peaceful than other times and it was getting
23:10
more heated. But he was texting on his phone
23:16
and I said you sent 2 texts. He said no, I didn't.
23:21
And I said yes you did. Now remember I had been lied to
23:25
for 21 years, 21 and now I'm stocked and all this dissension,
23:31
whatever. And so the the argument kept
23:35
getting more and more heated. He crossed his legs and he put
23:37
his arm on the back of the couch.
23:39
And he said, because we had already had a guardian at Litem,
23:42
which is someone who says, let me evaluate the two parents and
23:45
figure out who should get this kid the the primary residence.
23:52
And so we, the guardian at Litem had already said that pretty
23:55
much I was going to get our daughter, right.
23:57
So he puts his arm over the back of the couch and he says if you
24:02
know that even though you're going to end up getting her,
24:05
that they have to give me rights to see her and I'm the dad and
24:09
all I got to have her is one time and I will be gone and you
24:13
will never see her again. Unless.
24:16
And he had backed his truck up to the door of my apartment and
24:21
put the tailgate down. He said unless you pack up your
24:25
stuff right now and go home with me.
24:27
And so at that point it became more volatile and I got the gun
24:35
and I was holding him at gunpoint and had no plans on
24:39
shooting him except for I just wanted to scare the tar out him
24:44
so he'd leave me alone, right? That's my whole point at the
24:47
moment. And then while we're I'm holding
24:50
him and he's, of course, he's saying I'm going to stop.
24:53
I'm going to stop, I'm going to leave you alone.
24:54
I'll never do these things again.
24:57
You know, you can have Abby. Well, of course he's saying
24:59
that. I've got him at gunpoint.
25:00
Duh. Right.
25:02
And so in that very moment, a text message comes up and I on
25:08
his phone and I could see that he texts two people, right?
25:11
Which is not important. That's that's not the point of
25:15
it. But in that moment, my brain
25:18
said, you're never gonna stop. And I just started pulling the
25:25
trigger. No rationale whatsoever, not
25:28
thinking about a thing, just started pulling the trigger.
25:32
And by the way, I had never shot a pistol in my entire life.
25:35
And I've always, always hated guns with every fiber of my
25:39
being. But anyway, so.
25:41
Did you even know how many times you fired it?
25:43
Nope, had no idea, could not tell you.
25:46
If I fired it once, 20 times, I couldn't tell you, could not
25:50
tell you. So after I was shooting at him,
25:54
not even knowing if I hit him. I just want you to picture this
25:58
and and when you do, you'll know that like there wasn't
26:02
premeditation. I had on a pair of pajama pants
26:05
that would not even stay up on my waist.
26:07
I had on these thick wool like hunting socks, no shoes
26:12
whatsoever. I had on, you know, a ratty
26:15
sweatshirt. And by the way, if anybody knows
26:19
me, they know I do not go in public unless I'm beautified,
26:22
like, right. And so if I'm going to, like, be
26:26
on the news, I'm going to have my hair done, you know, like my
26:29
makeup. I'm going to be cute.
26:31
Well, no, I had just woken up and invited him over.
26:34
I had this horrible bun. I mean, it's just a mess.
26:36
So anyway, I throw the gun. I don't even know where it went
26:41
at the time. I had no idea.
26:42
Threw the gun, grabbed my cell phone and took off running
26:47
through the apartment complex. And I am crying and screaming
26:51
and hyperventilating. And I called the police and I
26:55
tell them I shot my husband. It's this horrible audio
27:00
recording. It's, it's just, it's
27:03
horrendous. And I was on hold for like 10
27:05
minutes. But anyway, I told them I shot
27:06
my husband and I told them I was going to hide in the woods until
27:10
I heard the police cars because I was afraid to come out.
27:13
And they asked me where the gun was.
27:15
And I didn't know where the gun was.
27:17
I just said I threw it. And they asked me if I hit him.
27:19
And I had no idea whatsoever. So I went in the woods and I was
27:24
there until I heard the police cars and then I came out and,
27:29
you know, of course, laid on my belly and surrendered so.
27:34
Wow. I mean, it really is something
27:36
like you see on a Lifetime Movie channel something.
27:39
I mean, so the husband's stocking and the wife snaps and
27:43
and shoots and runs and and there you are before we get into
27:47
this, because I want to I, I really interested.
27:51
Like what happens from that moment?
27:54
What's going through your mind before you do I want to
27:58
recognize for people out there. Do you not like how you show up
28:04
online? And, and I wanted this is one of
28:07
those things where this is one of those shows where I think we
28:10
have a lot of people that might have something where they're not
28:14
liking how they show up online. Well, there's a, there's a,
28:17
there's somebody that can help you out there and there's hope.
28:19
It's called discoverability. And they can help you whether
28:22
you're trying to build reputation from scratch,
28:25
repairing your search results after a negative news story, or
28:28
even if you're just trying to position yourself a little bit
28:30
better against your businesses and the competition.
28:33
Discoverability can also help you how you're portrayed on a on
28:36
the popular AI services like Chat ChatGPT.
28:39
To learn more, visit discoverability.co.
28:43
They're even launching a do it He's been somebody was on this
29:03
show and he he's helped so many people out along the way.
29:07
And the other person of I want to recognize is the White Collar
29:11
Support Group, sponsored by the Nightmare Success podcast is
29:14
sponsored by the White Collar Support Group, the world's first
29:16
support group devoted to people navigating the white collar
29:19
criminal justice journey. I'm a member of the White collar
29:21
Support Group and I can tell you this is a bunch of people who
29:24
help each other through the criminal justice journey for
29:26
free. Whether you're just starting
29:28
your journey or you've made it through to the other side, this
29:30
is a great space for you. Join us on Zoom Monday, 7:00 PM
29:33
Eastern for information to go to prisonist.org.
29:36
That's prisonist dot that org. Start here.
29:38
OK. Leah, you're laying.
29:41
They handcuff you. I can't imagine what's going
29:44
through your mind. What in the world are you
29:46
thinking that you know that you're a nurse?
29:49
You're you've just done I don't know how many hours and you've
29:52
woken up and you've had this conversation with your husband
29:55
for three hours and you've shot him with a gun that you haven't
29:58
even shot before. What's going through your mind?
30:03
Well, I can honestly say that that is the worst moment of my
30:10
entire life. I was screaming hysterically
30:14
again. They had it.
30:15
They had this recorded. It's part of my court hearing me
30:19
screaming. Oh my God.
30:20
Oh my God, what have I done? I've destroyed him.
30:23
I've destroyed his life. Is he OK?
30:24
God forgive me. Like, it's horrific.
30:28
The the PTSD from that moment was so horrible.
30:32
I thought I was going to throw up or pass out, like even to
30:36
take off my sweatshirt. They were rolling down the
30:38
windows and blasting the air. I'm sure they thought I was
30:41
going to, you know, make a mess at the back of their car.
30:46
And I was like that for days afterwards, like the regret, the
30:53
the fear, everything. And so right at I had been in
30:58
jail for about 3 days and the only way that I could go to
31:01
sleep in jail was to think about how I was going to commit
31:05
suicide when I got out. My ex-husband was a financial
31:08
planner and my life insurance even covered suicide.
31:13
So I thought, well, that's the only way and I had $1,000,000
31:16
life insurance. So I thought that's the only way
31:18
I'm going to be able to take care of my kids now.
31:21
So I asked my friends to take me for a walk in the woods, which
31:26
is where I felt closest to my creator.
31:29
And as I, as I was walking through the woods, like if I
31:31
looked up, I thought I was going to get sick or to the side or
31:34
back anywhere. And I just felt like the Lord
31:37
was talking to my heart and said, look, you cannot face what
31:42
all is up and ahead of you. You cannot face everything
31:45
you've lost. The only way you're going to
31:46
make this is to put your hands and mine and put take one step
31:49
at a time, right? And so I had, I had to remember
31:53
that it's one step at a time, right?
31:55
Like everything that I was going to face is too overwhelming.
31:59
So that's exactly what I what I did was one step at a time.
32:02
It was horrific. And I was still pretty suicidal
32:05
for quite some time after that. And also the court system.
32:11
When did you find out? I'm, I'm curious, Leah, in that
32:13
time period, when did you find out how he was like what had
32:19
happened? Well.
32:23
When I, I asked the police officer, when they called for
32:26
the medic or whatever, I said, is he OK right now?
32:29
I'm like, is he OK? I mean, I just shot him and now
32:31
I'm, you know, I want him to be OK.
32:34
And they said, from what I understood, they said, they said
32:37
it was a gut shot, right. So I am thinking of all the
32:41
things, whether it could be stomach or bowel or whatever.
32:44
But then later when I got home after three days in jail and
32:48
people bailed me out, when I got home, I found out that it was a
32:51
shoulder shot and an ear shot, not a gut shot.
32:55
Not that that's better or worse. I just didn't have any idea if I
32:59
hit him whatsoever. So you you got out.
33:04
On bail. So what?
33:08
What were the next steps that happened with this process?
33:13
Well. My daughter, who was six at the
33:16
time, she had slept with me basically from the time she was
33:19
born. And they, the courts wanted me
33:24
to confess that it was premeditated.
33:27
So they said if you confess that it's premeditated, we'll let you
33:30
see your daughter. Until then, you cannot see your
33:33
daughter. So that was horrific.
33:37
I would wake up in the middle of the night screaming her name.
33:41
It was terrible. And then I was out for nine
33:45
months and of course I lost my job as a nurse, right, because
33:48
people who are going for felonies do not get to be a
33:51
nurse. So I lost that.
33:52
And so I did some odd end, odd end jobs and was a hot mess.
33:58
I just have to tell you, I was a hot mess because before all this
34:02
incident, I had no criminal record whatsoever.
34:05
Maybe I had three or four speeding tickets.
34:07
My whole life, always had this major fear of police officers.
34:11
And I thought because I watched the news that all people who are
34:16
incarcerated are horrible people and it's not fair that they get
34:20
to watch the TV 24/7 because I'm working to pay the taxes so that
34:26
they could have this easy life. And I thought it was unfair,
34:29
which was completely irrational and judgmental of me.
34:32
Which it's kind of funny how it works when we're judgy and then
34:36
we end up in that same situation.
34:39
But when you. Actually are in that position.
34:41
Yeah, I know so. Then I was out for nine months
34:45
and then they gave me a plea bargain and they told me that if
34:49
I took it to trial and I lost, that I could get up to 23 years
34:54
in prison. And so I actually spoke to my
34:57
family about this and they offered me a plea deal of four
35:00
years if I would plead guilty to two felonious assaults and an
35:06
abduction as opposed to attempted murder, kidnapping,
35:10
all these other things. And so I knew that it is
35:13
important for me to get back to my family.
35:15
So I took the four year plea deal deal.
35:18
Curious. Leah, so in that plea deal, was
35:21
there ever any discussion about the fact that you had a
35:23
restraining order, that this person was stalking you and
35:26
slashing tires and breaking into your house?
35:29
And could it ever have been considered that it was some type
35:32
of defense? No, there is.
35:34
At that time, my understanding is there was no self-defense law
35:38
in the state of Ohio, first of all.
35:40
Second of all, the court said well, you invited him over and
35:44
it looks like you invited him over to shoot him.
35:47
I did not know, but that's what it looked like.
35:49
So that's why that was off the table.
35:52
And if I took him to court, you could I would definitely get
35:56
out. I would.
35:56
I'm sure I would get out of attempted murder because right
36:00
look of all the circumstance, but truth be told, I did assault
36:05
him. Whether it was justified or not,
36:07
I still assaulted him. So the likelihood of me getting
36:09
guilty for that. And besides, I called the
36:11
police. It's not like I'm trying to hide
36:13
it. So anyway, that's, that's what
36:18
happened. So you decided.
36:19
To take the plea deal that was four years in state prison.
36:24
I'm curious how this all went down with your kids.
36:28
Oh, that's awful. Well, my son, what our son was
36:34
very, very angry at his father. And so as soon as I was
36:38
sentenced to prison, my son moved to Missouri to be with my
36:42
family, to move out to the farm with my brothers.
36:45
My daughter, she was started nursing school and she was going
36:49
through that process but extremely hard on her.
36:53
And then the youngest, the six year old now does not have a
36:56
mommy because she's in prison. And my ex-husband ended up
36:59
raising her the entire time I was incarcerated.
37:02
So even though I was incarcerate well and let me go back, so I
37:09
was incarcerated for four years. I thought before very
37:13
judgmentally about people who were incarcerated and they were
37:16
all evil. And then I got there and
37:18
realized they were some of the most beautiful people I'd ever
37:20
met in my life. There are a few inherently evil
37:24
individuals in the world that go to prison, but most people were
37:28
led there by a bad mistakes, bad decisions, bad raising, bad
37:33
relationships, addiction, all these things.
37:37
They're not evil people. They made mistakes.
37:40
So anyway, while I was incarcerated, I still had the
37:44
opportunity to talk to all of my kids over the phone and I had
37:48
the opportunity even to talk to my youngest.
37:51
As a matter of fact, soon after I had went to prison, my
37:54
ex-husband went to what level of prison I was.
37:57
Curious, I meant to ask you when you went into prison, what level
38:00
of prison do you go into with the type of charge you had the
38:05
highest security? Prison in the state of Ohio for
38:08
women. But I was not a high level
38:12
individual because I was older, I had never had a criminal
38:17
history, those kind of things. So my rating was very low, but I
38:20
was in a high security prison. Just basically.
38:23
What was that like for you to? Walk into a high security person
38:27
not having anything but speeding tickets an.
38:31
Absolute sickening culture shock.
38:36
Sickening meaning. I can't believe I'm here.
38:38
I've completely destroyed my life.
38:40
I've lost everything. I work so very hard for a
38:43
nursing license, money, houses, cars, reputation, and then for
38:50
it to all be gone. It was so sickening.
38:53
And then also the individuals that I was incarcerated with.
38:58
Many of them. Work came from a hard background
39:03
and a hard life in the streets and drugs and the way they spoke
39:09
wasn't the way that I learned to speak or speak around my people
39:14
that way. And so I had to learn the
39:17
culture, the prison dynamics, what to say, when to say it, who
39:22
to say it to. So a lot of wisdom came from
39:26
just watching and listening to people and just trying to
39:32
maintain the peace because even if you're a peaceful individual,
39:35
which I was, never got in trouble one time in prison, it's
39:41
it's easy for people to turn on you and to want to cause
39:45
conflict. So you're always trying to
39:48
manage that and make sure you stay out of conflict.
39:54
Yeah, so. When and I'm.
39:58
Assuming that you, you said you, you were constantly were talking
40:01
to your kids and so you had that contact.
40:07
Did you and? And, and one of the things that
40:11
you also talked about, Leah, was, is that you started taking
40:14
classes in there that were to try to learn how to forgive or
40:19
introduce the idea of, of forgiving yourself, forgiving
40:22
the situation. How did that all work?
40:26
I went to just about every Bible study they had like the majority
40:31
of my classes had a lot to do with that.
40:33
And what I had to realize I could not forgive myself for
40:37
what I did. I I could forgive everyone else,
40:40
even the ex-husband. I could forgive everyone.
40:42
I could not forgive myself. And then I realized, of course
40:46
this is my belief in how I see the world.
40:48
But I realized that even though I, I had no idea that this was
40:54
going to be part of my story, my journey, my future, I know that
40:58
my God knew that this was going to happen.
41:01
I knew that God knew this was going to happen and it was going
41:03
to be part of my story. And I could not forgive myself
41:06
for leaving my daughter, right? Like she was my everything.
41:10
But then I had to realize that I had to let go of the shame and
41:13
forgive myself. Because it is part of her story
41:16
too, right? And so even.
41:19
Now she's 20 years old, and I don't want to skip all the way
41:21
in the future, but, you know, has seriously considered being a
41:24
counselor. She probably wouldn't have been
41:27
like that if it wasn't for what she had gone through.
41:30
And so I feel like she would have been a spoiled baby.
41:33
She was the youngest. And, you know, I was privileged,
41:36
essentially, right? And she was spoilt rotten.
41:39
But her entire life changed in that moment as well.
41:42
And so I thought at the moment that I had destroyed everyone's
41:47
life, but in some way I might have.
41:50
Not on purpose, of course. Strengthened everyone.
41:55
But not on purpose, of course, no.
41:57
That's pretty profound actually. So when you start thinking,
42:03
Leah, that you're, you're making these steps a step at a time,
42:07
forgiving yourself, getting healthier in that situation,
42:11
you're getting closer to getting out six months from getting out.
42:15
What are you thinking like when about going back out into
42:18
society? There was the.
42:23
Human part of me that was utterly terrified because I had
42:26
been in healthcare. I started working in a nursing
42:28
home when I was 16 years old. And so all I had ever done was
42:31
healthcare. You know, a lot of people when
42:33
they're growing up, they have been a server or they worked in
42:36
a factory or something. No, all I had ever done was
42:39
healthcare and I would be, based on my criminal record,
42:42
completely banned from any kind of healthcare.
42:45
So I was terrified. Like what in the world I'm going
42:47
to do, but on the faith side of me, it was like, OK, well, I
42:51
know God's going to align the stars.
42:53
I know he's going to make a way where there is no way and he's
42:56
going to take care of me. And so as soon as I was released
43:01
from prison, one of my dear friends, who was also a nurse
43:05
where I worked at a Children's Hospital, her parents had had
43:08
surgery or one of them had had surgery.
43:11
They were elderly. And so she asked me to come help
43:14
take care of them. And then the first car I bought
43:18
cost $200. Now this is in 2015.
43:23
I just want you guys to think about $200.
43:26
I can't imagine what kind of. Car that would be for $200.
43:30
It did have an engine and ran. I guess I can.
43:33
Tell you it was very embarrassing driving this car,
43:36
especially coming from, you know, driving like a Lincoln
43:39
right to driving. OK, so anyway, and then I
43:43
started working at a faith-based recovery home.
43:45
I spoke at a women's conference and was supernaturally connected
43:49
with a guy from California that runs a prison ministry.
43:53
And then they asked me to start it in the very same prison where
43:55
I was incarcerated at, which was mind blowing.
44:00
And they said, will you start this?
44:01
And I'm like, OK, but I don't know how.
44:04
And so I started doing that and wait, I want to.
44:07
I don't. Want to just just skirt over
44:09
that so you you get the opportunity with the prison
44:14
ministry to go back into the same prison that you just spent
44:18
four years, yes. Absolutely.
44:21
What was that like? Crazy.
44:24
And usually you have to be off parole for at least a year.
44:29
They prefer even longer to go back into the prison.
44:32
And so I signed up for this ministry at first named Cairos,
44:37
and the the warden had told me I couldn't come back.
44:41
I was denied. And all these people that
44:44
volunteer with Cairo started contacting the warden like you
44:47
have to let her in. They were emailing her and
44:49
calling her and blowing her up. So then she personally calls me
44:52
the night before and says I'm letting you in this prison, but
44:56
you better not mess up. Now here's the irony.
44:59
She was the warden when I was incarcerated there and she had
45:03
no idea who I was, even though I'm the one that Doctor Phil
45:07
came in and seen. So she should have known who I
45:09
was. But when I met her, she said,
45:12
oh, so you're Leah. She goes and I thanked her for
45:17
allowing me to come in. Well, about a month later, I'm
45:21
guessing a month later, I, I asked to meet with her so I
45:25
could come back in and bring in a whole different ministry.
45:28
OK. And so now see, because she had
45:32
heard from all those people to let me in.
45:34
She knew who I was and she knew my character.
45:37
Leah, I I didn't mean to skip over the part where you had
45:42
Doctor Phil come into prison. I mean, what in the world was
45:46
that like? And how did and I guess?
45:50
What was it like and how did that happen?
45:52
I mean, having Doctor Phil show up at a state prison, I mean,
45:57
that's not really a normal thing, right?
46:00
No, Very. Much not normal.
46:03
My ex-husband had wrote Doctor Phil and said that he wanted to
46:06
be on the show and so my ex-husband and daughter and
46:10
granddaughter flew to California be on the show, and then of
46:15
course Doctor Phil came into the prison and filmed me in prison.
46:21
I thought that the show. Was going to be more about
46:23
forgiveness like that's what I was told but coincidentally it
46:28
ended up being more about they titled it the love triangle and
46:32
it ended up being a 2 day show. And so I'm still just trusting
46:37
the Lord that he, he has a plan and a purpose.
46:41
Because if I was right, what did the what did the inmates?
46:46
Think of that. Well, I I.
46:49
Kept it a secret until the day of, so I didn't tell anyone and
46:54
then they had a little bit of an inmate audience in there and so
47:00
they got to talk. It was, he said.
47:01
It was about domestic violence, but again, it I wouldn't have
47:06
spun it the way it was spun. I'll just leave it there.
47:09
And it was a 2 day show that they kept it for sweeps week or
47:13
whatever. So not every day does he go into
47:17
a prison to interview. He's told me that the reason
47:21
that he decided to come interview me was because he said
47:27
evil people do not give their organs away.
47:31
And he said, I had heard that you gave your mother-in-law,
47:34
your ex mother-in-law, your kidney.
47:36
And so I knew that you had to be a really good person.
47:39
And, you know, he wanted people to see that even really good
47:43
people could make major mistakes and end up in prison.
47:46
So Yeah. And you told me.
47:48
That over the phone that was your ex mother-in-law you gave
47:51
your kidney to right? Yeah, very interesting how that
47:57
all transpired. But that that's that's really
47:59
something that you did that because that's you know that you
48:02
were a match. It wasn't your child or husband
48:07
or whatever the case, but it was your ex mother-in-law, which
48:09
probably saved her life. So anyway, jumping back to where
48:14
you were, you said you, you, you, you had the the the warden
48:19
and you get this going back in and you, you, you're going to
48:22
bring more people in. How does all this go and, and
48:26
what what did it feel like for you to go back into the prison?
48:29
Well. Of course, I was really nervous
48:31
because I'm meeting with the warden and the guy from
48:33
California flew in so he could meet with us as well.
48:36
And we're telling them all about this program.
48:38
And then she goes, oh, well, let me show you into my office.
48:42
And she takes us into her office.
48:44
And the ministry. At the time that we were
48:46
bringing in, her entire office was decorated from an event of
48:52
that ministry. So it was like the Lord had
48:55
prepared the way. She already knew about the
48:57
ministry because all the people were calling her.
49:00
She already knew of who I was and what I was about.
49:03
And then of course, I had my pastor and his wife's support.
49:07
And so it was just absolutely amazing.
49:09
But I can tell you that I went into that prison twice a week,
49:13
every week for years, except for during COVID because they locked
49:17
everybody out. And I can also tell you that for
49:20
the 1st at least this year, even though I was calm and at peace
49:25
and inside, I didn't feel like terrified.
49:29
You could look at like the back of my jeans and they were just
49:32
shaking and vibrating. So my body was still reacting to
49:37
the sound of the doors and the incarceration, even though I
49:41
didn't necessarily feel scared. But it was powerful because too,
49:47
I had just been in that prison, right?
49:49
So when I go back in the prison, even through the windows and the
49:55
barred windows, people are screaming my name.
49:58
And they were just a lot of How long had it been?
50:01
How long? I didn't.
50:02
I didn't ask you that. How long had it been from the
50:05
time you got out to the time you went in?
50:07
Probably about two. And a half years before I came
50:11
back in. And so, you know, they were all
50:14
crying and stuff because they're like, most people forget about
50:17
us, right? They, you said you were coming
50:19
back. Because I knew when I was
50:21
incarcerated that I not only committed, I would serve God the
50:25
rest of my life, but I would go back and love the people I left
50:29
behind. Having no idea how that was
50:32
going to happen. But look, I mean,
50:34
supernaturally, it just happened.
50:36
So it was, it was really powerful to go back in there and
50:40
still is. Ironically, last week I went
50:45
into the very prison where I was incarcerated AT and talked to
50:48
ladies there and still know people who are incarcerated
50:51
there. Yeah, that's got to be.
50:53
Something and and tell the audience about how this happened
50:57
with your husband with the. Victim awareness.
51:00
Class Yes, yes. So I had always enjoyed our
51:05
victim awareness teacher who was also a corrections officer.
51:09
And so we were always trying to get my ex-husband.
51:12
My ex-husband always wanted to come into the prison to do
51:15
visits with me, right. We had made peace and talk
51:18
through all the issues and talk about Co pairing and all that.
51:21
But the prison would never let him in because he was my victim,
51:23
right. So then he and I went in
51:26
together. After I was out that same
51:28
officer said hey, you want to come talk?
51:31
So we spoke together. So it's always powerful when
51:35
victims talk to people who are incarcerated so that they can
51:38
understand the pain, the all the, the trauma they brought to
51:44
that individual. But imagine the person who is
51:50
the offender and the the victim at the same place.
51:53
But as we described it, we were both offenders and we were both
51:58
victims, right? Because what he did and what I
52:03
did, we, we both had equal shares in the process and you.
52:08
Forgave each other yes, yes, we've.
52:10
Forgiven each other. As a matter of fact, I text him,
52:15
I think it was on his birthday. And coincidentally, I happened
52:18
to have shot him four days, three days before his birthday.
52:22
And so I said I'm sorry. And he said, would you please
52:24
stop saying you're sorry? He said, we're we may not be
52:28
married, but we are great parents, great great
52:33
grandparents together. We are friends.
52:35
And he said, and by the way, you gave us an awesome story.
52:38
So stop. Yeah, that's.
52:40
For sure. Well, I gotta after you know,
52:45
all this has happened. Do you do you think he's
52:47
changed? Yes.
52:52
Yeah, yes. And.
52:53
No, I don't have that much interaction with him except for
52:57
parenting and Co parenting. So it would be, it would be
52:59
unfair for me to completely analyze him because I'm not
53:03
around him enough to. I think that he's changed a lot.
53:06
He's been through his own battles since that happened.
53:10
And so I think that he's thinking more about like taking
53:15
care of his children and being that's an individual.
53:21
I just don't know that he has completely stopped being
53:26
dishonest or lost his narcissistic tendency.
53:30
So that's unfair for me to say. Yeah, it's probably.
53:33
The way he's wired. So now currently you're doing
53:39
the prison ministry going in four states, all kinds of
53:43
different prisons. You're speaking as as as a
53:47
speaker, you considering where you were being a nurse and, and
53:57
worrying that that was all taken away and now you're doing
54:00
something that you're passionate about.
54:03
What do you think's your greatest take away from all this
54:06
that you've been through? I believe.
54:12
That nothing happens by happenstance.
54:16
I don't believe in any coincidences whatsoever.
54:19
I used to work on the body and now I work on the soul.
54:23
I love that. So it's very, very.
54:26
Powerful that the people who are incarcerated feel left behind,
54:31
feel hopeless, feel like they have destroyed everything.
54:35
What's the worth in living? And so it's powerful when I can
54:39
go in and say I was incarcerated and look what has happened
54:45
throughout my life. Look at how God has transformed
54:48
things. And so I, I don't want to say
54:52
like power in a negative sense, but in a lot of ways I have
54:59
automatic authority inside of a prison because I'm one of them.
55:05
So I can speak differently to them.
55:08
I can be more raw with them and whatever I say has more validity
55:13
because I was there. And so I'm just honored because
55:18
God has allowed me to use this horrible situation and the
55:23
biggest mistake of my life to help transform probably
55:28
thousands and thousands of people.
55:30
So having been a nurse, how many, how many patients can you
55:35
take care of in a day, in a week, in a lifetime, right?
55:39
But to be able to help people transform.
55:41
And you've, you've said it on your show at least a couple
55:44
times that talking about getting freedom, there are people that
55:51
are not inside of a prison that are more captive than the people
55:55
who are in a prison. They have their own prison of
55:58
their mind, their addiction, the society norms, what people think
56:03
you should or shouldn't do. All those things hold us
56:07
captive. And the freedom that came from
56:10
my own incarceration, the peace that I have, the strength that I
56:14
have, the faith and hope that I have, I tell people all the time
56:18
before I went to prison, I knew God.
56:20
When I was in prison, I found my daddy and my best friend.
56:24
And so you can take everything from me.
56:27
You can take my home, I can become homeless, you can take my
56:31
job, you can take everything, but you can't take my faith, my
56:34
hope, my strength, my memories. So it almost like I started to
56:40
say it empowered who I am. And also, having been
56:46
incarcerated when I was 17, I didn't know who I was.
56:49
How could I possibly know who I was at 17 years old, right?
56:53
And so it helped me figure out who I am, what I want in life
56:57
and less dependent on other people.
57:00
It's just. You're gained confidence.
57:03
Horrific, but it. Was one of the best things
57:06
that's ever happened to me in my life.
57:08
I I think it's. Fascinating.
57:09
I, I think you and you were helping people, being a nurse
57:13
and now you're helping people going in and, and like you said,
57:17
you're the, and I do so identify what you're saying when you go
57:22
to prison, you, you see people as you walk around, you see
57:25
people who've lost hope and you can see it in their eyes.
57:27
And, and when they lose hope, they have no ability to move
57:30
forward. And you see that on the outside
57:33
too. People that are good, you know,
57:34
they're stuck in a bad job, a bad marriage, the health crisis,
57:38
whatever those things are that get you stuck, they lose hope.
57:41
And, and what you said when this all happened to you just got to
57:45
take it a step at a time, a step at a time.
57:48
And you, you start stepping into the unknowns and they become
57:51
knowns. And once they become known, you
57:53
can deal with it. And, and I think that's one of
57:58
those things in life that if you hit rock bottom, you learn
58:02
because you either get in a fetal position or you start
58:04
stepping out. And, and that's what you did.
58:08
You kept stepping and now you're in a position in life where
58:13
whatever happens the rest of your life, you've got your
58:14
family and you've got a passion of helping people.
58:17
And I think that's wonderful. No telling what he'll do from
58:20
here on out. Thank you.
58:21
Thank you. Yeah, if I could do.
58:23
Being in prisons is such, sadly enough, it's my happy spot.
58:29
Besides my family, of course. Right?
58:31
Sure. Families, everything.
58:32
But like, that's where I'm happy.
58:33
When I know I'm going to a prison, it gives me joy and it
58:36
gives me life because I know what it's like to sit there and
58:40
feel so depressed and so sad and to put a smile on their face and
58:45
to give them hope. It just does everything for me.
58:47
I love. Yeah, it's.
58:49
Got. I mean it's.
58:49
Got to be rewarding to be able to have the experience that
58:52
you've had to be able to give back and go back in and give
58:55
people the opportunity to see a pathway for hope and, and it
58:59
changes people's lives, regardless of how long they're
59:01
in there, that that can change their life.
59:03
How did people get a hold of you, Leah?
59:06
Oh goodness. My e-mail address is
59:10
leahjeansjeans35@gmail.com. Great.
59:20
I think there'll be people want to get a hold of you talking
59:24
about gratitude and things of hope that I want to thank.
59:27
Homestead Financial lets me use this nice podcast studio here,
59:31
All the fancy equipment, the lights and the cameras.
59:35
If anybody's got home mortgage needs, it's Greg Aftia.
59:37
If he knows all that stuff, just reach out to him at Homestead
59:40
Financial. Hey, if anybody's looking for a
59:43
book out there, obviously Leah needs to write a book.
59:46
I've got a book. It's called Nightmare
59:48
Succession. Get it on Amazon, Barnes and
59:50
Noble. Keep the likes and the comments
59:53
and the shares, subscriptions and and follows going.
59:57
If you've got time, leave a review on Apple that helps the
1:00:00
show. Check me out on
1:00:03
brentcassidy.com. It's my website.
1:00:05
I spell it wrong. It's with ATY, not ADY, as I
1:00:09
used to say to my people, I was as I was writing my emails back
1:00:12
and forth from Leavenworth. Stay strong, I'll do the same.
1:00:16
Leah, thanks so much for sharing your story today.
1:00:18
It's absolutely incredibly fascinating and I love what
1:00:22
you're doing now. Thank you.
1:00:25
Thank you for having me. I hope it inspires others to
1:00:28
keep on taking the next step, taking the next.
1:00:31
Step I'm your success in and out.