Nobody Should Believe Me - A Survivor’s Journey

Episode Date: June 11, 2024

What if you woke up one day and discovered that your whole life had been a lie? When Jordyn Hope learned about Munchausen by proxy in a college psychology class, their life was immediately turned upside down. Everything about their history was suddenly cast in a new light: from the mysterious illnesses they’d been plagued with since birth to the constant emergency room visits to the gaslighting from their mother. Now, years later, Jo returns to their small, rural hometown of Hutchinson, MN to try to put the pieces back together and help make sense of their traumatic childhood. Along the way, the story of Jordyn’s life will be rewritten and their relationship with their mother takes a turn they never could have anticipated. This is a story of self-discovery unlike any other: one of resilience, healing, and surviving the unthinkable. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

True Story Media But one piece of news that I am excited to share is that the wait for my new book, The Mother Next Door, is almost over. It is coming at you on February 4th from St. Martin's Press. So soon! I co-authored this book with friend and beloved contributor of this show, Detective Mike Weber, about three of the most impactful cases of his career. Even if you are one of the OG-est of OG listeners to this show, I promise you are going to learn so many new and shocking details about the three cases we cover. We just go into so much more depth on these stories, and you're also going to learn a ton

about Mike's story. Now, I know y'all love Detective Mike because he gets his very own fan mail here at Nobody Should Believe Me. And if you've ever wondered, how did Mike become the detective when it came to Munchausen by proxy cases, you are going to learn all about his origin story in this book. And I know we've got many audiobook listeners out there, so I'm very excited to share with you the audiobook is read by me, Andrea Dunlop, your humble narrator of this very show. I really loved getting to read this book, and I'm so excited to share this with you. If you are able to pre-order the book, doing so will really help us out. It will signal to our publisher that there is excitement about the book, and it will also give us a shot at that all-important bestseller list. And of course, if that's simply

not in the budget right now, we get it. Books are not cheap. Library sales are also extremely important for books, so putting in a request at your local library is another way that you can help. So you can pre-order the book right now in all formats at the link in our show notes, and if you are in Seattle or Fort Worth, Mike and I are doing live events the week of launch, which you can also find more information about at the link in our show notes. These events will be free to attend, but please do RSVP so that we can plan accordingly. See you out there. Calling all sellers.

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we are following the story of Jo Hope. Hi, Mom. It's Jo. I hope you can hear me. Jo is a survivor of Munchausen by proxy and grew up in a small town where everyone seemed to know that something was wrong at home. I know I talked to my mom about it and was like, we need to get her out of there, blah, blah, blah.

And I know at one point I was over and we were like, we need to record your mom. My overall impression was that she very much wanted an audience for her good parenting when she wasn't present as a parent. Now, as an adult, Jo is trying to put the pieces back together and reconnect with the people who helped them survive. I hate that you had to do all of that, and obviously I'm forever grateful. I know things couldn't have been good at home,

but I don't think we talked a lot about exactly what was going on, because that would be pretty classic of a child of an alcoholic. But even during a national television appearance, Joe's mom stuck to her story. I never took my daughter to any doctor for a reason other than she was sick. I never laid a hand on my child. She never even got a spanking. But as Joe will discover, that's not how anyone remembers it.

Mom's favorite phrase growing up is, I brought you into this world. I can take you out. There's nobody that can stop me. She would brag to people that she hit me so hard my nose bleed. And the system that was supposed to protect Joe did nothing. I filed reports because I'm a mandated reporter and nothing would happen. I always just thought like, if that much is going on and they know I'm seeing it, what am I not seeing? Now, after everything, Jo searches for healing on the other side. I love you so much. I just had to have boundaries of all to take care of myself too, you know? Jo is silly and thoughtful and loves to dance. I hope that to baby steps and baby progress and figure out little

shifts that I can continue to make no matter my physical state. So hopefully I can continue to do that. Season four of Nobody Should Believe Me drops June 20th, wherever you get your podcasts.