The Audacity to Heal: Alicia Johnson Niles on Grief, C-PTSD & Finding Peace

In this deeply moving episode of Healthy Mind, Healthy Life, host Avik Chakraborty speaks with author and advocate Alicia Johnson Niles, who courageously opens up about living with complex PTSD after the violent loss of her father in early childhood. Alicia shares her journey of growing up in the shadow of trauma, navigating the internalized shame and people-pleasing tendencies that followed, and how confronting the truth behind her father’s murder helped her heal. Her upcoming memoir, Angel in Arlington, is a testament to facing fear, reclaiming identity, and forging peace from pain.

About the Guest:Alicia Johnson Niles is an author, speaker, and trauma recovery advocate. After losing her father to a violent crime at age two, Alicia spent decades unknowingly living with C-PTSD. Her healing journey began at 30 when she gave herself permission to grieve and seek truth. Alicia now inspires others to embrace their “unlikely courage” and connect with the grief they've suppressed. Her memoir offers a powerful narrative of healing and hope.

Key Takeaways:

• Trauma can shape identity even without conscious memory.

• Grief, when suppressed, manifests in anxiety, shame, and people-pleasing.

• Healing often begins with permission—sometimes from others, always from within.

• Confronting painful truths, even decades later, can be a gateway to peace.

• Emotional eating and people-pleasing are common grief responses, especially in children.

• Courage is not the absence of fear but the willingness to walk through it.

Connect with Alicia:Visit www.angelinarlington.com to receive a free chapter of her book and stay updated on its release. You can also visit www.unlikelycourage.com for more on her journey.

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