At age 19, Patricia survived unintentional gunshot wounds resulting from intimate partner violence in a Tallahassee home. Since then, her lifelong healing journey has included becoming a birth doula, an urban farmer, an artist, a teacher, a spiritual seeker, and a homeschooling mom of six children. Patricia’s creativity and self-love have the capacity to transform a nightmare into a story of ongoing recovery and adventure. Told as a “musical audio drama,” through a collection of three original songs, we follow Patricia from her rebellious teenage years to the birth of her first child. After the songs, we hear from the real-life Patricia, who provides a surprising epilogue to her story.

The episode paints a complicated portrait of survival and healing, of pain and self-love, of ways that guns can be used to both tear lives apart and bring people together.

Chapters:

• 00:00 - Introduction
• 2:08 - Musical Audio drama: “Patricia”
• 17:14 - Epilogue with the real-life Patricia
• 23:16 - Discussion of Intimate Partner Violence
• 25:50 - Conclusion
• 28:31 - Thank you's and credits

Resources:

• National Domestic Violence Hotline: 800.799-SAFE (800-799-7233), or text the word “start” to 88788, https://www.thehotline.org
• Peace Over Violence: https://www.peaceoverviolence.org
• Rape, Abuse, Incest National Network (RAINN): 800.656.HOPE (4673)
• National Sexual Assault Hotline: www.rainn.org: 1-800-656-HOPE (4673)
• Love Is Respect: www.loveisrespect.org, 1-866-331-9474, TTY 1-866-331-8453, Text: loveis to 22522, Chat Online: www.loveisrespect.org
• StrongHearts Native Helpline 1−844-762-8483 (call or text)
• Statistics culled from: Tobin-Tyler E. Intimate Partner Violence, Firearm Injuries and Homicides: A Health Justice Approach to Two Intersecting Public Health Crises. J Law Med Ethics. 2023;51(1):64-76. doi: 10.1017/jme.2023.41. Epub 2023 May 25. PMID: 37226755; PMCID: PMC10209983.

Dan Froot & Company

Collaborators:

• Producer, Artistic Director, Lead Writer: Dan Froot
• Actors: Justin Alston, Sola Bamis, Natalie Camunas, Krysta Gonzales, Donna Simone Johnson, Anthony Rey, Christopher Rivas
• Dramaturg: Bobby Gordon
• Composer: Julio Montero
• Musicians: Julian Gomez, Tom Moose, Isaac Rodriguez
• Sound Designer: Duncan Woodbury
• Oral Historians: Tula B. Strong, Rufio Vasquez
• Administrative Magician: Annie Kahane
• Social Media Manager: Lily Stockton
• Publicist: Lynn Tejada of Green Galactic
• Recorded, mixed, and mastered at ReadyMix Music in Van Nuys CA.

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This podcast is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, on the web at arts.gov, and is made possible in part by a grant from the City of Los Angeles, Department of Cultural Affairs, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors through the Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture, the UCLA Department of World Arts and Cultures/Dance, the UCLA Office for Research & Creative Activities and the Chancellor’s Council on the Arts. Arms Around America is a National Performance Network Creation & Development Fund Project co-commissioned by Miami Light Project in partnership with The Myrna Loy (Helena MT), the UCLA Center for the Art of Performance, and NPN. The Creation & Development Fund is supported by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts (a federal agency). For more information, visit http://www.npnweb.org. Arms Around America was created with funding by the New England Foundation for the Arts' National Theater Project, with lead funding from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and additional support from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation.