This week I’m sitting down with Marana Johnson, a mother, author, and entrepreneur who grew up in the polygamist community of Short Creek. You may have seen her on the Netflix docuseries Trust Me: The False Prophet, and she has also been featured in Time and People. She went from a life of extreme obedience, through 18 months in federal prison, to rebuilding with purpose. She is the founder of Positivity Labs, which creates affirmation jewelry and experiences, and she’s working on a book and an upcoming documentary.

I got to spend time with Marana while helping to uncover and tell her story, and I wanted to give you a conversation about who she was, who she is today, and who she’s becoming. Together we look at how a voice gets shut down, and what it takes to ask the hard questions that bring it back.

• What a “fairly normal” childhood looked like, and the moment at age eight that changed how she saw her own worth
• How the drive to prove herself through perfect obedience cost her her voice
• Why ages eight to ten are so often when women’s voices go quiet, and how long it can take to connect the dots
• The aha moment on a trampoline under the stars with her sister Chandra
• Life in the community after Warren Jeffs’ arrest, and the sudden shift when marriage and children came back into the picture
• What it felt like to go from not being told anything to being told, “this is what you’re supposed to do”
• The law of sacrifice and why she went numb
• Prison as a culture shock and a “fishbowl” moment, and the discovery mode she’s been in ever since
• Why her story matters for women well beyond her community

1. A way out is a way in. Healing begins by going inside and asking yourself the hard questions.
2. Our voices often go quiet early. One moment in childhood can shape decades of how we speak, or don’t.
3. Look at why you said yes. Was it because you wanted to, or because you feared what would happen if you didn’t?
4. You can come out the other side in discovery mode. Marana’s story shows that a new version of you can be born in the hardest chapter.

Marana is a mother, author, entrepreneur, and aspiring life coach. She is the founder of Positivity Labs and is working on a book and an upcoming documentary, where she shares her story in her own voice. She’s passionate about helping others feel seen, heard, and supported.