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Episode 6 | From Prison to Power: Susan’s Transformation Story

In this episode of SUITT & BOOT, host Tshai Wright sits down with entrepreneur, cultural curator, and survivor Susan Smallwood, joined by resident therapist Jianny, LMHC, for a deeply honest conversation about identity, trauma, and reclaiming personal power.

Susan shares her lived experience — growing up in foster care, surviving childhood abuse, navigating military sexual harassment, experiencing homelessness, and serving time in prison after a life-altering mistake. This episode is not about addiction or sensationalism, but about how living out of alignment with one’s truth can fracture identity — and how choosing truth can transform everything.

Today, Susan has rebuilt her life through entrepreneurship, becoming the first woman of color to launch a caviar brand and producing Jazz & Polo events that reflect her authentic self. Her story challenges the idea that one moment defines a lifetime and offers a powerful reminder that healing is not linear — but it is possible.

In this episode, we explore:

• Childhood abuse, foster care, and trauma memory
• Suicide survival and breaking cycles of silence
• Trauma bonding, people-pleasing, and survival instincts
• Military sexual harassment and power dynamics
• Homelessness, incarceration, and identity rupture
• Masking pain through success and achievement
• Father wounds, mother wounds, and relational patterns
• Masculine and feminine energy in relationships
• Turning pain into purpose and rebuilding from nothing

Susan’s story is raw, nonlinear, and deeply human — a testament to what can happen when someone stands up in their truth and breaks out of trauma.

Listener discretion advised: This episode contains discussions of abuse, suicide attempts, and incarceration.

About SUITT & BOOT

SUITT & BOOT stands for Standing Up In Truth & Transformation and Breaking Out Of Trauma. This podcast creates space for real conversations about healing, identity, and reclaiming personal power.

Connect with Susan Smallwood

• Instagram / Facebook / LinkedIn: Susan Smallwood
• La Grande Caviar
• Grandiosity Events & Jazz & Polo