Raised in Fire: Deborah Colston's Journey Through Abuse, Survival & Healing Prevailing Through Pain

Deborah Colston was the little girl on the swing in front of a house that looked picture-perfect from the outside. But behind closed doors, her childhood in New Bern, North Carolina was shaped by violence, chaos, and a cycle of abuse that followed her well into adulthood. In this episode of Prevailing Through Pain, Deborah sits down with Karen Cherry Brown to share the full, unfiltered truth of her journey: a father who was abusive to her mother, a devastating family secret revealed on prom night, three marriages marked by violence, and the moment she leaped from a second-story window with a knife-wielding husband behind her. Deborah also reveals what happened to her first abusive husband years later, after the military repeatedly dismissed her charges. His story took a chilling turn that proves what so many survivors already know: when the system refuses to act, the abuse never stops. It just finds new victims. Today, Deborah is 33 years into a loving marriage, leads Abundant Life Ministries (a domestic violence ministry for women), is pursuing her master's in trauma response counseling, and is preparing to release her book Raised in Fire. She has also been diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury caused by years of abuse. When her publisher asked if she was angry at God, her answer will stop you in your tracks. This is not just a survival story. This is a woman who walked through fire and came back to pull others out of it. 📕 Look for Deborah's upcoming book Raised in Fire 🔗 Learn more about Abundant Life Ministries and Workshops online 🎙️ Want to share your story? Visit karencherrybrown.me/guest ⏱️ Timestamps: 0:00 Introduction 0:25 Growing up in New Bern, North Carolina 1:54 Inside the household: abuse between her parents 3:37 Teenage years and a shocking family secret 6:22 Leaving home through marriage 7:05 First husband, drugs, and an annulment 8:07 Second marriage: abuse in the military 11:34 Breaking in with a knife and jumping from a window 12:42 Third marriage and breaking the cycle faster 14:45 Moving back east and starting over 19:56 Meeting her current husband of 33 years 22:14 The Red Lobster story 23:40 Abundant Life Ministries 24:54 Going back to school for trauma counseling 27:53 What happened to her abusive ex-husband 31:16 Traumatic brain injury diagnosis and her response Tags/Hashtags: #PrevailingThroughPain #DomesticViolenceSurvivor #DeborahColston #RaisedInFire #AbundantLifeMinistries #SurvivorStory #TraumaRecovery #FaithAfterAbuse #WomensMinistry #DomesticViolenceAwareness #HealingFromAbuse #TurningPainIntoPurpose #KarenCherryBrown