Have you ever had a really big vision of doing something, and then the way it turned out was actually very different from what you had planned?

I think this is almost universal for us as humans. Think back to when you were a teenager. You probably had some ideas about becoming an adult and what that would look like. What kind of career you might have, or not. Finding a partner if you wanted one. Thinking about being a parent, or not having kids at all.

A lot of young people have this vision of how they think their life is going to play out. And at that age, we don’t really have enough experience to know that those things almost never actually play out exactly as you expect them to. I mean, just by listening to the guests that I talk to here on the podcast, we know that things happen that we never would have imagined – and life can take a completely different path.

My guest today is Mae. In high school, she had her life planned out. She had already met and was in love with her life partner, and they were going to get married as soon as they could, and they were going to have children, and live happily ever after.

That’s not what happened. This episode has a content warning for domestic abuse and graphic sexual violence, because the fairy tale life Mae had planned gradually turned into a nightmare. Until she finally decided that she’d had enough.

Resources:

Crisis Center brochure (Castle Rock, CO):
https://whatwasthatlike.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Crisis-Center-Brochure.pdf

Domestic violence safety planning:
https://whatwasthatlike.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Domestic-Violence-Safety-Planning.pdf

How does domestic violence affect kids?
https://whatwasthatlike.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/How-Does-Domestic-Violence-Affect-Kids.pdf

Keeping your children safe:
https://whatwasthatlike.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Keeping-Your-Children-Safe.pdf

The National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1.800.799.7233

National Resource Center for Domestic Violence: 1.844.762.8483

Local in Colorado: Rose Andom Center: 720.337.4400

Local in Colorado: Porch Light: 720.853.8850

Local in Colorado: Gateway Domestic Violence Services: 303.343.1851

Location in Colorado: SafeHouse Denver: 303.318.9989

If you’d like to contact Mae:
email: MaeScottOfficial@gmail.com

Mae’s website: https://MaeScottOfficial.com

Mae’s book, An Embarrassment of Pandas: Exposing an Abusive Family and a Flawed System, is available here:
https://www.amazon.com/Embarrassment-Pandas-Exposing-Abusive-Family/dp/B0G548WTHP

Her FB:

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61577182454783

Her Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/maescottofficial/

Full show notes and pictures for this episode are here:

https://WhatWasThatLike.com/257

Graphics for this episode by Bob Bretz. Transcription was done by James Lai.

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