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A Contagious Smile Podcast
Stop surviving and start thriving. A Contagious Smile is a globally ranked podcast providing a safe haven for abuse survivors and special needs families navigating the journey of trauma recovery. Whether you are healing from domestic violence, narcissistic abuse, childhood trauma, or the daily challenges of disability advocacy, our mission is to turn your pain into power.
Each episode features raw, authentic conversations with survivors, mental health experts, and advocates who share actionable resources for PTSD healing, resilience building, and emotional wellness. We go beyond the struggle to highlight the triumphs of the special needs community, offering support for caregivers and individuals with disabilities who are rewriting their own narratives.
Hosted by Victoria Cuore, an award-winning trauma advocate and survivor, this podcast delivers the "blueprints" for recovery—not just Band-Aids. Join our community to find hope, humor, and the unstoppable spirit needed to rekindle your inner light.
A Contagious Smile Podcast
Latest Episodes
A Mother Remembers Her Son And Rebuilds Life After Opioid Loss with Katie Rizzo
One phone call, one prescription, one quiet apartment, and a life splits into before and after. We sit down with Katie Rizzo, a former high school anatomy and AP biology teacher, to talk about the loss of her firstborn son Nicholas to opioid ad...
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Ripple Retreat with guest JJ Holley, A Veteran who lives to pay it forward
A quiet town in Maine. A historic 1830s farmhouse and barn. A veteran with seven years of sobriety and a plan that flips the usual “tourism takes from locals” story on its head. We brought back our friend JJ Holly to do something different: a w...
A New Partnership For Trauma-Informed Mental Health Support with Michael Mackniak
The scariest part of a mental health crisis isn’t always the symptoms. It’s the moment you realise nobody is talking to each other and your loved one is getting treated like a problem instead of a person. We sit down with veteran attorney and c...
Leaving An Abusive Relationship Starts With A Safety Plan
“Why don’t you just leave?” gets thrown at survivors like it’s a simple fix, so we slow it down and tell the truth. We’re Stucco, Rusty, Sexy Victoria, and Michael, and we talk through what actually keeps people in abusive relationships: isolat...
Fan Mail
I thank you so much for this episode it hit so many places in my life. I’ve been struggling with coming out of a relationship. I didn’t realize was a bad relationship until later and now looking back on everything made me look at myself in a different way and realize I’m not the bad person I was made to feel. I know that I’m a people pleaser, but that is not how I felt. And even after I was made to feel bad, I still wanted to please. I shared this episode with a friend who today still struggles with an abusive relationship she had many years ago. She thinks that no one would want to hear her story, but I explained to her so many women could benefit from her story. I'm hoping she reaches out. Victoria, my name is Sheryl. I've left a comment for this podcast, but I met you at the POpshelf store in Douglasville this weekend. I so enjoyed our conversation and I'm so grateful that you into the store and I've had the pleasure of speaking with you.
Atlanta, Georgia
