Show Notes
At 17, far from home and longing to be seen, Shelley Anne Crawford was given a gift that asked more of her than she understood.
In this episode of the My 3 Husbands Book Cast, Shelley reads Chapter 7, "The Gift and the Gut," and then sits down with her editor, Dr. Kent Gustavson, to talk about what she just read.
Her psychology teacher is kind at first, and curious about her mind. Then a ring and a letter appear in her locker. Shelley knows she should tell someone, and tells no one. One snowy Saturday, a drive alone with him through the woods turns off the road, and she comes home to a warm kitchen and tells her host mother only that the roads were icy.
Shelley and Kent talk about why she wrote him so likable, how grooming works on loneliness and a mature mind, and how a young girl can sense that something is wrong and still go along. Shelley explains why she believed that telling would have sent her home in disgrace while he carried on as before.
Tune in to hear why Shelley says this chapter is not only about her.
Content Warning: This episode discusses grooming, the abuse of a student by a teacher, and other sensitive topics that some listeners may find distressing. Please take care while listening.
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Chapters:
(00:04) - Shelley Anne Crawford reads Chapter 7: The Gift and the Gut
(00:38) - Her psychology teacher, and a host mother's warning
(02:14) - A letter and a ring in her locker
(03:14) - The walk to his office
(06:36) - That night, and telling no one
(06:59) - A snowy drive into the woods
(10:04) - Kent asks why she wrote him so likable
(12:04) - The host mother, and how a child reads a warning
(14:36) - Grooming, and knowing it while it happens
(17:17) - Why this chapter is not only about her
(19:20) - The need to be perfect, and what telling would have cost
Connect with Shelley: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shelleyannecrawford2026/ Substack: https://shelleyannecrawford.substack.com/ Website: www.jessglobal.org
My 3 Husbands: A True Story is the memoir behind Shelley Anne Crawford's Jess© and PACT© frameworks on resilience and trust. Visit her website or subscribe to Between the Pieces to follow her work.
More from My 3 Husbands Book Cast
At 17, Shelley Anne Crawford boarded a plane for a scholarship year in America, under a rule that she could not call home for three months. Chapter 6 of her memoir My 3 Husbands: A True Story follows what that silence did to the relationship she left behind.
In Chapter 5 of her memoir My 3 Husbands, Shelley Anne Crawford is 17 and swept up in a whirlwind romance when she meets the mother who treats her like a rival.
At 17, Shelley Anne Crawford ignored the first red flag from the charming man she would later marry. Chapter 4 of her memoir, My Three Husbands: A True Story, is where her intuition spoke up and she chose not to listen.
Shelley Anne Crawford grew up on a South African farm where the map ran out. In Chapter 3 of her memoir My 3 Husbands: A True Story, she goes back to the childhood that taught her to read a silence.
In this second episode of the My 3 Husbands Book Cast, Shelley reads Chapter 2, "The Crack in the Glass," and then sits down with her editor, Dr. Kent Gustavson, to talk about what she just read.