How I Survived Domestic Violence AND Cancer, Episode 182 - Dona Andrews Story

In this episode of my Six Weeks to Fitness podcast, I interviewed Dona Andrews, domestic violence and cancer survivor. She was born and bred in Esperanza Village in the country of Belize and migrated to New York in her early 20s at the encouragement of her mother. During the interview, Dona will share the physical, verbal, emotional, and financial abuse that she endured in her marriage, and the steps she took to break free from the abusive relationship.

At the beginning of the marriage, her husband was very loving and attentive, and then one night at a party, all of that changed. While at the party, Dona got up and started dancing with her sister, and then another man (as some men do) got up and started dancing with both of them; her husband saw that the man was dancing next to her, so he became furious, stepped in between them, and told her that she was embarrassing him and told her that he was going to deal with her when they got home. Well, the husband couldn’t wait until they got home, so while in the car he slapped her so hard that the earring she had on actually bent, and that is when the nonstop abusive behavior began and did not stop until she was able to free herself many years later from the relationship, and become, in Dona’s words, not a domestic violence survivor, but a “domestic violence thriver,” because she is thriving now in so many ways.

In addition to being a domestic Violence thriver, she is also a cancer survivor (twice). Also in the interview, Dona will share how she found out about her cancer and the steps she took to recover. She will also discuss how her relationship with God, fitness, and nutrition, changed her life. Dona is living a life free of domestic violence and free from cancer. She is devoting her retirement years to providing service to others in business, the church and supporting those in need of support in dealing with domestic violence issues. If you need counseling or someone to speak with regarding domestic violence, Dona can be reached at (646) 498-4779.

This is the Dona Andrews story. The story of how an amazing woman against all odds, turned lemons into lemonade.