Podcast Summary: RISK! – The Power, Revisited

Host: Kevin Allison
Guest: Tori Weston
Date: September 11, 2025

Episode Overview

In this powerful revisiting, RISK! host Kevin Allison sits down with Tori Weston to discuss and reflect on her iconic 2014 story “The Power.” Tori’s account, originally told as a searingly honest narrative about her experience with child sexual abuse, family secrecy, and resilience, is heard again in full. The two then engage in a deep, honest, and nuanced conversation about memory, trauma, societal change, family legacy, and the journey from survivor to generational curse-breaker. This episode is both raw and hopeful, serving as testament to the importance of speaking the unspeakable and to the evolving ways survivors and their families navigate the past.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Trigger Warning

• Kevin Allison gives advance notice of story content that involves child sexual abuse and mentions of suicidal ideation.
  • [00:00]

Listening to “The Power” (Original Story Replay)

• Tori recounts, in gripping detail, the night her stepfather molested her just before her 13th birthday.
  • She describes how the abuse escalated over time, the confusion and self-blame, efforts to alert her mother, and the chilling moment she finally told the truth.
  • Memorable Quote:
    "I remember grabbing what we needed to get, and right when she pulled the food stamps out of her purse, I said that Danny was molesting me." (Tori Weston, [06:52])
  • After disclosure, family dynamics shifted to focus on her stepfather—especially after his suicide attempt.
  • Tori shares the experience of being medically examined and how the system prioritized potential family removal and protecting the abuser’s comfort over her well-being.
  • Memorable Quote:
    "No one seemed to be checking in on me to see if I was comfortable or if I was okay." (Tori Weston, [17:20])
  • Navigating conversations with social workers, she ultimately recanted her story—guided by advice from a peer about the dangers of foster care systems.
  • Tori’s grandmother quietly stepped in as a protector, ensuring the children were never alone with their stepfather.
• The narrative crescendos at a family dinner: Tori saves her stepfather’s life as he chokes, describing the moment as a feeling of total power—knowing, “for those few moments, I was God...I had the power to give life. I had the power to take life. I had the power to love and I had the power to hate.”
  • Memorable Quote:
    "For those few moments, I was God. I had the power to give life, I had the power to take life...But I also knew that for the first time in that year that this man was never gonna fuck with me again." (Tori Weston, [29:25])

Revisiting the Story: Reflections & New Insights

On Courage and Children’s Intuition

• Tori’s Immediate Reaction:
  • “Man, that was a brave girl.” (Tori Weston, [33:52])
• Kevin on Child Wisdom:
  • “Kids have an enormous amount of intuitive knowledge.” (Kevin Allison, [34:28])
• They reflect on the 13-year-old’s keen perception—how she noticed subtle “off” behaviors, questioned adults, and trusted her intuition in the face of gaslighting and denial.
• Tori is surprised at the sharpness of her own childhood observations while listening back, acknowledging that adults often overlook these details.

Navigating Disclosure and Silence

• They discuss the moment of disclosure at the store—how it burst out in public unexpectedly.
  • Memorable Quote:
    “The moment where...the truth just jumps right out your mouth.” (Tori Weston, [42:01])
• Kevin relates with his own difficult truths coming out at unexpected moments: “Some part of your unconscious…just like…this has got to happen.” (Kevin Allison, [41:14])

Storytelling as Processing Trauma

• Writing and Performance:
  • Tori details how the story developed as part of her MFA memoir work at Emerson College, and how performing and workshopping it with Kevin required a “jump right in” approach for the audience to truly understand the trauma.
    • “We just jumped right in. And so that was the part that I was not anticipating.” (Tori Weston, [45:18])
• Kevin on Story Construction:
  • Emphasizes the value of putting the audience directly into the child’s point of view and the specificity of visceral, disruptive details as a strategy to express otherwise “abstract” trauma.

Systemic Barriers & Societal Blindspots

• Tori reflects on the inadequate responses from adults and society—nurses making dismissive comments, the system emphasizing family separation over child protection, and church/community focus on appearances.
  • “The focus stops being on me and starts being on him. [When] he tried to kill himself, our whole world is making sure that this person stays alive.” (Tori Weston, [54:13])
• The inadequacy of mental health support and the lack of language for experiences like gaslighting or survivorhood in the 80s/90s are highlighted.
• Memorable Quote:
  “Kids weren’t people. Nowadays, kids are people. Back then, you were supposed to be in a kid’s place.” (Tori Weston, [77:55])

Cultural & Generational Layers

• Tori describes how her family’s Black southern heritage and religious context colored the response to abuse, with different generations having specific, unspoken codes for enduring and hiding trauma.
• She highlights how her refusal to abide by secrecy marked her as a “generational curse breaker.”
  • “Even back then you were a generational curse breaker because you did something that they as a community didn’t know what to do.” (Tori Weston’s sister, paraphrased, [68:54])

The Power and Burden of Survival

• Intergenerational Impact:
  • The legacy of secrecy versus the current generation’s focus on open dialogue, bodily autonomy, and support for children.
    • “Now the next generation of my family knows, I don’t have to keep that secret.” (Tori Weston, [93:53])
• Therapy and Healing:
  • Tori emphasizes the ongoing impact—she was one of the first in her family to go to therapy.
• Complexity of Abusers:
  • In a surprising development, Tori shares that her stepfather later came out as trans, adding another complicated layer to her feelings about forgiveness, empathy, and justice.
    • “I support their right to transition…But I still have the right to be upset and angry and…that this person was an abuser.” (Tori Weston, [90:52])

The Importance and Impact of Storytelling

• Kevin and Tori underscore the value and social impact of telling survivor stories publicly, breaking taboos, and giving others permission and courage to share their own truths.
  • “Thank you. Because it gave me permission to tell my own.” (Unnamed listener to Tori, [99:09])

Closing Reflections

• Tori expresses gratitude for the podcast and the opportunity to process, share, and teach others through her story.
  • “I like to think about the story and think about what I’ve been through…I am a generational curse breaker.” (Tori Weston, [93:53])
• Kevin frames the show as a revolutionary act of resistance and mutual aid in the face of societal abuses and erasures.

Notable Quotes & Timestamps

| Timestamp | Quote | Speaker | |------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|--------------| | [06:52] | "Right when she pulled the food stamps out of her purse, I said Danny was molesting me." | Tori Weston | | [17:20] | "No one seemed to be checking in on me to see if I was comfortable or if I was okay." | Tori Weston | | [29:25] | "For those few moments, I was God. I had the power to give life, I had the power to take life...And for the first time...this man was never gonna fuck with me again." | Tori Weston | | [33:52] | “Man, that was a brave girl.” | Tori Weston | | [34:28] | “Kids have an enormous amount of intuitive knowledge.” | Kevin Allison| | [42:01] | “The moment where...the truth just jumps right out your mouth.” | Tori Weston | | [54:13] | “The focus stops being on me and starts being on him.” | Tori Weston | | [77:55] | “Kids weren’t people. Nowadays, kids are people…You weren’t treated like a person. You were there…in a kid’s place.” | Tori Weston | | [93:53] | “Now the next generation of my family knows, I don’t have to keep that secret.” | Tori Weston | | [99:09] | “Thank you. Because it gave me permission to tell my own.” | Listener |

Significant Segment Timestamps

• [04:52 – 30:10]: Replay of Tori’s original 2014 story, “The Power.”
• [33:16 – 103:01]: In-depth interview and reflection between Kevin and Tori.
• [54:13 – 77:34]: Discussion on family focus shifting to abuser, community dynamics, and systemic failures.
• [87:06]: Reflections on generational attitudes toward marriage, abuse, and leaving.
• [90:52]: Discussion of stepfather’s later transition and Tori’s complex feelings about empathy and justice.
• [99:09]: Impact of storytelling for others—listener feedback about permission to tell their own story.

Tone and Style

• Honest, raw, compassionate, and darkly humorous in places, echoing RISK!’s signature blend of unflinching honesty and resilience.
• Tori and Kevin maintain a collaborative, supportive tone, reflecting on difficult truths while highlighting hope, healing, and the power of mutual witnessing.

Takeaways

• The importance of speaking the truth—even, or especially, in the face of family and societal denial.
• The systemic failures that often compound trauma, especially for marginalized peoples and in previous eras.
• How open storytelling can break cycles of secrecy and abuse, empowering not only the survivor but future generations.
• The evolving language and societal understanding around abuse, mental health, gender, and healing.
• Storytelling can foster intergenerational change and help others find the courage to share and heal.

Find Tori Weston:

• Instagram: @toriweston_writer_artist
• Substack: soundtrackofmylife at toriweston.writerartist.substack.com

Share your story or pitch to RISK!:

• pitches@risk-show.com

Host: Kevin Allison – risk-show.com

"Today's the day. Take a RISK!"