Podcast Summary: This Is Actually Happening (Wondery) Episode 345: What if nine bullets shattered your dreams? [Rebroadcast #240] Date: December 24, 2024

Overview

This gripping episode features the true account of Diamond Garrett, whose life was forever altered when she survived being shot nine times. The story is told in her own words, capturing the raw complexity of trauma, survival, loss, and the journey to reclaim identity after devastating injuries. Through Diamond's resilience, the episode explores themes of family, responsibility, betrayal, physical disability, self-acceptance, and ultimately growth.

Main Discussion Points & Insights

1. Early Life and Family Dynamics

• Responsibility from a Young Age
  Raised as the oldest of her siblings, Diamond took on caregiving roles due to her mother's demanding job as a 911 dispatcher.
  • "I was the provider when my mom couldn't… It gave me a sense of responsibility early on." [03:08]
• Father’s Absence and Reconnection
  Her father was incarcerated when she was 6 until she was 13, leaving a gap in her understanding and relationship with him.
  • "I remember feeling...like I'm being forced to love somebody that I don't know." [04:51]
  • Despite this, on his release, they built a strong bond through music.
• Childhood Trauma
  Exposure to domestic abuse affected her deeply.
  • "I used to go to school wondering if my mother was going to be dead or alive when I got home..." [09:36]
  • Dance provided her with sanctuary and an outlet for pain.

2. Teenage Rebellion and Self-Destructive Patterns

• Split Between Parental Expectations
  • Diamond felt torn between her mother’s hopes for her as a dancer and her father’s aspirations for her as a music artist.
  • "I wanted to create my own vision. I was so adamant on being… defiant and doing my own thing..." [11:38]
• Substance Use as Coping
  • Began using marijuana at age 14 as a means to cope with emotional pain.
  • "Instead of me releasing these feelings...on the dance floor, I started to release them into the streets." [12:51]

3. The Night of the Shooting

• A Fateful Decision
  • Diamond describes in detail the chain of events that led her to give a ride to a friend, despite misgivings and her mother’s warnings.
  • "I remember before I pulled off...I wanted to turn around and take him back..." [17:49]
• Ambush and Trauma
  • Ambushed with assault rifles (AK47 and AR15); shot nine times while trying desperately to escape.
  • "It wasn’t just like a pow pow...I saw the fire come from the gun, I immediately felt it in my chest." [21:11]
  • Despite grave injuries, she managed to drive away and crash into a yard, leading to rescue.
  • "There was a whisper in my right ear and it said, 'You can go, you can go.'” [22:12]

4. Hospitalization, Loss, and Early Recovery

• Physical and Emotional Aftermath

  • Paralyzed from the waist down, endured multiple surgeries, including the temporary loss and reattachment of her left arm.
  • Hospital experience marked by lack of closure—detectives informed her she had been lied about by the friend she’d helped:
    • "You were lied on...I realized that I got shot and I got hurt behind people that I considered to be my friend that really didn’t give a shit about me." [29:56]

• Mental Health Crisis

  • Describes suicidal ideation and profound depression over her new physical limitations.
  • "I couldn’t see my life past those four walls, past those white walls, past hearing those beeping sounds of the machines in the hospital..." [38:55]

5. Family Support and Psychological Recovery

• Father’s Role as a Beacon of Hope
  • Her father’s encouragement was crucial to her reversal from resignation to fighting spirit.
    • "Fucked up things happen to a lot of people, but it’s about what you do with that fucked up ass situation." [39:59]
• Mother’s Tough Love
  • At home, her mother refused to let her give up:
    • "You have to tell yourself you can. You cannot keep sitting here telling yourself you can’t because you won’t." [43:22]

6. Rediscovering Purpose and New Identity

• Rehabilitation and Self-Discovery
  • Through intensive rehab and therapy in New York, Diamond found incremental independence, learning to walk with braces, and regaining some function.
    • "I walked across the stage for my associate’s degree, and then I walked across the stage again for my bachelor’s degree." [47:48]
• Choosing to Give Back
  • Inspired by her therapists, she pursued a degree in communication sciences and speech disorders, becoming a pediatric speech therapist.
    • "Now that I’m in this situation, I value the nurses, the physical therapists who actually cared about Diamond enough to learn Diamond." [46:40]

7. Continuing Struggles: Grief, Acceptance, Community

• Loss of Her Father
  • Her father died in prison under mysterious circumstances with no closure. This layered additional unresolved trauma onto her experience.
    • "You don’t know why your dad died. You weren’t there, you didn’t speak to him. You know, there’s no closure in these pains that I experience." [52:31]
• Personal Acceptance via Community
  • Engagement with the disabled community brought self-acceptance, pride, and external support.
    • "Being around other people who are like me…helped me embrace myself and love myself and be able to roll around with my head held high." [53:15]
  • Social media enabled her to inspire others and build connections, particularly as a Black woman in a wheelchair.
    • "When I dance, you don’t even see the chair, you see me. And that’s because I don’t see the chair anymore." [57:08]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Trauma and Silence:
  "I would inflict self pain and not really like talk about it. So not many people knew what I was going through at home." [10:27]
• On Surviving the Shooting:
  "When I saw my limb in my lap, I knew that I was dead... There was a whisper in my right ear and it said, 'You can go, you can go, you can go.'" [22:13]
• On Being Lied About:
  "I realized that I got shot and I got hurt behind people that I considered to be my friend that really didn’t give a shit about me." [29:56]
• On Pivotal Advice from Her Father:
  "Fucked up things happen to a lot of people, but it’s about what you do with that fucked up ass situation." [39:59]
• On Identity and Representation:
  "For me, honestly, I feel like there are so many influencers in wheelchairs, but I didn’t see a Black girl online in a wheelchair doing her damn thing." [55:39]
• Finding Strength in Vulnerability:
  "Dance is in your heart. Dance lives within." [58:52]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Early Childhood, Family, and Trauma: [03:08 – 11:38]
• Teenage Years—Rebellion and Coping: [11:38 – 14:31]
• Night of the Shooting: [14:31 – 22:12]
• Physical/Emotional Aftermath in Hospital: [22:12 – 38:55]
• Father’s Support—Turning Point: [38:55 – 41:23]
• Homecoming, Rehabilitation, Self-Discovery: [42:46 – 47:48]
• Loss of Her Father and Final Acceptance: [52:31 – 55:39]
• Embracing Disability, Community, and Purpose: [55:39 – End (~59:00)]

Final Reflections

Diamond’s story is a powerful testament not only to survival but to transformation. Despite exposure to violence, life-altering injury, and betrayal, she reframed her identity through service, artistry, advocacy, and connection. The episode offers hope and insight for anyone contending with trauma, disability, or the search for meaning after unimaginable loss.

For more about Diamond and her advocacy, follow her on Instagram (@DiamondSG) and TikTok (@PrincessDimo).