Did you know nearly 12 million adults in the U.S. are misdiagnosed annually, with some errors leading to serious harm or death? This staggering fact set the stage for a jaw-dropping episode of the Your Radical Truth Podcast, hosted by Margaret Mary O’Connor. In this deeply moving interview, guest Jessica Summers shares her harrowing and ultimately redemptive journey from thriving fashion designer to near-death patient, addiction, institutionalization, and homelessness – and how she reclaimed her voice, power, and purpose.
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From Fashion to Freefall
Jessica Summers appeared to have it all: a successful career, a family, and a vibrant life. But her second pregnancy marked the beginning of a downward spiral. What began as routine prenatal care turned catastrophic when a medical oversight – retained placenta – set off a cascade of chronic infections, pain, and over prescription. “I was doing everything I was told,” Jessica recalls, “but instead of healing, I got sicker.” Each new symptom was met with a new medication – antibiotics, painkillers, antipsychotics – each pulling her deeper into the system that was supposed to help her.
The Medical System’s Dark Underbelly
Jessica’s story highlights what many women in medicine quietly endure: being dismissed, overmedicated, or misdiagnosed. Diagnosed with conditions she didn’t have and subjected to medications that made her worse, she was labeled “non-compliant” when she tried to advocate for herself. “If you don’t have an eyeball hanging out, they don’t believe how sick you are,” she says. At her lowest, Jessica found herself in a psychiatric facility, forcibly medicated, ignored, and punished for asking questions.
This episode of Your Radical Truth is essential listening for women navigating healthcare, particularly those in the marginalized, chronically ill, or overmedicated communities. It’s a wake-up call to question blind trust in a system that often gaslights women’s pain.
Divine Intervention and Spiritual Awakening
Amid the darkness came a moment of clarity. “Why would You want me to suffer so bad?” Jessica asked God. The answer came not in words but in an
overwhelming sense of knowing: she wasn’t alone – and there was a way out. That moment of spiritual connection marked a turning point. Step by step, Jessica began reclaiming her life.
With raw honesty, she recounts how she came clean to her husband, faced terrifying consequences, and began walking a path toward healing – not just physically, but emotionally and spiritually. “The learned belief system that we have to figure everything out alone is what keeps us trapped,” Jessica says. “We’re not meant to push through. We’re meant to pause, ask for help, and begin again.”
Healing Others Through Lived Experience
Today, Jessica is an award-winning international speaker, best-selling author, and certified cognitive behavioral therapy practitioner. Her book The Road to Now: From Tragedy to Triumph is part memoir, part manual for anyone struggling in the aftermath of medical trauma, emotional abuse, or identity loss. Through her work, she guides clients in reframing their thoughts, rediscovering their divine purpose, and replacing negative self-talk with radical self-truth.
One of her most practical tools is the “Thought Dump” – a journaling technique that helps people identify, externalize, and rewrite the toxic narratives living rent-free in their minds. “The smallest baby step into recognizing something has to change is the seed that will change your entire direction,” she affirms.
A Radical Truth for Women Everywhere
Jessica’s story is more than inspiration – it’s validation for millions of women who’ve been silenced, sidelined, or shamed. It’s also a roadmap for healing, rooted in fierce truth, spiritual resilience, and soul-centered strength.
About Jessica Summers
Jessica Summers is an award-winning international keynote speaker, bestselling author, and certified cognitive behavioral therapy practitioner who went from “having it all” to losing everything – only to rise with deeper purpose, greater strength, and a mission to empower others.
A former fashion designer and boutique owner, Jessica’s life unraveled after complications during pregnancy led to chronic illness, medical mismanagement, postpartum depression, and an addiction to doctor-prescribed pain pills that eventually pushed her to street drugs, homelessness, and divorce. But her story didn’t end there – it became the catalyst for radical healing and transformation.
Jessica’s soul-centered approach to change is rooted in lived experience, spiritual alignment, and a powerful understanding of human behavior. Through her own healing, she developed rare gifts in complex problem-solving, pattern recognition, and emotional intelligence. Where others see chaos, Jessica sees connections. Where others hit walls, she sees doors.
She has spent years doing the deep, root-cause work – not only to reclaim her life but to help others do the same. Today, she guides women toward lasting peace, power, and purpose – showing them how to break free from self-sabotage, rewrite limiting beliefs, and step into the powerhouse they were always meant to be.
Whether on stage, in workshops, or through one-on-one coaching, Jessica brings raw truth, radical compassion, and real results. She doesn’t just inspire – she activates.
If you’re ready to stop running on empty and start living with full force, Jessica Summers is the guide you’ve been waiting for.
http://linkedin.com/in/jessica-summers-b12680182
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About Margaret Mary O’Connor
Margaret Mary O’Connor, as a member of the Catholic Laity, thought she knew everything about the Catholic Church, at least until she came upon a centuries-
old Scandal of lies and cover-up by the Hierarchy of that Church. Frankly, she was fed up being lied to by her own Church, about its own past Church’s History on Women priests. With that realization, she truly felt in that moment, the monumental feeling of betrayal by her own Church.
Follow Margaret, as she travels down this Highway of Radical Truth where lies and outright coverup will be disclosed. Millions of Catholics are unaware of that past presence of Women Bishop’s, Women Deacons, as well as Women Priests, all there hiding in plain sight, in Early Church History.
As the complicity of this centuries-old Scandal continues, Margaret wants her fellow Catholics to learn the actual truth of this matter for themselves. She strongly
believes, at minimal, any Catholic deserves the actual truth of this matter. To say that change is needed is hardly an understatement. She doesn’t let the Church’s betrayal stop her from uncovering some very fascinating Church Skeleton’s – one which very well might help solve our current priest shortage issue today.
Margaret Mary O’Connor has been called, “The Modern Day David” on many occasions. On a mission to reveal carefully guarded secrets of the Catholic Church, she unveils the truth through her well-researched writings.
Author of Scandal in the Shadows and Journey of a Celiac’s Soul, Margaret Mary is a force to be reckoned with.
