Episode 94: Doug and Stacee Goetzinger (https://www.speakoutloud.me/) Part 3

Written By Susie Gurley

In this final episode of the three-part series with Doug and Stacee, Stacee continues sharing about her in-patient eating disorder treatment. She emphasizes how important it was for her to make the choice to stay when many in the program left, and how she didn’t want to leave a legacy of not fighting. Stacee talks about the importance of moment-by-moment surrender.  Doug and Stacee also reveal that when Stacee was at Laureate (https://www.saintfrancis.com/laureate), she was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder (BPD). While they were devastated by this additional diagnosis, they understand how Stacee’s childhood trauma was a significant factor in her developing BPD. 

While inpatient, Stacee started writing blog posts, which eventually became part of her first book, You Are Worth Saving (https://www.amazon.com/You-Worth-Saving-Stacee-Goetzinger/dp/1641142758). Stacee also founded Speak Out Loud, a non-profit organization created to bring hope and encouragement into the silence, isolation, and despair created by mental illness. Doug and Stacee also host a podcast by the same name ( https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/speak-out-loud/id1544996161) on which I have been a guest (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/speak-out-loud/id1544996161?i=1000589034457; 

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/speak-out-loud/id1544996161?i=1000644620409). Throughout all of our conversations, Doug and Stacee both emphasize the importance of their faith in Jesus during their entire journey.

Stacee has recently released her second book, The Boat That Wouldn’t Sink (https://www.amazon.com/Boat-That-Wouldnt-Sink-Memoir/dp/B0DFC6VTNC).

Susie Gurley

Susie Stapp Gurley was born and raised in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. She married her college sweetheart, Dan Gurley, shortly after graduating from TCU with a degree in advertising and public relations. In her first career, Susie worked in college admissions and academic advising. Simultaneously she pursued a master’s degree from The University of Central Missouri in sociology and then worked for the Sedgwick County, KS Department of Aging as a case worker. Susie stepped away from the professional world in 1997 to become a stay-at-home mom. She spent the majority of the last 25 years as a wife, mother, and volunteer, primarily in her church and her three children’s schools and activities.

Susie became a mental health advocate after her youngest son became a teen spokesperson about his battle with depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation. In 2018, at the age of 15, Will founded the You Matter Festival, a music festival promoting mental health awareness and suicide prevention. Will shared his personal mental health struggles with the 1,000-person crowd, which started his role as a local KC teen advocate for mental health. Because of Will’s involvement, Susie recorded a video #Zeroreasonswhy (https://zeroreasonswhy.org), a Kansas City area organization working to end teen suicide in the Johnson County, Kansas area. This video was viewed over 10,000 times, which was the impetus of the Just A Mom podcast. Susie decided that she needed to follow the brave trail blazed by her son and became an outspoken advocate for parents of children who struggle with mental illness. The Just a Mom podcast launched in September of 2022 and encourages parents to know that they are not alone and there is hope.

Susie served as the Executive Director of the You Matter Festival and is currently on the Friends of Johnson County Mental Health Board. Susie has grown three children, two daughters-in-law, and a son-in-law.

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Episode 93: Doug and Stacee Goetzinger (https://www.speakoutloud.me/) Part 2