Ep.35/ Forgiving A Monster with Mona Bantle
Her words were not just testimony — they were a line drawn in the sand. A message that her life, and the lives of countless other women, were not open for negotiation.
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Some stories arrive like whispers. This one kicks the door in.
Mona Bantle was working in real estate when her life split in two. She was violently assaulted, raped, and abducted by a man whose crimes would later be revealed as part of a much larger pattern. From that moment on, she lived with the echo — in her body, in her breath, in the way she walked through the world.
For years, she fought to survive the only way she knew how: by muting the pain. Prescription drugs. Alcohol. Anything that could keep the memories at bay long enough to function. But silence has a weight of its own, and hers was far too heavy to carry.
This episode was a masterclass in courage, truth-telling, and the kind of resilience that reshapes the world. Mona’s story isn’t just about surviving violence, but how one woman’s refusal to be silent rewrote laws, protected future victims, and proved that healing is both a choice and a revolution.
The Power of a Voice That Won’t Quit
When Mona decided to speak out, what could have been a one-time act of bravery became a lifetime commitment. She showed up at every parole hearing, her testimony sharp with truth. She fought for justice not only for herself, but for the women she knew — and the women she’d never meet.
Hers was the first case in the state to allow DNA testing, and she became the first victim permitted to share her testimony in court. That voice, unwavering and unfiltered, cracked the case open wide.
Because of Mona, over 100 other victims were discovered. God only knows how many more were spared the same atrocities.
Addiction and the Wounds We Carry
Trauma makes itself at home in the body. It changes the way you breathe, the way you sleep, the way you trust. When it became too much for Mona, she reached for anything that could take the edge off.
Addiction was never the point. It was a survival tool, a way to keep going while her nervous system was still braced for impact. Over time, she began to gather the pieces of herself, and moment by moment, she built a life that could hold her without the numbing.
Forgiveness on Her Terms
Mona’s healing didn’t follow a clean, upward curve. It was messy. It was human. And yet, somewhere along the way, she found the kind of forgiveness that doesn’t excuse, doesn’t erase — but releases.
She forgave him not for his sake, but for her own. To untie her life from his shadow. To create space for peace after nearly three decades of fear and rage.
Courage That Changes Everything
This is not a story about being “done” with healing. The man who hurt her has served his time and is now free. The imprint of what happened still lives in her body. But Mona’s voice continues to carry — through the changes she’s made to the law, through the lives she’s saved, and through the example she sets every time she speaks.
She is living proof that courage doesn’t end at survival. It’s what happens when you use your story to rewrite the future.
Potent Truths to Carry Forward
Trauma does not define you—it is something you experienced, not who you are.
Healing takes the time it takes—rushing is not recovery.
Forgiveness doesn’t erase what happened—it frees you from carrying the weight alone.
Your voice matters—one person speaking can change laws, shift culture, and save lives.
Life After the Microphone
Not long after this conversation, Mona went on to write her own chapter for the international bestseller Threshold: Stories of Initiation—a story I had the honour of editing. Writing it all down created another layer of healing she hadn’t anticipated (as writing our story usually does, regardless of how much we think it’s done). Witnessing her story take shape on the page was to see the same power I’d heard in her voice, unflinching, unapologetic, and deeply human, reach a global audience and encouraging more women to speak up about their own experiences.
Final Reflections
Mona’s story is a living testament to the fact that bravery is not the absence of fear—it’s moving through it, voice steady, heart open. She is proof that you can endure the worst and still choose a life that’s anchored in clarity, love, and personal power. If you ever wonder what forgiveness looks like, it is Mona.
Mona Bantle now supports men, women and children to heal after abuse, PTSD, depression, chronic pain and addiction.