We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Maya Golden Bethany a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Maya, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

I thought I was the only one. Of course statistically, nothing could have been further from the truth. Still, as a child I was convinced that I was the only girl in the world experiencing sexual abuse. That is part of the lie of sexual abuse. More so than the threats from our abusers, the societal stigmas that silence the survivors of sexual violence lead us to believe we are alone. How could we possibly know the unfortunate commonality of our experience when society shakes its head no at us and puts a finger to it lips. “Shhh.”
My most meaningful project in life began the minute I decided to push the stigmas aside and rally other survivors to speak out. In July 2015, I launched the 1 in 3 Foundation. I chose the organization’s name based on the World Health Organization (WHO) statistic that 1 in 3 women in their lifetime will experience physical or sexual violence. That sobering statistic told me I wasn’t alone as I had believed. But it also raised the question: With so many survivors, why do we not discuss sexual abuse and assault more? This was just prior to the awareness campaign of the #metoo movement. Still, even in it’s wake, the work of healing remains. The stigmas that silence many are also the stigmas that create barriers to care. I learned this when my healing journey began.
At age 30, I had been living the public perception of a charmed life. I was an Emmy nominated and Associated Press Award winning sports reporter in front of the camera and a loyal wife and beaming new mom. Privately, I was battling Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (CPTSD), sexual addiction, porn addiction, alcoholism, perfectionism, dissociation disorders and rage. My evolution to a struggling addict birthed from my declaration at age five to be perfect to gain back control lost by the sexual abuse I endured at the hands of a relative and many other predators. The abuse lasted most of my childhood and into my pre-teens.
It was when I entered a treatment facility for CPTSD and sexual addiction that I felt my life transform in ways I had been too depressed, too distracted by chasing success, to ever believe that level of change was possible for me. When I was released from treatment, I wanted other survivors to have the same opportunity to heal and unlock inner peace and joy.
I had been fortunate to have my costs covered, where insurance simply did not. I did not want survivors to face any obstacles to their healing, especially financial barriers. The 1 in 3 Foundation launched with the goal of providing counseling, recovery and support services to survivors of sexual violence with little to no income. Entering our eighth year of operation, our donors fund counseling sessions with a licensed trauma specialist. We also provide a weekly in person PTSD support group and a once a month online support group meeting for survivors who are not in our community. The 1 in 3 Foundation also hosts Lunch and Learn programs for survivors, friends and family, and care givers. An annual conference, the Evolve Conference, also supports women through providing professional and personal tracks on everything from entrepreneurship to wellness and self-care. We created the Share Your Story Program to allow survivors who want the opportunity to give voice to their healing journey and encourage others with the opportunity to be heard.
My work to let the stories of survivors be heard included my own story. My memoir, The Return Trip (November 14, 2023, Rising Action Publishing Collective) will release this fall. My story is both difficult and hopeful. It’s filled with the humor and relatability not often found, but frequently sought despite the severity of the topic. The Return Trip is a detailed account of my experiences with multiple traumatic sexual events over the course of my young life and the subsequent coping mechanisms that developed and became debilitating as an adult. My memoir features a powerful look at how trauma reshapes the brain of a child to believe her only purpose in the world is for the sexual gratification of others.
I was looking for a book, an open and honest shared experience written by a woman with sexual addiction, and found a market heavy with self-help or books written by males. It led me to write the story I was looking for to inspire others. A portion of book royalties will be donated to the 1 in 3 Foundation to continue the recovery and healing work for survivors.
From a treatment facility to launching a non-profit organization and the release of a traditionally published book—my most meaningful project has been to find purpose out of the pain of sexual abuse.

Maya, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am an award-winning television and print journalist, author and speaker.

I am also the founder and executive director of the 1 in 3 Foundation, a nonprofit that helps women recover from PTSD, addiction and the mental effects of sexual violence. I travel the country speaking about topics including mental health, wellness, education and equality in the workplace.

In addition to my memoir, my first fiction book, a thriller titled “The Senator” will release in April 2025 also through RAPC.

A graduate of Texas A&M University, my career spans from covering sports for the university newspaper, The Battalion, to working at WFAA in Dallas as a production assistant, editor, newscast writer and field producer. I then worked as a general assignment reporter for KLTV in Tyler, Texas, before becoming the first female weekend sports anchor/sports reporter in the station’s history. I further made history as the first female sports director in East Texas television, serving as the main sports anchor during evening newscasts. Currently, I work as a freelance journalist and have appeared for Bally Sports, Legacy Sports Network and publications including Blackgirlnerds.com, Salon, and Insider. I have been featured on Fox Sports College as well as ESPN 2 & 3. My work has also appeared on Dave Campbell’s Texas Football, IN Magazine, The Tyler Loop and the Tyler Morning Telegraph.

My other professional accolades include winning multiple Texas Associated Press Broadcasters awards and the Excellence in My Market Award from the Lone Star Emmy Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. I also received two Lone Star Emmy nominations. I am a member of the Writers’ League of Texas, the Women’s Fiction Writers Association, the East Texas Writers Guild, #WriteHive and is a frequent attendee of events hosted by WritingWorkshops.com.

My husband and I have a son, one dog, Bandit, and two goldfish, Eddie and Arsenio, and two hermit crabs, Shellby and Mr. Krabs.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

The writing of my memoir, The Return Trip, required me to relive horrific events.
I did not fully grasp how opening those old wounds would impact me. Despite years of counseling and trauma recovery work, I was opening the vault bolted shut on childhood trauma. I was not only seeing the memories clearly, like watching a film about my life as I conducted my research, I was putting myself in the position to put the most descriptive and vivid depictions on the page for the sake of authenticity. I did not want to shy away from the atrocities of abuse. I found myself having nightmares, panic attacks and even relapsing six months into the writing process. It was also a challenge to admit to the world on paper and through using my voice that I am a recovering sex addict. It’s a stigma for anyone, but especially as woman and a mom. No one aspires to shout from the roof tops the worst things they endured and the worst things they did to cope.
During the writing process, through counseling and a phenomenal support team, I was able to complete the book. It is something I am most proud of because of the amount of vulnerability it took to write it.
Actress Michaela Coel said, “Write the tale that scares you, that makes you feel uncertain, that isn’t comfortable.” When I looked at the final draft of my memoir, I knew, despite all that I had lived through, I had been brave to face my scariest challenge to date.
The continued mental health education and social justice activism I conduct through my writing projects and the 1 in 3 Foundation also put my traumas at the forefront of my life.
I do this to help others. In the hug of every survivor who embraces me or says the words “thank you,” I know that is why I will continue to do so. I will continue to do what is hard with the goal of leaving no other survivor feeling alone.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

I wish I could go back and tell five-year-old Maya that she doesn’t have to be perfect to be worthy of love. If I could hug myself as a child and assure her she is not dirty or at fault for the abuse she experienced, I would make a time machine right now. My declaration to be perfect started an endless marathon of hustling for greatness. I bought into the thought that perfection equals success. I challenged myself with the words “Do Better” with a Post-It note over my desk at work. But what happened when I was doing my very best and I felt no more complete than I had the day before? When is my best enough? I had to acknowledge the void in my life. I wasn’t chasing success, I was chasing my own self-worth.
I still work hard even today to practice self-love as many of us who experienced traumatic childhood events often do. I want to encourage those who suffer from the disease of perfectionism to find what is at the heart of this illness. Once you learn that some days, getting out of bed is an achievement, you can start to love the person we have often denied that gift: ourselves.

Contact Info:

• The Return Trip preorder: https://tr.ee/weGJb6Trzu
• Website: www.goodasgolden.com
• Instagram: goodasgolden
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MGBWrites
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mayagoldenbethany/
• Twitter: Maya_Golden

Image Credits
Photo titled Dallas Literary 2 Credit is Laura Graham, Southern Methodist University/Dallas Literary Festival. Credit Callynth Photography or personal photo.