Garbage Bag Girl: Finding Hope and Healing After Trauma with Celeste Edmunds

Trigger Warning:

This episode contains discussions about childhood trauma, foster care, abuse, and emotional healing. Some content may be distressing or triggering to listeners. Please take care while listening, and feel free to pause or skip sections if needed. If you or someone you know is experiencing emotional distress, resources and support are available.

Summary:

In this powerful episode of Pieces of a Woman, DeAnna sits down with Celeste Edmunds, author of Garbage Bag Girl, Executive Director of The Christmas Box International, and a survivor turned advocate. Celeste opens up about her journey through childhood trauma, foster care, and the deeply personal process of writing her memoir. She shares what it really means to carry—and eventually let go of—the emotional "garbage bags" we hold onto from our pasts. Together, they explore resilience, healing, forgiveness, and the choice to live a life of purpose. Celeste also shares the inspiration behind her upcoming children’s book, The Boy Who Was Raised in a Sunflower Patch, and why every story, no matter how painful, has the power to connect and heal. If you've ever questioned whether you can turn pain into strength, this conversation will leave you filled with hope.

Learn More About Celeste Edmunds:

My childhood was an ongoing cycle of police calls, fighting, and physical, sexual, and mental abuse. At age 7, I was taken by the state and placed into a child welfare system, where moving every few months to a new environment became normal. So did living out of a garbage bag. By age sixteen, I had lived in more than 30 cities. My childhood was a difficult and often unbearable experience where evil manipulation almost broke my spirit. But there were also caring people along the way who stepped in to do what they could to protect and nurture me, and as an adult, I look back at those moments and realize that they saved my life. My goal is to help as many children in the child welfare system have the opportunities for success that I was not provided.

Key Takeaways:

• [00:01] DeAnna introduces Celeste Edmunds and Garbage Bag Girl.
• [03:00] How Celeste balanced honesty and healing while writing her memoir.
• [10:00] The turning point: Choosing survival over revenge.
• [16:00] Why writing the book was harder than living the experience—and why it was necessary.
• [23:00] Celeste’s advice on the healing power of writing your own story.
• [27:00] How grace and forgiveness shaped Celeste’s journey.
• [43:00] Celeste’s reflections on foster care today: Complicated, but not broken.
• [59:00] The emotional process of recording the audiobook herself.
• [1:04:00] Sneak peek at her upcoming children’s book, The Boy Who Was Raised in a Sunflower Patch.

Resources Mentioned in This Episode:

• Celeste Edmunds Website
• Garbage Bag Girl by Celeste Edmunds
• Celeste Edmunds Instagram
• The Christmas Box International
• Garbage Bag Girl Podcast
• Finding Noel by Richard Paul Evans
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