Episode 224

full
Published on:

26th Nov 2025

She Held Her Own Head and Walked: The Survival of Alison Botha

⚠️ Content warning: This episode contains graphic descriptions of s***** assault, attempted murder, and trauma recovery.

Alison was only 27 years old when she was abducted outside her home in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. What happened next is a story that sounds like fiction but is very, very real.


She was severely attacked and left for dead. This amazing woman summoned all the courage she had to get up, and walk to hopefully a place of safety. She was not going to let her attackers get away with this.


This isn’t just a story of survival. It’s a brutal indictment of a justice system that failed her again and again. From a courtroom that asked for more than it should have, to a prison system that handed her email to her attacker - Alison has had to endure more in her life than anyone deserves.


In this episode, I walk through her story in raw, unapologetic detail. Not for shock. Not for spectacle. But because it happened and her story of survival needs to be told.



🎥 Watch the 2016 documentary: Alison (Directed by Uga Carlini) - https://www.tubitv.com/movies/100032923/alison



📘 Read I Have Life by Alison Botha and Marianne Thamm - https://www.amazon.com/I-Have-Life-Alisons-Journey/dp/177609316X



💛 Support Alison’s recovery: https://www.backabuddy.co.za/campaign/help-alison-botha-in-her-time-of-need~2



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Kristine W

Lover of true crime, scary stories, horror films, and ghost hunting. Kristine is a down-to-earth, opinionated, smart-mouthed Gen X'er who enjoys sharing these stories with you.