Legal Grounds | Susan Hawk on Learning to Accept Help, Struggling in the Spotlight, and Building Empathy into the Law
Manage episode 427059291 series 2775981
One of, if not THE most insidious aspects of depression is how it convinces you that reaching out for help is a fool's errand.
The stories we tell ourselves in those moments are often as dark as they are wrong, but thankfully very few of us will have to wrestle with these kinds of demons in full view of the public.
My guest today, however, did not have that luxury.
Susan Hawk has spent her career as a Dallas County Prosecutor, District Attorney and State District Court Judge who presided over and disposed of more than 25,000 felony cases.
In 2015 she became the first elected female District Attorney in Dallas County history, a position she had dreamed of since her time as a young prosecutor.
20 Months later she would step away from that role as her own struggles with mental health came to a breaking point.
Susan has since returned to private practice, specializing in representing defendants struggling with mental health issues, helping them find a path to the treatment they need instead of being warehoused in the penitentiary.
On today's episode she shares candidly about her own naivety when it came to being everything for everyone, what it was like to struggle in the spotlight, and why the journey towards healing is never over, it just gets easier.
Susan's vulnerability is truly inspiring and one I think all of us can learn from.
Enjoy the show.
SHOWNOTES
_________________
Susan's Website
176 פרקים