Fritzi Horstman on Healing Childhood Trauma, Activism Through Film, and Uplifting Humanity

Fritzi Horstman is a rare, beautiful individual with a selfless passion to transform lives. As a Grammy-award winning producer for her work on the "The Defiant Ones", Fritzi is not resting on her laurels. Nor is she coasting through Hollywood, lapping up the limelight.

Fritzi Horstman is a rare, beautiful individual with a selfless passion to transform lives. As a Grammy-award winning producer for her work on the “The Defiant Ones”, Fritzi is not resting on her laurels. Nor is she coasting through Hollywood, lapping up the limelight. Instead, she is focusing on spending as much time as possible in prison, supporting incarcerated men and women. Fritzi believes wholeheartedly in an urgency to bring humanity and compassion to prisoners to transform their lives and ultimately society.

I invited Fritzi onto the podcast after seeing a 7-minute clip of her forthcoming documentary “Step Inside the Circle”, a riveting examination of the role that childhood trauma plays in the lives of the incarcerated. Within the first minute, I knew I wanted to help share Fritzi’s story and work. I felt chills throughout my whole body and still do each time I watch it. If you have not seen this powerful video, I urge you go to the link for “Step Inside the Circle” in the show notes, watch the video, and then listen to this podcast. It will give you greater context for the dialogue that Fritzi and I share.

It is remarkable, in a sense, that Fritzi escaped a life of crime and addiction. Many who suffer the degree of adverse childhood experiences that she did do not rise above a life of shame, blame, and fear. With courageous transparency, Fritzi shares with us some of her most intimate childhood experiences and how they still impact her today. With her message “There is no shame,” she wears her heart on her sleeve, which helps those around her find inner strength and forgiveness. Until there is forgiveness, there can be no healing. Until there is healing, as a race we will continue to perpetrate acts of violence against all life.

Fritzi is the founder and Executive Director of the Compassion Prison Project, which, through compassion, childhood trauma awareness, and creative and educational programs to uplift humanity, aims to catalyze prison reform and end recidivism. Fritzi knows firsthand the trauma that many incarcerated men and women have experienced in life. Having found her path, she is now helping many who are most lost to find theirs.

Episode Links:

“Step Inside the Circle” video

https://compassionprisonproject.org/

The Body Keep the Score by Bessel Van Der Kolk

Nadine Burke Harris – California Surgeon General

Learning Links:

Surf Retreat through Anchor Point Expeditions