DeepSummary
Rita Gigante grew up in a world of secrets and lies, as the daughter of notorious Mafia boss Vincent "The Chin" Gigante, leader of the Genovese crime family and head of all five New York crime families. Until she was 16, she was unaware of her father's criminal activities, but witnessed signs of his violent behavior from a young age. As an empath, she struggled with anxiety, panic attacks, and OCD from feeling the emotional turmoil around her.
At 16, Rita learned the truth about her father and had to keep this secret, as well as her own emerging sexuality as a lesbian, hidden from her devoutly Catholic Italian family. She describes the trauma of living with these constant lies and betrayals, and her journey towards healing through embracing her intuitive gifts as a psychic medium and author.
Rita shares insights into her father's methods of evading the FBI, including feigning mental illness, and the aftermath of his eventual imprisonment. She emphasizes the power of forgiveness in overcoming her difficult upbringing and finding redemption through her work helping others heal.
Key Episodes Takeaways
- Rita Gigante grew up immersed in lies and trauma as the daughter of a powerful Mafia leader, which manifested in severe anxiety and panic attacks from a young age.
- Despite her father's criminal activities being kept secret from her until age 16, Rita witnessed signs of his disturbing behavior and violence as a child.
- As an empath, Rita struggled with absorbing the emotional turmoil and depression around her, developing OCD as a child in an effort to gain control.
- Rita had to keep further secrets about her emerging lesbian identity from her devoutly Catholic family, worsening her emotional difficulties.
- Her father went to extreme lengths to evade the FBI, including feigning mental illness for decades and severely restricting his communication and movement.
- After her father's imprisonment, Rita embarked on a journey of healing by embracing her intuitive gifts as a psychic medium and finding the power to forgive her family's betrayals.
- Rita's story emphasizes the profound impact of childhood trauma from violence and secrecy, and the redemptive path of self-acceptance and forgiveness.
- Her work today focuses on helping others heal through her psychic abilities and sharing the lessons from her own courageous path out of trauma.
Top Episodes Quotes
- “For me, growing up in a world of secrets, lies, depression, anxiety, not knowing who my dad was until I was about 16, you know, being lied to my whole life, you know, yes, he was sick, but not the way they told me he was sick. So this was for me at the age of five, beginning with anxiety attacks at the age of five. Then my first panic attack at the age of seven.“ by Rita Gigante
- “Having to understand how an empath on a daily basis has to ground, protect and keep themselves from not taking that energy off on. And I'm so used to taking the energy on because I took on everybody's in my family. I mean, this was like a natural thing for me.“ by Rita Gigante
- “Knowing don't open up your mouth after this was like, okay, I went back in the closet till I was 24, and then I just came out to my mom after that.“ by Rita Gigante
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Episode Information
The Courage to Change: A Recovery Podcast
Ashley Loeb Blassingame
11/7/23