Amber Washington on Releasing the Audiobook + Behind the Scenes with DJ 150Proof

January 6, 2026·1 hr 28 min·6 clips

Recording her memoir's audiobook left Amber Washington feeling like she had the flu from the emotional toll.

1. Unrestricted podcast host DreRawka interviews Amber Washington, survivor-author, and DJ 150 Proof, who produced the audiobook of Washington's memoir 'Whole: My Journey to W,' ahead of the January 17, 2026 launch. 2. Amber Washington is a self-published author, survivor of childhood sexual abuse, former tech professional, and founder of a trauma-informed training company who left her career in tech to pursue this work full time. 3. The episode's core thread is the creative and emotional experience of producing an audiobook from a trauma memoir — specifically what happens when a survivor reads their own story out loud. 4. Washington describes her press run following the summer 2025 physical book release, including appearances on Good Day Utah and The Place, and notes she is self-published and has sold over 200 physical copies without a publishing house. 5. Over 30% of readers so far have been men, and Washington tracks responses by age, gender, and cultural background, finding broad identification across demographics beyond the survivor community she expected. 6. Washington explains that childhood sexual abuse persists because it thrives in silence — and that the near-universal family norm of 'what happens in the family stays in the family' means survivors understand exactly why others stay silent. 7. She describes her grandmother's reaction during a difficult conversation: the grandmother's first words were 'Do you remember the last thing I told you?' — which was 'don't toot your own horn' — a note Washington reframes as women being taught to stay small. 8. Washington responds to her grandmother's admonition by distinguishing confident self-promotion from egotism, saying she would rather show up in full confidence than self-loathing after having hated herself for years. 9. The audiobook features three voices: Washington reading her own text, her mother reading the foreword, and therapist Doc reading the afterword — an unusual structure Proof says is rare for memoirs. 10. Proof describes coaching Doc through his recording session, noting Doc kept reading in a formal academic tone and needed repeated redirection to sound natural — a comic contrast to the emotional intensity of Washington's sessions. 11. Proof used music production techniques during recording — adjusting lighting, room scent, reverb, and EQ — to help Washington access emotional states, including making her stand on her recovering surgical knee during chapters that required more pain in her voice. 12. Washington says reading the book aloud was ten times harder than writing it — speaking forces visceral physical reactions that silent writing does not, and she left the first two to three sessions feeling physically ill like she had the flu. 13. She identifies the chapter about being date raped as the moment where the difference between writing and speaking became clearest — she cannot speak those words without reliving the experience. 14. Washington says she has received private DMs and personal conversations beyond the 23 five-star Amazon reviews that validate the risk she took in publishing — including the risk of leaving her tech career to pursue the book and company full time. 15. Her book was listed among top five books of 2025 by Generation All, a nonprofit she partners with, alongside Dr. Nadine Burke Harris's 'The Deepest Well' and other bestselling authors. 16. Proof mentions that a mentor in Washington's network — an established published author with Marvel-connected work — read the book and said it has potential for further development including possible film adaptation, with two filmmakers now reviewing it. 17. Washington is planning a national book tour, a trip to New York for marketing and opportunities, a second book, and a trauma-informed training company launch in 2026. 18. The episode is candid and wide-ranging — DreRawka and Washington have an established friendship and the conversation covers production logistics, family tensions, imposter syndrome, perimenopause, and the economics of self-publishing. 19. Survivors of trauma, supporters of people healing from abuse, and anyone interested in the creative and emotional process of turning a personal story into a published and recorded book will find the most value here. 20. Listeners seeking structured narrative storytelling or content without explicit discussion of sexual violence should be aware the episode includes frank discussion of the author's experiences.

As heard by us

A candid conversation about showing up, family history, and confidence without shrinking.

Amber Washington and DreRawka keep the conversation centered on work, family history, self-doubt, and the effort it takes to keep going. Washington is especially open when she talks about a difficult conversation with her grandmother, the pressure women feel to stay small, and…

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Why you'd press play

If you want a live, unruly creator conversation about self-doubt, confidence, and speaking up, start here.

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