Today we’d like to introduce you to Tressa Brady.
Hi Tressa, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I am a survivor of domestic violence at the hands of a highly decorated Special Forces combat veteran. For years, I fought to get him help for his PTSD and traumatic brain injuries, but the military system is not designed to support service members who still want to remain in combat roles. Seeking treatment is often seen as a career‑ender, so many suffer in silence. Too often, they turn to self‑medication, alcohol, or destructive coping mechanisms, and their families bear the weight of that untreated trauma.
Within the military, domestic violence is frequently minimized. Protecting the service member’s career and preserving the “asset” often takes precedence over protecting the spouse or children. After escaping my marriage in 2012, I made a promise to myself: once I survived it, I would help others navigate the mental health and domestic violence crises that military families face.
Years later, when I served as a character witness in a trial involving my abuser, I saw firsthand that the system had only deteriorated. The lack of resources for military spouses and dependents—and the lack of accountability for struggling veterans and active‑duty service members—was even more alarming than when I left.
This realization led me to launch my podcast, The Wounds That Do Not Heal, where I explore the intersection of trauma, military culture, and systemic failure. Very quickly, I found myself in deep conversations with families of murdered military spouses—women who had begged for help, sought resources, or tried to escape, only to be failed at every turn. Their stories became the heart of my work.
I am now completing my book, The Wounded Warrior Wives, publishing in early April. I am writing it alongside the families of six women who were murdered by their military husbands or boyfriends. Some of these men were drowning in untreated PTSD and traumatic brain injuries. Others were dangerous individuals who hid behind their uniforms. Some should never have been recruited in the first place due to profound emotional instability. The book exposes the systemic cracks that allowed these tragedies to happen—and continue to happen.
In my professional life, I work in the healthcare industry as an expert in access, reimbursement, and patient advocacy. This role gives me a front‑row seat to the shortcomings of the VA and TRICARE, especially when it comes to mental health care, innovative treatments, and support for dependents. I’ve interviewed leading experts in PTSD and traumatic brain injuries, and there are groundbreaking therapies that could change lives—but they remain inaccessible because they are not covered by military insurance.
My long‑term goal is to launch a nonprofit dedicated to helping veterans appeal denials for medications, therapy, and cutting‑edge treatments. I also plan to employ military spouses, ex-spouses, and survivors of domestic violence, in flexible, remote roles—because frequent relocations and the demands of being the default parent make traditional employment nearly impossible for many of them.
My mission is simple: to protect families, advocate for meaningful reform, and ensure that no one navigating trauma or violence in the military community is left to do it alone.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
One of the most persistent hurdles in this work is the assumption that speaking openly about domestic violence in the military community is somehow “anti‑military.” It’s a narrative I reject completely. I have always been a strong supporter of the military and of the individual troops who serve. But supporting the military does not mean ignoring the preventable deaths of women and children. It does not mean staying silent when the system fails the very families who hold the home front together.
If we cannot call out our own community when reform is desperately needed, then reform will never come.
The truth is, I am not standing alone in this. I have received tremendous support from service members—men and women who know exactly how much domestic violence, military sexual trauma, and untreated mental health crises are swept under the rug. Many have reached out privately to tell me they are grateful someone is finally saying what they cannot risk saying publicly. Some have shared their own stories of witnessing abuse, losing friends to suicide, or watching spouses struggle without resources. They understand that accountability is not an attack on the military; it is an act of loyalty to the people who serve and the families who sacrifice alongside them.
My advocacy is rooted in love for this community, not criticism of it. I believe we can honor service while demanding safety. We can support the troops while protecting their families and calling out the bad actors and systemic failures that put spouses and children at risk.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
What sets my work apart is the trust I’ve earned from the families who have lost the most. My social media platforms and podcast have grown into a quiet refuge where victims’ families—especially mothers—reach out for support, understanding, and a place to be heard. Many of these women call me regularly, not because I have all the answers, but because they know I will honor their daughters’ lives and help ensure their stories lead to real change for military spouses.
That trust is the thing I am most proud of.
I have been invited to sit beside mothers in courtrooms as they face the men who killed their daughters. I have been entrusted with intimate details of their lives, their grief, and their hopes for justice. I have been given the profound honor of writing their daughters’ stories in my book. Turning their unimaginable loss into a legacy of reform is not something I take lightly—it is the heart of my work.
My advocacy is different because it is rooted in relationship, not headlines. Families don’t come to me for publicity; they come because they know I will carry their stories with dignity, accuracy, and purpose. They know I am committed to transforming their pain into protection for others. They know I will never let their daughters be forgotten.
That is the privilege of my life, and the responsibility that drives everything I do.
What are your plans for the future?
My first book, The Wounded Warrior Wives, will be published in early April 2026, and it is only the beginning. I’m already outlining the second book in the series, continuing to document the stories of military families whose voices have been overlooked for far too long. I’m also working with my mentor on a pitch deck for a documentary, with the goal of partnering with a major streaming platform to bring national attention to the systemic failures affecting military spouses, dependents, and service members.
But my biggest long‑term goal is to build a nonprofit that provides hands‑on support to veterans navigating the maze of mental health care, benefits, and future planning. I want to help veterans access therapies that could change their lives, guide them through GI Bill usage and career transitions, and advocate for them when they face denials for essential treatments.
Just as importantly, I want this nonprofit to be powered by military spouses and former military spouses—women who need flexible, remote work because they are constantly relocating or carrying the bulk of childcare responsibilities. Creating meaningful employment for them is part of the mission. They understand the community, they understand the stakes, and they deserve opportunities that fit the realities of military life.
My future work is about building systems that protect families, support veterans, and create sustainable change—one story, one service member, and one spouse at a time.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Tressabrady.com
- Instagram: @tressabradyspeaks
- Youtube: @Tressabradyspeaks
- Other: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-wounds-that-do-not-heal/id1744275144
Image Credits
Picture at Crimecon, center is Dan Abrams, host of, “On Patrol Live,” and founder of Abrams Media, left Tressa Brady, right is writer, Carrie Howder.
The picture was taken on my camera and I own all rights.
