By Sophia-Joelle Oswald 

CW: Brief mentions of abuse

Clara Baldwin, chief executive officer of Peace Over Pieces, is the daughter of an immigrant from Thailand. Her mother raised her and her siblings while facing abuse from Clara’s father. And while Clara was stuck—forced to witness her mother’s abuse for the first 18 years of her life—Her dad also relayed that abuse towards Clara and the rest of her family. Nothing changed until Clara, her mother, and her brother were able to leave, and never go back.

Clara’s past experiences inspired the launch of Peace Over Pieces, a non-profit for domestic abuse survivors. 

Through this non-profit, Clara is able to talk one-on-one with survivors and share their stories through the Peace Over Pieces Domestic Abuse Survivor Podcast. The Peace Over Pieces website also provides resources and collects donations, with the option of either selecting a specific individual that they’ve watched or a general donation to the Peace Over Pieces Fund designed to cover a range of needs. 

She has also released an anthology book on Amazon to raise domestic abuse survivor donations. 

But Clara’s resilience isn’t the only thing that defines her. In Clara’s adult years, she attended Westminster College where she earned her Marketing degree, played tennis, and met the love of her life. She has earned certifications for SEO, digital marketing, advertisement, and analytics across many platforms. She founded Ground Plan Studio, a national digital agency that serves clients all over the United States, and Cure Medical Marketing, which serves doctors and medical practices nationally. 

Everything Clara sets her mind to leads her closer to her ultimate goal of giving back to the community and helping clients through marketing. We spoke with Clara about Peace Over Pieces and the anthology book that’s working to make a difference. 

How would you describe your podcast to someone who may not be familiar? 

It’s a collection of stories from people who have been abused. All kinds of abuse. It’s to show you aren’t alone and there is probably a man or woman on the podcast you can relate to in some way. When I was going through so much as a young girl, I tried googling anything to help me emotionally. All I found were hotlines and shelters. It was pretty lonely and helpless. In those situations, leaving or telling someone could’ve led to worse abuse. My mom even received death threats from my dad as a scare tactic to keep her trapped in that life. When she fled she only took a bag of clothes and she was homeless. I fled as well with my brother. 

Have you found that having survivors share their stories has impacted your listeners?  

Yes. I would say Peace Over Pieces on social media receives about 50-80 inquiries a week. There is a lot of emotional support going on in direct messages and emails.

Tell us about the effort and journey behind creating the anthology book Peace Over Pieces. 

I knew I wanted to create an inspiring project with Peace Over Pieces so I thought of the anthology book as a way to show someone in one sitting, or book, an array of mind-blowing stories from survivors of abuse. Some of them break your heart. They don’t all end well, and I think that shows the most powerful point in that they need help the most usually post-abuse.

How did it feel to see the anthology in person and hold it in your hands after putting in all of that hard work? 

I was at a loss for words. I don’t really credit myself for the book. I was just very thankful for the people who were brave and strong enough to participate in the series. I am thinking about producing another series. 

Is there anything you would like to add or inform our readers of? 

Every donation gives 100% of the funds to survivors. Whether it’s the book, a general donation, or buying merchandise. 

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Photos courtesy of Peace Over Pieces