Wrestling star Saraya has penned a new memoir, “Hell In Boots: Clawing My Way Through Nine Lives,” and she recently appeared on Talk Is Jericho to talk about her extensive experience in the wrestling business.
One aspect of the book, however, deals with the childhood trauma and abuse both she and her brother Zach faced. She revealed to Chris Jericho some of what happened and why she’s speaking out about it now. “Me and Zach didn’t actually talk about it with each other until I would say I was about 28,” she said. “Zach, bless his heart, he’s like more emotional than I am. And so he’s had a really rough time in his years to get over it. I’ve kind of been one to completely push it down.”
She continued: “One day, Zach called me and he was completely broken down. He was just crying and he was like, ‘I just need to talk about this.’ And so we did. And it feels like it was very validating, because you put it in the back of your head and don’t talk about it, so you’re like, ‘Did this actually happen?’”
Saraya went on to share how her brother did his best to protect her. “Zach’s my hero,” she said. “One of the times that this guy came up to our bedroom. Zach was on the other side of the room and told the guy to come to his bed instead of mine, so I could get a break. You don’t realize at that age how heroic that is—and how traumatic that is for him to take that for me. I just love my brother so incredibly much for that.”
She then said why she decided to open up on such a dark chapter in her life. “I wasn’t even going to put that in the book,” she said. “And then I was like, ‘You know what? I said to myself I was going to give 100% of me, so I’m going to talk about it.’”
She continued: “A lot of people have wanted to speak to me about this, and I’m so thankful I did it, because I don’t know how many people I’m actually helping. Wrestlers, male and female, wrote to me after reading the book and were like, ‘I went through the same thing. I’m so proud you’re speaking about it. Maybe one day I’ll speak about it.’ That made me feel like a million bucks—like I’m doing something of substance for people. Even though it was rough.”
Check out Saraya’s full appearance on Talk Is Jericho here.
