The Return Trip

For fans of Kerry Washington and Bassey Ikpi, a gripping memoir about overcoming addiction and trauma—a powerful journey of healing and redemption.

At age 30, Maya Golden was living a charmed life.

She was an award-winning sports reporter, a loyal wife, and a new mom. Privately, she was battling addiction, perfectionism, dissociation disorders, and rage due to sexual abuse endured at the hands of her cousin and many other predators.

But Maya wants to change. So, on a family road trip back to her Texas hometown she is ready to put an end to the secrets that threaten her marriage and her career. Three separate moments of divine intervention ultimately saved Maya’s life.

From a suicide plan to the treatment facility to launching a non-profit organization—Maya’s story chronicles and dissects her journey to find purpose out of the trauma.

Maya Golden Bethany is an Associated Press winning and Emmy nominated multimedia journalist. Her debut memoir, The Return Trip, will release in November 2023 and her first novel, a political thriller, The Senator, will release in spring 2025 through Rising Action Publishing Collective. Maya is the winner of the Excellence in My Market Award (EMMA) from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. She is the founder of the 1 in 3 Foundation, a non-profit organization that provides recovery and counseling resources to survivors of sexual trauma with little to no income in East Texas. Maya has been featured on Bally Sports, Fox Sports College, ESPN 2 and 3 and other broadcast mediums including Blackgirlnerds.com. She speaks as a survivor for organizations such as the Children’s Advocacy Center, CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) and Kids Aspiring to Dream. The Texas A&M alum’s career includes experience as a sports anchor/reporter and television production editor, newscast writer, field producer and print writer. She is a member of the Writer’s League of Texas. She writes fiction under Maya Golden Bethany.