Many people say that we must learn from history so that we do not repeat the same past mistakes. While I would certainly agree with this, I would add that we must also work to heal from our histories as well as to know them, as preparation for and prevention against repeating the detrimental parts, the ones where we hurt others and got hurt ourselves. This includes our societal histories, cultural histories, family histories, and individual [...]
Setting healthy boundaries is an important skill we all must master from the time we are children throughout our adulthoods to preserve our sense of self. If you put your arms straight out, making a 90-degree angle with the rest of your body, everything inside that space is considered your own “personal space.” This gets tricky in crowded areas but is generally a good rule of thumb. However, our emotional boundaries are often much more difficult to [...]
As a trauma therapist I’ve often worked with people on developing their resilience in dealing with traumatic events, relationships, and upbringings. In our Western society, we often think of resilience as something we need to build on our own so that we can be more independent. The truth is we are all much more interdependent than we may believe, and it is through this interdependence that we can heal. When people are depressed, they commonly complain [...]
Finally, after many months of waiting, planning, and waiting some more, my debut novel, Klara’s Truth, will launch next week, on Tuesday, June 11th, and expectant readers should receive their pre-order copy on that day. It has certainly been a long journey with an ever-growing learning curve—first learning how to write and edit a novel, then learning how difficult it is to get published, then finding a wonderful hybrid publisher in She Writes Press, and then [...]
Klara’s Truth will now be coming out in three-and-a-half weeks. I can’t believe it! So much goes into writing a debut novel, particularly when coming from a different professional background. There is a large, long learning curve that needs to occur, first in the writing and editing process, then in finding a home for one’s book, and finally in marketing it. I don’t believe any author goes into this field thinking they’re looking forward to the [...]
This week, I just received two boxes of books of the final version of Klara’s Truth which will soon be going out into the world on June 11th. I have to say, receiving and opening those boxes was very exciting! It made me contemplate the reality of what it means for a book I wrote to be released into the world. It means that the story that came out of me no longer belongs to just [...]
Until we walk in someone else's shoes, we cannot know their full experience and they in turn cannot know ours. A collaborative understanding and perspective doesn't mean we believe and think exactly the same way as the other person, but it is how we grow and learn from one another. We may not agree on all points, in fact we probably won't, but we can glean a lot from each other as we continue to communicate [...]
I’d like to start by wishing everyone a very happy new year! Clearly, 2023 was a tough one, both in our daily lives and globally. The New Year is often a time to take a break, see friends and family, possibly travel, and to reflect both on this past year, as well as on our hopes for the year to come. We frequently make lists of resolutions for the coming year. One resolution I’m sure to [...]
What is there to say when there is so much disagreement, anger, and fury among us— when people on all sides think they’re right; no, they know they’re right. Trauma breeds more trauma, creating hate, fear, otherness and enemies out of neighbors, friends, and sometimes even family members. It creates brittleness and inflexibility. It tunes out our senses and makes it hard for us to clearly think. Since the brutal events of October 7th visited upon [...]
Eighty years ago this month, in October 1943, 95% of Denmark’s Jewish population was rescued from Nazi-occupied Denmark during the Holocaust, when they were ferried from Denmark to Sweden in a short period of a few days. During this exodus, over seven thousand Danish Jews were saved. This amazing story is one of the most remarkable examples of mass resistance and escape in modern history. It is an important example of resistance, bravery, survival, and community [...]