Confessions & Coffee

Karen Clemmer posted:

I love your writing, Teri!  Your blog posts are written with a gentle accepting honesty and allows me (the reader) insight into how you've been transforming your family's history into a learning opportunity for all of us.  Thank you for sharing this look into your heart.  Karen 

Aw, thank you so very much for this, Karen! I try to write from a place of raw honesty, hoping others can connect with the truths contained in my words. Writing my book has been a healing, daunting, liberating, and terrifying journey, all at once. Thank you again for reading my post and your positive encouragement.

Teri

www.teriwellbrock.com

sherita mouzon posted:

awesome story! thanks for sharing! my hope is that maybe one day my mom and I can find that place of healing and forgiveness. your story gave me hope. thank you.

I hope that for you, as well. It's been a work-in-progress for quite a long time with my mom. I wrote her a letter of forgiveness, then burned it, sending its energy into the universe. She still struggles with her alcoholism, but my learning to transition out of a co-dependent relationship with her has helped us grow. Sometimes still a struggle. I am so glad my story gave you hope. When I give my speeches, I title them, "Unicorn Shadows: A Story of Hope". 

Teri

www.teriwellbrock.com

Christine Cissy White (AC Staff) posted:

Thanks for sharing this photo. The beginning pulls me right in. I'm glad your Mom is able to share more and carry less "to the grave." So much hopefulness and honesty in your writing. I'm grateful to you and to your mom for sharing!

Thanks, my friend. When I approached my mom as I started the process for writing my book, I broached the subject of airing all of our dirty laundry, dragging those family skeletons from the closet and putting them on display for the world to see. At first she was hesitant. Not for exposure of her addiction or my dad's abuse, but because she wanted me to "not mention the names" of those who had molested me. It was baffling. (I wasn't planning on naming them anyway.) As my mom and I move forward together, healing our relationship, I realize more and more the impact her own childhood traumas had on her. She is still coming to terms with those underlying fears resulting from her ACEs. I pray she finds release, in her own way.

Teri

www.teriwellbrock.com

Laura Pinhey posted:

Terri, I think congratulations are in order, not just for a beautifully written blog post, but for a triumph for your mom and you. What an immense relief it must have been for your mother to unburden herself, and what a gift to have a daughter so open and patient and loving to create a safe opportunity for her to share her secret. And for you, to come full circle by realizing the memory that had surfaced for you in EMDR had been hers. What a story! Thanks for sharing it. (OK -- I admit I'm a little envious too .) 

This made my heart smile! Thank you for that. When that memory surfaced in EMDR, I was seeing it as though I was hovering above it all, from an out-of-body experience. It came to light that I was dissociating quite a bit throughout my childhood as a coping mechanism for my various traumas. When we would re-visit traumatic events, it was always as if I was watching a movie from outside of myself. They day I saw my last traumatic event, a second bank robbery, when my coworker was murdered, through my own eyes during a session, I knew I had reached a milestone. A momentous moment, for sure. Again, thank you for your positive and encouraging feedback.

Teri

www.teriwellbrock.com

Mary L. Holden posted:

Congratulations for using ALL information available to you to create healing-as-progress! 

Thanks, Mary, for reading my post. EMDR therapy was certainly life-altering for me. But, having a toolbox full of coping skills (mindfulness, journaling, grounding techniques, and more), has helped me create a life of tranquility. Helping my mom discover peace within her chaos is a powerful healing tool, as well.

Teri

www.teriwellbrock.com

Congratulations for using ALL information available to you to create healing-as-progress! 

Terri, I think congratulations are in order, not just for a beautifully written blog post, but for a triumph for your mom and you. What an immense relief it must have been for your mother to unburden herself, and what a gift to have a daughter so open and patient and loving to create a safe opportunity for her to share her secret. And for you, to come full circle by realizing the memory that had surfaced for you in EMDR had been hers. What a story! Thanks for sharing it. (OK -- I admit I'm a little envious too .) 

Thanks for sharing this photo. The beginning pulls me right in. I'm glad your Mom is able to share more and carry less "to the grave." So much hopefulness and honesty in your writing. I'm grateful to you and to your mom for sharing!

awesome story! thanks for sharing! my hope is that maybe one day my mom and I can find that place of healing and forgiveness. your story gave me hope. thank you.

I love your writing, Teri!  Your blog posts are written with a gentle accepting honesty and allows me (the reader) insight into how you've been transforming your family's history into a learning opportunity for all of us.  Thank you for sharing this look into your heart.  Karen