Pat Hays has written a devotional book that gives wonderful insight into the joys and struggles that parenting a child with emotional special needs presents. Her book, My Tears in His Bottle: prayers from the heart of a special needs’ mom , contains excerpts from her personal prayer journal as she worked through the last fifteen years of balancing her calling to be an adoptive parent with the roadblocks she encountered in her neighborhood, friendships, school district, marriage, and church...

To ride a bicycle across the United States—Los Angeles to New Jersey—takes courage, a mission, and stamina. I did it twice. The first trip, during my mid-twenties, was done in hurt and fueled by anger. The second, at age 56, was done in the pursuit of healing self and others by collecting stories of other experiences of trauma and healing, dispensing information about human resilience, and sharing a deep belief in the power all people have to engage with and be enlightened by the process of...

Dr. Cynthia Lindquist, Ta'Sunka Wicahipi Win (Star Horse Woman), president of Cankdeska Cikana Community College on the Spirit Lake Reservation in North Dakota, is a contributing author to Overcoming Educational Racism in the Community College: Creating Pathways to Success for Minority and Impoverished Student Populations , edited by Angela Long. Written by several contributing educators, the book answers why students of color end their time at community colleges twice as often as middle to...

Jane Dutton's research focuses on how organizational conditions strengthen capabilities of individuals and firms. She is a co-founder of the Center for Positive Organizations . Monica Worline's research is dedicated to the mission of enlivening work and workplaces is a founding member of CompassionLab, and a collaborating scientist at the Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education at Stanford University. JD: Some managers in some organizations don't see compassion as part of...

"You are absolutely not doomed from having ACEs."

I am a survivor of non-recent systemic (CSA) child sexual abuse crimes committed by three perpetrators.

An animated short film released in 2016 that is 68 minutes in length and deals with childhood trauma. The main character, Icare (French for Icarus), who is nicknamed Zucchini by his single, alcoholic, abusive mother, accidentally causes her death and becomes an orphan who is sent to live in a foster home with other troubled children. The movie allows these children to express their feelings of pure loss and trauma, their loneliness and isolation from their families, and their attempts to...

You should get some exercise, eat healthy, and sleep enough. You should be supportive of your friends. You should do what you’re passionate about. We’ve all gotten such well-meaning advice, and it’s good advice. But there’s one problem: People rarely tell us how to achieve these worthy goals. Luckily, there is a new book that gives you the “how,” and will help you not just survive, but thrive. U Thrive: How to Succeed in College (and Life) by Daniel Lerner and Alan Schlechter—two New York...

Mistreated: Why we think we are getting good health care and why we usually are wrong and the connection to Adverse Childhood Events 　 Over the past two years, I have written a column for Forbes. On several occasions, I have highlighted the medical consequences of Adverse Childhood Events (ACE's) and Intimate Partner Violence (IPV). The data is clear. Both if not recognized and treated produce negative health care outcomes. Both are very prevalent and asking about each should be standard for...

We can talk about grit, resilience and mindsets all we want. These approaches, while useful in a limited way, operate off a deficit model. There is something wrong in individuals that needs to be fixed -- repaired. And, there is a built in assumption that those who have high ACEs can return to the status quo ante -- they can bounce back. But, these are flawed arguments and here's why. Those with high ACEs are forever changed; they cannot bounce back. (There are neurological reasons among...

Who wouldn’t love a stress proof brain? The title of this book, The Stress-Proof Brain, is enough to intrigue anyone going through a stressful time. Melanie Greenberg provides background on how our brains respond to stress and how that response is what determines how we feel. Depending on the situation, our amygdala releases hormones and neurotransmitters that prepare people to either fight or flee. In the short-term, this can be a good thing; it can energize people and help overcome...

Reclaiming Our Stories: Narratives of Identity, Resilience and Empowerment gathers 19 powerful narratives written by members of the Reclaiming Our Stories Community Writers Workshop located in Southeast San Diego. These authors, almost all of them emerging, reached deeply into their lives to excavate these offerings that, in the end, rise in triumph. Although it wasn’t the intention of the project, most authors chose to write about some of the most traumatic events in their lives. In many...