To my colleagues working on, for and with trauma survivors — I've posted a guest post in the blog area of my professional website because I wanted to be able to share a piece of writing by a friend that I hope will have value to others as we grapple with our feelings around what Dr. Christine Blasey Ford is experiencing - what it means, and what we are called to do. As you'll see, my friend chooses to write under a pen name - I trust you will understand that the current climate and realities...

I encourage you to watch this - it is such a powerful statement by a trauma survivor. CNN interview with Charles Blow

To my colleagues on ACEs Connection - It's been a harrowing two years for our nation, and I'm sure each of you has tried all you can to deal with what we're experiencing in this country (and beyond). My husband and I have been saying for some time that we need to move beyond marches and petitions to actions where we express our refusal to go along symbolically and with our bodies. As we watch a woman who - hesitatingly, with caution and fear - brought forward the story of the sexual assault...

For anyone with a trauma history, Dr. Blasey Ford's story about what she experienced at age 15, which she alleges were perpetrated by two young men, acting with premeditation and in concert to trap her, keep her from calling for help, and then forcefully remove her clothes and rape her, is not only horrifying but also very triggering. I for one dread seeing how this will play out - and my heart is with Dr. Blasey Ford, who has managed to build a remarkable and resilient life in the face of...

ProPublica - a remarkable nonprofit investigative journalism organization - has released audio of young children weeping and begging for their parents - being held in detention by US officials for seeking asylum here. After listening for perhaps 30 seconds I could not bear it - this is such a huge trauma trigger. However that doesn't mean I can't take action to fight for an end to the trauma being inflicted on these children. Everyone on this site understands the lasting harm being done to...

This is a stunning piece by a remarkable author - his courage in publishing this is very moving. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/04/16/the-silence-the-legacy-of-childhood-trauma

Note: I spotted this article published as part of Longreads, an excellent site that publishes long form journalism, and thought I'd share it with this community. The young people who experienced the Parkland shooting are turning their grief and terror into powerful activism, and for that we're all grateful. That said, they need and deserve - as all survivors do - help with their post traumatic stress, now and for years to come. 'm also concerned about how the need to tell and retell their...

The Guardian reports today that "Facebook has been forced to apologise after it spent hours suggesting bizarre, vulgar and upsetting searches to users on Thursday night. The social network’s search suggestions, which are supposed to automatically offer the most popular search terms to users, apparently broke around 4am in the UK, and started to suggest unpleasant results for those who typed in “video of”. Multiple users posted examples on Twitter, with the site proposing searches ... " here...

If you haven't heard or read about this new memoir, I highly recommend exploring it. I haven't read the book yet but plan to right away - I heard the author Tara Westover on Fresh Air and just read a thoughtful piece about it on Longreads (link here: An Education in Doubt . The author survived a childhood full of family violence with a mentally ill father - there's much more to it, but I think it sounds well worth reading from the perspective of ACEs and reslience.