Writing Trauma

A practical and inspiring guide to transformational personal storytelling, The Story You Need to Tell is the product of Sandra Marinella’s pioneering work with veterans and cancer patients, her years of teaching writing, and her research into its profound healing properties. Riveting true stories illustrate Marinella’s methods for understanding, telling, and editing personal stories in ways that foster resilience and renewal. She also shares her own experience of using journaling and expressive writing to navigate challenges including breast cancer and postpartum depression.

One in six women is the victim of sexual assault. Using her own hard-won wisdom, author Jen Cross shows how to heal through journaling and personal writing. Writing Ourselves Whole is a collection of essays and creative writing encouragements for sexual trauma survivors who want to risk writing a different story. Each short chapter offers encouragement, experience, and exercises.

Drawing on the mind-body techniques of somatic therapy, The Healing Sexual Trauma Guided Journal offers insightful writing prompts to help you explore your emotions, overcome internalized shame, and heal your traumatized nervous system.

Coercive Relationships provides a beacon for survivors of partner abuse. Parker’s nonjudgmental, empathic voice offers knowledge gleaned from years of experience. Survivors gain answers to frequently asked questions: Am I being abused? Why do they hurt me? Why do I feel so crazy? What can I change? Why do they believe they should control us? How do I recognize abuse of power? How do I heal?Each chapter contains illustrative vignettes and suggestions for reflection to assist readers in discovering what they want. Coercive Relationships lifts the private shame survivors feel by connecting ...

A neuroscientist explores how trauma impacts the brain, especially for women—and how we can learn to heal ourselves Everyone experiences trauma. Whether a specific harrowing event or a series of stressful moments that culminate over time, trauma can echo and etch itself into our brain as we...

“In the fairy tales about father–daughter incest—‘The Girl Without Hands,’ ‘Thousand Furs,’ the original ‘Cinderella,’ ‘Donkey Skin,’ and the stories of Saint Dymphna, patron saint of incest survivors—the daughters are all as you would expect them to be: horrified by...

Trauma and its effects can feel like a never-ending storm, and there's no safe harbor in sight from the thoughts and emotions that toss and turn so violently and unpredictably in your head. But healing is possible. Your brain can actually rewire these thoughts and emotions. And you can direct that powerful healing process through journaling.

In "Beyond Survivor" Frayne offers his own history, hoping to help other victims of abuse find the courage and strength to seek help to triumph over it, and to increase awareness and education among the general public. Author Patricia A. McKnight, in her review of the book, says, “This expertly written book shows the path of standing strong and achieving what all mankind desires; retrieving the happiness once destroyed by the wicked. This collection of outstanding poetry and prose is a must read for all as inspiration to prevail against the challenges put forth in the battle to obtain our...

This “witty, humorous, and heartfelt“ (Cinelle Barnes) memoir navigates the tangled branches of Annabelle Tometich’s life, from growing up in Florida as the child of and a Filipino mother and a deceased white father to her adult life as a med-school-reject-turned-food-critic. When...

Metamorphosis is the true tale of how a bitter, traumatized woman transformed herself and her life to fulfill all her wildest dreams. No matter how you slice it, everyone has had adverse experiences in life, experiences they wish they could take back and do differently or even banish altogether. After a duo of traumatic events at age twenty-nine, combined with a chip on my shoulder from growing up as a black child in a small, very white town, I found myself years later living in the past and unable to move forward. Miserable and hating how my life was playing out at age thirty-four, I made ...

The discovery of his father Raymond's mysterious "treasure box" forces an award-winning writer to reexamine their contentious relationship. As he opens the box and begins taking items out one by one—taking you on a treasure hunt—he is overwhelmed by memories, many funny, some poignant or sad, and a few that may send shivers up your spine. It is in those curiosities that Raymond will be revealed, piece by piece, memory by memory. Hopes, dreams, warts and all. In the end, a different unexpected father emerges. By the time the treasures are all laid out, Raymond will have earned some ...

Words Heal uses self-guided imagery, expressive writing therapy, and journaling to work with those recovering from or living with a range of tough personal challenges, or who struggle with discouraging health issues, chronic illness, traumas, distress, poor quality of life, negativity and adverse situations, and would like to have a better attitude, a better quality of life, a more joyful life, and develop a positive attitude all in the privacy of their own space at their own pace.

Have you ever been knocked down by life, but then something amazing started to bloom from the rubble? Whether your experience was life-shattering or life-altering, any unexpected “event” can change life as you know it, feeling lost and alone. Maybe you went through a breakup, lost a loved one, was forced to shift careers, faced a health scare, or just felt completely lost. The healing begins when you start to hear the whisper from deep inside: "My journey means something. I need to share it." Instead of ignoring the whisper, let this book be your guide to create something meaningful ...

Some secrets are too dangerous to tell and too dark to keep... When young Corianne Dempsey and her best friend, Rebecca, are approached by a stranger on their way to school, only one girl makes it home. When Rebecca turns up dead, Corianne's childhood ends abruptly. Growing up in the long shadow of this event, Corianne is now a conflicted young woman seeking solace in dangerous places. Her hauntingly-dark dreams begin crossing into waking life, hinting that the past she remembers may be a lie. Driven to make sense of what is happening, she returns to the only place she feels solid, the farm...

Dylan Glass, an 18-year-old high school dropout, has been kicked out of his mother and stepdad’s palatial house. Now homeless, he sleeps in his SUV behind an abandoned movie theater in an aging San Fernando Valley suburb. Although he has a job at a dollar store and support from the people he meets, he finds himself challenged by old temptations and a new woman, the alluring and enigmatic Pearl. Miles away in Orange County, his estranged father, Dr. Oliver Glass, struggles with demons of his own. A private practice and a beautiful girlfriend with children of her own can’t make up for a ...

In Stories Are What Save Us, Chrisinger shows - through writing exercises, memoir excerpts, and lessons he's learned from his students - the most efficient ways to uncover and effectively communicate what you've learned while fighting your life's battles, whatever they may be.

Jack’s Diary A novella by Damian Jay Clay “If I don’t write it, if I don’t say it, then it isn’t true.” Hidden behind an air vent, wrapped in plastic and shame, lies a notebook no one was ever meant to read. But Jack writes anyway. About his body, his silence, the bruises he’s told are love, and the God he’s told will never love him back. In the language of scripture, whispered desire, and unbearable confession, this raw, radiant diary traces one boy’s journey through religious guilt, abuse, awakening, and the impossible hope of being known. As Jack falls deeper into self-...

"Five sexy, disturbing stars!" (Amazon Reviewer) "Hands down the best book I've ever read!" (Amazon Reviewer) I didn't expect this. I didn't ask for this. I never wanted to confront anything close to this feeling. Falling in love terrified me. I wasn't prepared for the ultimate "fall" from grace. I had plans to leave New York City and never look back. Growing up in a dysfunctional household with Mom and Rob had scarred my psyche. I needed to break my mother's generational curse. I didn't want to marry an abusive jerk and financially struggle while he broke all his promises. Little did I ...

Have you suffered a traumatic event that triggered what seems to be an endless period of grieving? Do have difficulty reaching the final stages of acceptance and closure? Do you wonder when will the emotional pain and suffering finally dissipate and go away? Although author Andy Stankowski managed to overcome most of the challenges that he encountered in his life, he endured two episodes of emotional trauma that he was unable to get over and leave behind. The initial feelings of heartache, failure, and guilt resulted in a lingering depression that never let up. For years Stankowski’s mind...

What if your deepest wounds weren’t about what happened—but about who never showed up? The Mother Wound Guidebook is a trauma-informed guide for women who grew up feeling unseen, controlled, or emotionally dismissed by the one person who was supposed to nurture them. This workbook isn’t just about understanding the pain—it’s about healing it. If you’ve ever felt guilt for setting boundaries, grief over what you never received, or exhaustion from trying to earn a love that should’ve been unconditional, this journey is for you. Inside, you’ll explore: What the “mother wound...