Thriving After Trauma: Stories of Living and Healing

by Shari Botwin

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Author: Shari Botwin

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Hardcover:
ISBN 10: 1538125609
ISBN 13: 978-1538125601

Thriving After Trauma addresses readers who have experience trauma or loss due to a variety of experience – whether accident, abuse, or injury. Shari Botwin shows readers, through personal stories, how many who have experienced the worst kinds of trauma have managed to move on and thrive beyond their experiences.

Often, those who live through trauma come away with feelings of shame, guilt, anger, and despair. These are common, even normal, responses in the immediate aftermath. Left unaddressed, though, those feelings may develop into substance abuse problems, eating disorders, depression, or anxiety. Learning how to move on, to pick up and live life again, takes effort and guidance. Botwin guides readers through the stories of others who have gone on to live fulfilling, happy lives, and provides tips and tools for healing and moving on.

Letting go of the shame, guilt, anger and fear associated with tragic events is crucial to reclaiming a full life. Strategies such as, journaling, mindfulness, cognitive-behavioral restructuring, and healthy relationships to aid in recovery are explored and explained, so readers can adopt those strategies that work best for them.

It is not the trauma itself that results in so many people developing self-destructive tendencies and life threatening illnesses. It is the lack of having a way to digest and make sense of the trauma-related feelings that can lead one to mental illness, disconnection, and in some cases, even death. Readers will learn how to live with the trauma versus how to get over the trauma, so they can move forward healthfully and mindfully.

Review

This book can be a kickstarter for anyone not ready or willing to tell/share their "trauma" story -- or for those working on processing their own trauma. Highly recommend. -- Laura Farber, Director, "We Are Columbine'

Everyone who has endured trauma, or has a loved-one in trauma recovery, will benefit from the exceptional exploration, insight, and common-sense approach of Shari Botwin, the once victimized author, who now catapults other victims, not just into surviving, but thriving by regaining control, knowing they matter and having a voice. An important, healing, hopeful read. -- Rosemarie Aquilina, Court Judge, Motivational Speaker, Law Professor, Author of "Triple Cross Killer"

A beautifully-written, inspirational account of courage and resilience, Thriving After Trauma is a book I will recommend again and again! -- Jenni Schaefer, Author of "Life Without Ed," "Almost Anorexic," and "Goodbye Ed, Hello Me"

Shari makes use of her unique and incredible journey to show the world what it truly means to be a survivor and masterfully uses that insight, as well as the accounts of other amazing survivors, to guide those who are suffering now on their own paths to surviving. Shari’s narrative will give others strength through her deeply personal and traumatic but ultimately inspirational story of overcoming tragedy. Her tireless efforts to help others overcome seemingly impossible obstacles truly shines through the pages. -- M. Stewart Ryan, Attorney at Laffey, Bucci, and Kent Law Firm, Former Assistant District Attorney

Shari Botwin brings her passion and hard-won wisdom to a deeply complex subject. The ways trauma manifests are as varied and unique as the person whose experience she describes. Ms. Botwin has done a masterful job of weaving her patients’ stories, her story, her skill as a therapist and her power as an activist into a readable, compelling work. She paints intimate, compassionate portraits of the devastation caused by trauma and the careful and deliberate process of healing. Her message of hope for living fully comes alive on every page. -- Elizabeth N. Kuh, M.D., Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist

As the collective understanding and acceptance of the impact of psychological trauma exploded in recent years, Shari Botwin was at the public forefront narrating it in newspapers and TV. Now she brings it all together in a series of real life accounts of despair and how to overcome it. Sharing her gift of translating the language and culture of psychological trauma to plain English, Botwin, a survivor herself, blends her personal anguish with the painful experience of others she counseled through the years. At its finest points this book not only informs but opens the soul. -- Bob Stewart, Freelance Journalist, New York Daily News, Philadelphia Inquirer, and Philadelphia Daily News

As a survivor of childhood abuse, Shari Botwin brings a deep understanding and empathy to traumatized folks lucky enough to have crossed paths with her - either in her writings, her workshops, her talks, or her individual therapy sessions. I was a domestic abuse victim until Shari guided me as I worked to become first a domestic abuse survivor and now a domestic abuse thriver. Readers of this book will learn that they are not alone as they meet some of Shari’s patients who have experienced trauma and worked to overcome it. Moreover, each chapter ends with ideas readers can use on their own journey to living a full life unencumbered by the residue of the trauma that has followed them like a shadow through their lives. No matter how long ago the trauma occurred, you can begin today to reclaim your right to happiness and fulfillment. -- Suzanne Dobkin, PhD, Domestic Abuse Warrior

Thriving After Trauma pulled at my heartstrings as this author brought such authenticity to life throughout this book. The true stories of her patients, as well as herself, give the reader a deep view into the world of those who struggle after trauma and abuse. The techniques and educational value of this read will be a great help to many people out there who continue to struggle alone. Embrace the Journey! -- Lisa Zarcone, Author of "The Unspoken Truth: A Memoir", Massachusetts National Ambassador for NAASCA

Shari has delicately woven together the nuances of treating trauma. Through examples from patient stories and the impacts of our shared cultural traumas, she provides strategies to effectively manage PTSD symptoms and guides the reader to understand how deep healing from horrific experiences can occur. -- Melissa Spann, PhD, CEDS-S, Executive Director, Oliver-Pratt Centers, Monte Nido and Affiliates

Shari’s book was a blessing to my survivor life. She immediately drew me and kept hold of me throughout the entire read. I loved how she so skillfully intertwined her own story with the story of others and how she used her gift of being a helper of the suffering to show us all that any and every emotion can stop to visit trauma survivors and that each one of them is normal.

“It is in speaking and understanding that people can go from surviving to thriving after trauma.”

Yes! When we speak and are heard we heal. When we speak and understand our own-selves as well as others, we heal. When we give ourselves room to speak our truth we truly learn how to thrive and not merely survive.

It is my honor to know this brilliant, compassionate, talented lady and I highly recommend this read! -- Michelle Stolleis Denault, Blogger, Educator Sexual Abuse Survivor and Advocate

About the Author

Shari Botwin, LCSW, has been counseling survivors of all types of trauma in her Cherry Hill, NJ private practice for over twenty-two years. Shari has conducted Keynote presentations for Universities and professional conferences throughout the country. She has given expert testimony on breaking stories related to trauma on a variety of international media outlets; including, NBC News, ABC News, CBS News, CTV News, CP-24 News, CNN and Radio Europe. Shari has also published feature articles in several online trade magazines including, Thrive Global, Huffington Post, The Associated Press, The Toronto Star, The Authority Magazine, Medium and the Philadelphia Inquirer.

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Thriving After Trauma: Stories of Living and Healing