It is difficult to put down my pen when there’s a story inside me waiting to be told.

So I write.

I write for me, and I write for those with similar stories.

We are your daughters.

We are your sons.

We are your clients.

We are your students, patients, and children.

So please listen.

We were born with smiles that shined ever so brightly.

And as the days passed and we developed in environments that did not provide us sun, we hid our smiles, and instead, stood ready for battle.

We stood ready to respond in case we set off another grenade.

We listened and watched for signals.

And over time, we no longer stopped to think.

Instead, our bodies reacted on their own.

Fight.

Fawn.

Flee.

Freeze.

There was no time to consider our window of tolerance.

Instead, we reacted as if it was life or death.

And even now as adults, we respond like cheetahs at the slightest change in our environment.

We are warriors.

We are your daughters.

We are your sons.

We are clients.

We are students.

We are your patients.

We are adults with histories of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs).

Please hold our hearts with care, and please join us in battling this fight against complex childhood trauma.

It’s time we have a conversation about what is going on in many homes.

Let’s work to stop as much intergenerational trauma as we can.

It starts with educating parents on the importance of forming a secure attachment during those first few years of a child’s life.

Please join the conversation. If you, too, have been affected by adverse childhood experiences, please share your story here.

It is safe with me and all of us in this community.

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