Childhood Trauma: Some Rise, Some Fall – a Book Worth Reading Right Now

Childhood Trauma: Some Rise, Some Fall – a Book Worth Reading Right Now

What if that promotion you’ve been waiting for doesn’t come because of something that happened when you were a child?

What if your team feels a little uncomfortable around you because you’re often tense and worried, gripped in the memory of a childhood trauma that is keeping you from moving forward now?

What if you could change that? What if you could achieve your goals, be happy, learn to understand and release the worry, fear, and anger of a trauma that happened so many years ago but which is still following you around right now?

Deborah-Brown Volkman says you can let it go. She says, “You can be one of the lucky ones who gets back up.”

Be One of the Lucky Ones Who Gets Back Up

In this Smart Conversation with me, Yvonne DiVita, Deborah delves into some of the trauma from her own life, and how it held her back. In her new book (one of many books Deborah has written), Childhood Trauma. Some Rise. Some Fall. How to be one of the lucky ones who get back up, she boldly takes us on a journey into a world of fear and shadows; a world that she remembers so well because she lived and endured it as a child.

It’s a world more of us know than we care to admit. I know it. I lived it. Though mine was different than Deborah’s, it was the same. We both compensated for the abuse by being ever vigilant and walking on egg shells.

I never realized how my abuse had affected my career until I read Deborah’s book. Until I had a chance to talk to her in this interview. In all honesty, she’s a friend. We met in a networking group and we have become fast friends.

I find so much to admire and appreciate in Deborah. Her work ethic. Her experience in career coaching. Her determination to help people pull themselves out of a rut, whether it’s from needing to find a new job, or just because they’re being overlooked and not progressing at work. Deborah brings more than knowledge and experience to what she does, she brings heart and emotion.

I always like to quote from author’s books to help readers get a feel for their voice and tone. Deborah starts her book, in the introduction with this,

I should have been another statistic, a casualty of childhood abuse. I was raised on pins and needles; hyper-vigilant; flight, fight or freeze mode all the time. I could not tell you what I was feeling. I could only tell you what he was feeling. A miscalculation on my part could mean big trouble.

The moment I read that, I was brought back to my life growing up. It didn’t ‘trigger me,’ it merely told me that Deborah is the real deal. She can write about this because she truly has lived it.

But know that this book isn’t about the suffering. It isn’t about the pain or the fear or the hiding in shadows. This book is about hope.

It’s about accomplishment. It’s about becoming the YOU you are meant to be. Deborah takes us on a journey that goes from bumpy roads full of potholes splashing muddy water to roads that are smooth, no muddy water, but perhaps with some twists and turns. Because life is not about how easy things are. It’s about how we learn from our experiences and how we traverse the twists and turns in the roads life takes us down.

I have recommended Deborah’s book before. It’s not newly released. It’s been out for a bit. What I want to do today is introduce you to the author. Give you a chance to hear from her words how she teaches us to overcome our traumatic pasts and learn to bring hope and purpose to our lives. Especially at work.

This is the key. The book is so much about how we jinx ourselves in our work, without knowing it, because we’re carrying baggage we should let go.

The book gives those of us who experienced trauma as children validation. Not only can we survive and thrive, but it’s okay – we can be successful and happy. And, it’s okay to acknowledge what happened to you as a child. You don’t have to be embarrassed or frightened by it. Embrace it. Learn to understand it.

And forgive.

One of the most telling parts of this interview is when Deborah reveals how she taps into her spiritual side to help her cope. Trauma as a child is terrifying. It’s a bleak landscape we walk, forever looking over our shoulders, afraid people will find out. Until they do. And we learn that the only thing people care about is the you, you are now. You, the person who is standing before them with tears in your eyes.

I’ll leave you with this last quote from her book,

As I have said throughout this book, I am not a therapist. I am a regular person who went through a horrible beginning, survived, and has healed herself. My journey is within these pages. This book has been a wonderful and healing experience for me as well. I feel lighter and freer.

And I am not out of the woods, yet. My journey continues. This book is not “I am healed and that’s it.” I still struggle sometimes. I still have anxiety. Some nights, I have trouble sleeping and some days it is a challenge to get out of bed.

Watch the video by clicking the image below.

Connect with Deborah on LinkedIn.

Visit Deborah’s website: Surpass Your Dreams

Buy Deborah’s book(s) on Amazon.

Subscribe to the Smart News YouTube channel where I present more interviews like this with authors and other professionals in the world of writing and publishing.