A Product of Trauma

My grandfather was a surgeon during WWII.  The first 4 years of my mother's life were lived without her father.  When he returned, he was a different person.  He would never speak of his time in France, and never went back.  I cannot imagine the horrors he witnessed and was a part of.   His oldest son, my uncle, served as a medic in the Vietnam war.  He came back a different man and refused to ever speak of the war.  Both men led "successful" lives while silently suffering.    Do you see my family's legacy of grappling with trauma or overwhelm? "Can you see how my family legacy of facing trauma is that of silence?"

A mother I know was abandoned by her own mother and is doing everything she can to stop the generational cycle of neglect.  She attends our Roots Family Enrichment Program as well as private conversations with me each week.  She said, "If I can hear your voice while I parent, then I know I'm not alone".  This mother recognizes that Sara Ellie MacKenzie is correct in stating, "We are the product of our parents' trauma.  It is up to us whether we let it burn or if we extinguish it".  This mother wants her family's trauma to be extinguished.  She is working hard to make that happen, literally changing her family's future.  

I imagine my grandfather believed he could bury his suffering,  but trauma doesn't go away that way.  

For over 30 years Rebound Families has been supporting those that have suffered, and those that just want to be stronger.  Our Roots Family Enrichment Program continues to strengthen parents while we teach children and youth how to become resilient as they develop social/emotional skills.   Our ReLief program is our advocacy support to those who need one on one help.  Our Ray of Hope and ReStart Summer Camps help elementary school and middle schoolers navigate upset in peaceful and powerful ways.   Covid robbed these children from social and emotional learning experiences, we want to restore these skills - and that takes concentrated effort and training.  

As we begin 2024, consider helping us help them by changing their family's futures.