Every year millions of men and women develop addictions, eating disorders, depression, and related illnesses due to trauma. Trauma victims are more likely to suffer from drug or alcohol abuse, to smoke, or to engage in other self-destructive practices in an effort to avoid emotions they cannot handle and cope the hopelessness, despair, and painful feelings often associated with traumatic experiences. But it doesn’t have to be this way. A change is finally happening. Society is talking about sexual assault and abuse, about PTSD and associated disorders. And as people begin to acknowledge the traumas they’ve endured, they seek assistance for overcoming their experiences so they may live full lives free from shame, guilt, and despair. Thriving After Trauma discusses the many ways trauma victims have overcome the consequences of a wide-array of circumstances, including physical or sexual abuse, war-related injury, and loss due to tragedy, illness, and natural disasters. Real stories illustrate the many types of trauma people experience and the actions they took to help them survive, grieve, and move on. Letting go of the shame, guilt, anger, and fear associated with trauma is crucial to reclaiming a full life, and Shari Botwin provides insight into strategies such as journaling, bodywork, mindfulness, and using healing relationships, such as group therapy, to aid recovery. Any reader who has experienced trauma or knows someone who has will find comfort and hope in these pages, and a path forward to a full life.

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.