Breaking the Cycle: the 6 Stages of Healing from Childhood Family Trauma: Support and Recovery for What You Were Once Powerless to Change

This is the best book I've ever read regarding family trauma. Gave me so many answers.

Helping my child through some difficult things with his other parent and at the same time it unexpectedly helped me as well. Must read for all adults and all parents

Just got the book and we will see how it goes!

The book is really well written and alot of good information

As a psychotherapist, I loved this book and will be recommending to my clients.If you endured early traumatic experiences by family members, this informative and educational book will help you find healing and inner peace. I've read many great books about healing from childhood trauma but what I especially appreciate about Breaking the Cycle is that the author specifically addresses family trauma and the unique effects of this form of childhood pain. When the place where we're supposed to find safety and shelter is the source of chaos and fear, it can wreak havoc on the developing child's nervous system and psychological development. Gillis addresses the profound effects of this with clarity and compassion. She also educates the reader to the various forms of trauma—from more overt physical abuse to the less obvious but no less traumatic invisible wounds of emotional abuse, neglect, and abandonment and the often secretive trauma of sexual abuse.Gillis outlines six stages of healing: Pre-Awareness, Uncovering, Digging In, Doing the Work of Healing, Understanding, and Nurturing. This helpful outline gives survivors of childhood trauma a structure and roadmap. This structure is important because early family trauma creates such inner chaos that having a healing guide can feel grounding and reassuring. Others have walked this path and you can, too. The many client examples (and personal shares by the author) also offer readers validation and support that they’re not alone in their struggles. And reflective writing exercises throughout the book help the reader process what they’re learning.I especially appreciate the chapter about understanding our caregivers’ histories. Throughout the book the author validates the trauma survivor’s range of emotions and offers helpful suggestions to navigate them. This chapter gently supports survivors as they process their often confusing and ambivalent feelings towards family members, especially parents, whose abusive and neglectful behaviors may have been a consequence of their own trauma histories. Gillis beautifully balances putting responsibility for abuse/neglect where it belongs (on the parent) while holding compassion for that parent for whatever trauma they may have endured in their childhoods. As a psychotherapist, I believe that this balanced and compassionate approach to intergenerational trauma can foster healing as survivors feel both validated in their experience and also helps them open to release internalized and prolonged anger and resentment that can be harmful to mind and body.I highly recommend this book for clinicians and survivors of childhood trauma and I will be recommending to my own clients. A must-read informative and helpful book!

Gillis' is a family trauma expert and has written a great book about how family trauma affects the individual. She also explains the different forms of trauma which helps the reader gain a better understanding. This book can help people who are recovering but also people who provide care to others. One of the best aspects of the book is that it focuses on healing rather than blame.

This book has truly enlightened me on how my childhood trauma has influenced my current self, as well as how to navigate through it. It focuses on comprehension, growth, and learning from our past experiences rather than assigning blame. The author emphasizes that our caregivers did their best with the resources they had, while also dealing with their own challenges. This perspective encourages empathy and understanding as we work through our pain. It is highly recommended for anyone seeking to comprehend and overcome the long-lasting effects of childhood trauma. The book serves as both a guide and a companion on the healing journey, offering support, insight, and hope for a healthier and more fulfilling future.I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

Obviously self-published. Two-inch margin on one side quarter-inch margin on the other. Wonky spacing. If you’re going to self-publish something get help with formatting.