SURVIVORS' STORIES

Let's together build a Resilience Community, where we share stories about our abuse, struggles and, hopefully, resilience, or said another way, emergence. We can learn from one another and find our collective way forward into new understandings about ourselves.

When you’re ready to share your story, reach out to me. It will take courage and vulnerability. I’ll guide you through the process. And if you’re willing, we’ll record your story and post it here.

If you're unfamiliar with the concept of resilience as it relates to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), I encourage you to watch this excellent documentary. Additionally, here is an excellent summary of what resilience in this context means. If you'd like to learn more about ACEs and know your ACEs score, I recommend this site: AcesTooHigh.com. Per that site, there are 10 types of childhood trauma measured in the ACE Study. Five are personal:

1. physical abuse

2. verbal abuse

3. sexual abuse

4. physical neglect

5. emotional neglect

Five are related to other family members:

1. a parent who’s an alcoholic

2. a mother who’s a victim of domestic violence

3. a family member in jail

4. a family member diagnosed with a mental illness

5. and the disappearance of a parent through divorce, death or abandonment

Here’s another excellent summary of ACEs and their impact on our life-long health.

If you are part of an organization that would like to have your clients share their video story as part of the Resilience Community on YouTube, this slide deck will walk you through the particulars. I look forward to talking you through this process.

Disclaimer

The views and opinions expressed in these stories are those of the individual storytellers and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Garrett R. Hall.

Parental Advisory

These stories of resilience may contain explicit language or depictions of violence, sex, or substance abuse. Parental discretion is advised.

Gerardo, 24, loves to make music that means something to people. It’s his way of expressing himself and connecting to humanity. Educated, articulate, and introspective, Gerardo endured physical abuse from the man he believes should have loved and valued him the most: his father. Bullied as a youth, his self-esteem suffered. His story is powerful, as is his music, which you’ll hear beneath his story.

Kane began questioning his gender identity when he was three. That alone created anxiety in his world of defined norms. Throughout his childhood he endured sexual abuses that added to his fear and distrust of others. As a young adult, he learned to accept who he was, find goodness in others, and, as he says, see beauty arise from tragedy.

He wants you to know him as "Babu." He's a business owner, percussion instructor, professional drummer, and father whose abusive marriage led to understanding his childhood abuses. He's a methodical thinker with past obsessive-compulsive tendencies who tried to please others above all else. Now, he's found a way through his anxiety into a resilient life, where he's learned to love himself as much as he loves his children.