As a mental health professional I lap up any books related to mental health issues, and this one was no exception. I love what Dorothy has done here for raising awareness of both PTSD, and transgenerational trauma. A thought-provoking, insightful and honest read, this was fascinating and really helps to explain how traumatic events can have such a long-lasting and far-reaching impact on individuals and their loved ones. Highly recommend this.

This book is 95 the author's story. She uses her experiences to help people through trauma. There are some helpful exercises at the end of the chapters and this is the most helpful part.

Very well done. For any person trying to wade through some jumbled family issues and emotional traumas, plenty is found here to present new perspectives and a wellspring of questions to prompt some excellent journaling. The author has explored the topic from many angles, and we get a nice supply of healing and empowering tools with which to continue a healing journey. Very worth your time and energy. This is a book you'll want to read a few times, letting your insights marinate along the way.

Dorothy Husen shares a lovely book based on personal experience and insight for which I highly benefited in the reading. Encouraging words such as, "Recovery from trauma is not a straight line to a specific destination." She presents a very real and non-glossy insight into the hard work one must own in helping heal from a painful past. "My body became a reflection of her anxiety" could be the anthem of my childhood.

I felt seen within the pages of this book. The critique I hold is with descriptions surrounding her Christian conclusions in the eleventh chapter; as a religious writer, I would not be able to recommend this book to Christians who are not mature enough in their faith to recognize that Husen's growth involved distancing herself from many ground-level Christian beliefs. I recognize that people raised in traumatic environments (that also include religious experiences/practices) often throw the baby out with the bathwater and renounce their faith. I had to unlearn the unbiblical Christian teachings in my own life so that I could hold onto a lifeline in Christ that helped me find my way forward. My gratitude to Husen and the publisher.

Everyone experiences some type of event that has a profound effect on their lives. Some of these events are significantly traumatic, others only mildly. We all experience trauma, whether significant or mild, differently. As a therapist, I read this book to help open my own eyes to those who have experienced significant trauma in their lives and haven’t been able to cope. I found this book extremely helpful from this point of view in being able to gain more tools to pass on to clients who are still struggling to cope with the effects of their trauma. Also a great book for clients to read as well to see for themselves the tools they can use to help cope with their pain and start their journey of personal growth.

This book made me view my own family a little differently. Not in a negative way but it kind of awoken me to the idea of trauma being passed down from my grandparents to my parents in particular.

It’s a very interesting read, however there were some first person accounts of the authors sexual assault that I wasn’t prepare for.

Great exercises. Biggest reason for lower stars is a lack of trigger warning. Sexually traumatic events were written in a first-hand account, explaining the fear, confusion, guilt shame... This is an extremely triggering way to present these accounts to the target audience.

On Goodreads:
This book, I kinda struggled with… Dorothy Husen opens up about her own experiences, and it is a little reassuring to feel like she actually understands because she’s lived through it, not just studied other people’s pain. However, some of the accounts of her sexual abuse are triggering.

Not only did she talk about it, which can trigger some, but what triggers me is that she gave a first-hand account, explaining her thoughts and feelings at the time as if it was occurring now, rather than presenting the experience as a sequence of events, as facts. Adding the emotional aspect to the account can be extremely triggering. I had to skim a lot of these segments to minimize the emotional reactions.

Another major issue I had is that she makes a lot of excuses for her mother’s lack of care and support. I do understand the point that she’s making, that her mother had her own traumas. The issue is that she never healed herself or the relationship with her daughter. At the end of the day it was a very abusive and neglectful relationship, and it feels like she’s promoting for others to maintain those relationships but to try to understand their abusers, whole putting the responsibility on the child to implement and maintain boundaries.

I like that there are exercises at the end of each chapter. Especially for the typical reader of this type of book, regular “check-in” prompts are a nice and useful touch. I also like the meditation exercises and breathing techniques to help you connect with your body and inner child. The “attune to yourself” exercise is a little lacking though. Disassociation and dysregulation are often deeper than that, and would benefit from deeper meditation and yoga, along with other forms of therapy. Overall the exercises are great, particularly the body scan, where it discusses how we learn to define and reflect on our emotions. I found this particularly relevant.

Despite my reservations where she makes excuses for her mother’s neglectful parenting, I loved how she told the histories of each of her parents as well. As the topic of Trauma is gaining in popularity, we often talk about our childhoods and how it’s shaped us. I love that she invites us to reflect on what could have caused our caretakers to be how they were, so we can understand better, to break the trauma cycle.

Additional notes:
The Heart Breathing exercise in Chapter 6 is disjointed and confusing. Then there are a bunch of random pictures of people we haven’t heard of yet (like her husband and kids) before chapter 7.

Interesting to read her views of the church, shame and women’s value. I also found myself turning away from religion after different traumatic events, and hearing her explain why resonates with me.

I thought this was a pretty fascinating read! Having been affected by some trauma and coming from a line of ancestors that were too, I have tried my best to help provide my children with a more stable upbringing. This book has helped me not feel so alone and to better understand why I feel and think the way I do. Great read!

What drew me into this book was how I myself am a victim of trauma caused by my dad. For a long time, I thought I was broken. My trauma has been an issue in many of my relationships and so when I saw this book here, I knew I wanted to read it. If nothing else, I had hoped it would make me feel less alone in my pain. That is something it did very well I might add! This book was great for giving me a chance to feel less alone in growing up and living through trauma!

Breaking the Chains of Transgenerational trauma is a mix of psychology pertaining to the authors past traumas and Christianity. It had some good points and i enjoyed reading about the authors progression of thought over time but i went in expecting more psychology and less listen to jesus.

I'd love to be able to read this book but unfortunately it's available on Kindle only, and I don't have a Kindle device. It would be great if the publishers would make it available on epub or PDF, as these formats are accessible from a wider range of devices. Otherwise, the title seems extremely interesting.

This novel is a very relatable book for those of which have experienced similar circumstances and have found themselves dealing with trauma from their childhood or just throughout life. Certainly a good read for those who are in the same predigament as the author.

This book really helped me understand the dynamics of my family. I really think that this book would be helpful to anyone who suffers from transgenerational trauma.

In my role as a counselor, this is something that I am working on for myself and my clients. While my transgenerational trauma is not as heavy as others, it has certainly helped me work on my own. For those who might have more trauma, it will be a tough book to read. There is no nice way to say that. It will trigger you, it will bring up things that you didn't even know were issues still, and it will make you feel a wide range of emotions. Be prepared if you choose to read this book and possibly have a counselor/therapist on speed dial to work through some things.

I received this ARC from NetGalley and the publisher for free in exchange for an honest review.

Without being too triggering about the content, Breaking the Chains of Transgenerational Trauma: My Journey from Surviving to Thriving by Dorothy Husen is a book I did not know I needed. What a treasure to have someone relate to you on this level. A fantastic resource.