BRAVE: What I Chose to Tell

What's your story

When I talk about BRAVE: A Personal Story of Healing Childhood Trauma, I sense assumptions from the outset. They are understandable  – after all, the title says it’s about childhood trauma, right? Yet at the same time, I want to laugh and say, “Could you just read the book before you make up your mind?” […]

What I Learned -or Remembered- when I Read Brave

BRAVE - book review

1) There are (at least) 2 kinds of being brave. One is an illusion in which we tell ourselves a version of events that we would like to be true. The other is the real deal. It involves facing our fears head on and living to tell the tale. In a future ATN blog post, […]

Maybe It Isn’t Depression?

–by Laura Dennis Therapist and author Hilary Jacobs Hendel has blogged for ATN several times this past year, including popular posts such as “Head, Heart, Repeat” and “What Mad Men and Don Draper Taught Us about Power and Shame”. She is also the author of “It’s Not Always Depression” and “The Healing Power of Hugs” […]

Scar Tissue and What the Brain Believes

Scar Tissue and What the Brain Believes

–by Julie Beem In early October I fell and broke my left knee cap (annihilated it into pieces is a more accurate description).  The skillful surgeon put Humpty Dumpty back together again, but I was ordered to remain immobile for six weeks while my old bones decided to knit back together. Right before Thanksgiving, the […]

What ‘Mad Men’ and Don Draper Taught Us About Trauma and Shame

–By Hilary Jacobs Hendel Manager’s note: The ATN blog is pleased to announce the addition of therapist and author Hilary Jacobs Hendel to our lineup of regular contributors. Although not as adoption- or attachment-focused as some of our other bloggers, Hilary’s work on core emotions and “The Change Triangle” provides precious insight into both our children […]

That Mom Could Be Me

November 6, 2014 by: Gari Lister Tuesday morning I checked Facebook and saw a post that made me start to cry before I even finished reading it.  A “critical” missing person in my neighborhood — a teenage girl.  The police notice originally mentioned a history of childhood abuse, and noted that a suicide note had […]