“What happened to you – Part 2”

I thought I would do a follow up to last weeks blog about the book “What happened to You”.  In the last blog I summarized for you Dr. Perry’s introduction to the book and this week I wanted to quote for you from Oprah’s introductory remarks.

“As an adult, I am grateful to enjoy long-term, consistent, loving relationships with many people. Yet the early beatings, emotional fractures, and splintered connections that I experienced with the central figures in my early life no doubt helped develop my solitary independence…”

“Millions of people were treated just as I was as children and grew up believing their lives were of no value. My conversations with Dr. Perry and the thousands of people who were brave enough to share their stories with me on the Oprah Winfrey Show have taught me that the effects of my treatment by those who were suppose to care for me weren’t strictly emotional. There was also a biological response. Through my work with Dr. Perry, my eyes have been opened to the fact that although I experienced abuse and trauma as a child, my brain found ways to adapt.”

“This is where hope lives for all of us – in the unique adaptability of our miraculous brains. As Dr. Perry explains in this book, understanding how the brain reacts to stress or early trauma helps clarify how what has happened to us in the past shapes who we are, how we behave, and why we do the things we do”.

“Through this lens we can build a renewed sense of personal self-worth and ultimately re-calibrate our responses to circumstances, situations, and relationships.  It is, in other words, the key to reshaping our lives.” 

If you would like to read more about how the Center works with children whose brains have experienced trauma and abuse please click on the link.