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true. by Catherine Ada Campbell

true.

Moving Beyond Complex Trauma

by Catherine Ada Campbell

ISBN: 9798990509207

Campbell blends memoir and science-based research on trauma in this nonfiction debut.

The author begins with a phone conversation she had as a 34-year-old with her estranged older brother, Lee. When she asked him a seemingly innocuous question about her lifelong fear of bees, Lee revealed a jarring fact about their early childhood: They were abandoned by their parents every summer. And, as abusive as their alcoholic father may have been, per Lee, “It was worse at some of those places we stayed.” To Campbell, whose memories of her childhood featured idyllic images of summers spent at carnivals, riding in parade floats, and taking ballet lessons, this revelation of neglect and abuse came as a shock. The rest of the book focuses on the author’s efforts to come to grips with her childhood trauma and explores how that damage affected her life well into adulthood as a single, 20-year-old mom. Opening the book with a trigger warning, Campbell openly discusses domestic violence, both in her childhood and during her first marriage to a traumatized, alcoholic, and abusive Vietnam War veteran. While much of the work is autobiographical in nature, the author effectively combines her personal story with research from therapists and psychologists. (When discussing why her own childhood memories proved to be false, Campbell references the science of brain development in children.) This research is backed by nearly 80 scholarly endnotes. The book also includes a helpful multipage list of references for readers struggling with various mental health issues, including anger management, anxiety, and eating disorders. The author implores readers to seek professional help in addressing their own mental health, noting that “every time I open myself up to the truths I don’t want to see or admit, I make progress.” A former radio morning show host, Campbell writes in an approachable style, and the text includes ample photographs, diagrams, and other visual elements.

A well-researched account of coming to terms with childhood damage.