How to Survive the Trauma and Find Hope to Endure the Hidden Pain

When Dr. Beverly J. Armento was 23, in her first year of teaching, and after 17 years of physical and emotional abuse, she was at her darkest hour and considered suicide. She struggled through the night, listening to the voices in her head and hearing what former teachers and students were arguing with her about the pros and cons of that choice. By dawn, she came out on the other side of hopeless toward home. She had clarity on her purpose in life with the drive to live free from the fear and trauma in her current state.

Dr. Beverly J. Armento, professor, educator, author, speaker, and advocate, was responsible for her blind, artistic, and mentally ill mother. To people around her, she seemed to excel at school and in the world, but inside, Beverly was cowed by her mother's rage and delusions.

In her interview, she tells the story of twenty years struggling to survive the trauma and the next twenty years of how she found hope to survive through the hidden pain. 

As the “Seeing Eye Girl” for her blind, artistic, and mentally ill mother, Beverly Armento was intimately connected with and responsible for her, even though her mother physically and emotionally abused her. She was Strong Beverly at school—excellent in academics and mentored by caring teachers—but at home, she was Weak Beverly, cowed by her mother’s rage and delusions.

Beverly's mother regained her sight with two corneal transplants in 1950 and went on to enjoy a moment of fame as an artist. Still, these positive turns did nothing to stop her disintegration into her delusional world of communists, radiation, and lurking Italians. To survive, Beverly had to be resilient and hopeful that better days could be ahead. But first, she had to confront essential ethical issues about her caregiving role in her family.

In this emotional memoir, Beverly shares the coping strategies she invented to get herself through the trials of her young life, and how school and church served as refuges over the course of her journey. Breaking the psychological chains that bound her to her mother would prove to be the most difficult challenge of her life—and, ultimately, the most liberating one.

2023 Nonfiction Book Awards Gold Winner

2023 Next Generation Indie Book Awards Finalist in Autobiography/Biography

2022 Foreword INDIES Finalist in Autobiography & Memoir—Adult Nonfiction

2022 Readers’ Favorite Book Awards Honorable Mention in Non-Fiction—Autobiography

2022 IPPY Awards Bronze Winner in Autobiography II—Coming of Age/Family

“Sublime writing brightens an unforgettable, harrowing personal account.”—Kirkus Reviews

                                      Click to Buy Book

CONNECT WITH DR. BEVERLY HERE

Website

Reflection Journal

Instagram

YouTube

You Can Break Through Severe Generational Trauma Including Holocaust Survival

Willie Handler is a child of two Holocaust survivors and has inherited not only their trauma but also their resilience. That resilience helped him battle through life’s challenges.

Willie Handler has reinvented himself on several occasions throughout his work career. He has been a hospital administrator, a government policy manager, an insurance expert, and a consultant. Following his retirement from the government, Willie began a writing career.

Growing antisemitism and Holocaust denial motivated Willie to research and write about his family’s story during the Holocaust and the impact it had on him. 

Willie has published three satirical fiction novels over the past few years. His latest book is a memoir focusing on growing up as a child of Holocaust survivors. He is currently working on a book dealing with generational trauma in descendants of Holocaust survivors. 

In light of what is happening in the world, this interview with Willie is timely and enlightening.

Growing up, the author and his family constantly lived under the shadow of the Holocaust. There was persistent tension at home. He was frequently told: “Finish your dinner. We didn’t have food like this in the camps.”

His parents only provided bits and pieces of their Holocaust experiences since he “didn’t need to know.” A few years ago, Willie Handler decided that he did need to know. Thus began a journey into his family’s past, eventually revealing their extraordinary survival and the painful losses that came with it. Their stories reflect not only the evil that swept Europe in the 1930s and 1940s, but also the resilience of the human spirit.

His parents appeared to have taken some shocking secrets to their graves, forcing the author to view them in a different light. With the acknowledgement of his own buried trauma, and following years of research, he has finally stepped out of the shadows.

CONNECT WITH WILLIE HERE

Website

X

Instagram

Goodreads

Your Step-to-Step Process on Unlocking Your Power Through Forgiveness

In the eighth grade, Katherine Giovanni almost committed suicide, and she tried again when her mother died. But this was the flashpoint in her life that caused her to turn around and walk in a new direction. Katherine had survived cancer, attempted suicide twice, and lived in a dysfunctional family. But today, she has been sober for 34 years. 

Katherine is a three-time award-winning best-selling author of twelve books, a dynamic speaker, trainer, and advisor. She is also recognized as one of the original founders of the independent concierge industry.

During her interview, Katherine shares her unique system of forgiving people and the profound art of forgiveness. It transcends words, healing not just relationships but your very soul. 

                                            CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE BOOK

Everyone says to just say "I forgive you." But sometimes that's just not enough. This book will help you discover the profound art of forgiveness. It transcends words, healing not just relationships but your very soul. Yearning for inner peace? Ready for lasting harmony and emotional freedom? This book is your guide. Using Katharine's step-by-step process, take a deep dive into forgiveness and find the path to understanding and peace.

Sometimes, "I forgive you" is only the beginning.

CONNECT WITH KATHERINE HERE

Website

Facebook

Instagram

Linkedin

It's About Time - A Saga For Those Who Want to Understand Men

Mark Connor began boxing at age 10 at the Mexican American Boxing Club, the area of the city from which he formed his understanding of the world, anchoring his perception of direction to the family house and the rising of the sun outside his bedroom window.

He had 102 amateur fights, made it to three national tournaments, and competed against some of the nation’s top world-class boxers. He became the Upper Midwest Golden Gloves lightweight champion at 17. 

However, when America went through the trauma of an economic shutdown and his beloved Twin Cities blew up in fiery riots, Mark worked when he could (the Boxing gyms and churches were closed due to Governor’s orders), helped his mother who was diagnosed with a fatal heart disease, and daily mourned the death of his father. 

Mark is a boxing trainer and a writer from St. Paul, Minnesota. His first book, It's About Time, has sold millions of copies. He weaves together a story of love, family, and life with twenty poems running through it. 

                                                            Click here to buy book

                

                  The perfect gift for fathers and sons, and those who want to understand them

It’s About Time (Millions of Copies Sold for Dad) is a saga wrapped around a package of poems, guarded by angels. With a narrative style that reads like a novel, contains a collection of poetry, and shares an autobiography, Mark Connor guides us through a journey of love, family, and life that is ours as much as his own, peaking at the point of merger of difference and unity. 

Following him from memory to memory, we feel the eyes upon us, defeat the empire of fear, embrace the kingdom of love, and find ten minutes a day to be grateful. All the while, we celebrate the city of Saint Paul (with a friendly nod to Minneapolis), experience Irish influence in neighborhood life, rooted in Catholic cohesion, and embraced by Indigenous America in the Medicine Wheel. 

We box the perfect metaphor with future world champions, love beauty in a moment of ambivalence, work on a fishing boat in Southeast Alaska, comfort a child in an American Indian shelter for kids, and guard American Indian buildings, with guns, in riots. Through it all, we honor Dad, mourning his death and remembering his love, sharing a story written for America, valuing fatherhood, defending family, encouraging marriage, and providing hope.

CONNECT WITH MARK HERE

Purchase Book

Facebook

Each Step - Big or Small - Makes A Big Difference

In 1996, Dave Mowry had a total breakdown. He was driving down the freeway. under a lot of stress, and his mind was racing. And then, his mind snapped. He heard it like a snapping twig and felt it like a small electric shock in his brain. He was broken. He lost everything and was homeless for 18 months. He was living in hell for 14 months.

Dave Mowry’s story is one that you will want to share with anyone who is struggling with or has a family member battling mental illness. His story is one of inspiration, healing, and hope. He has lived with bipolar disorder and severe anxiety his entire adult life. He was a successful businessman until he lost it all due to mental illness.

After 14 lost years and being homeless with his family for 18 months, Dave took a stand-up comedy class for people with a mental illness. It changed everything. He went from his mental illness having control over him to finding the humor in his experiences and regaining control of his life.

Dave teaches stand-up comedy to people with a mental illness and performs on stage. We find humor in our pain and tell our stories one joke at a time. We let people know that they are not alone and that it is okay to laugh about our challenges, and shatter stigma.

Dave's interview will help you to understand the depths of mental illness and how to rise above the limitations.

                       Winner: Best bipolar disorder books of all time by BookAuthority.

What started out as a couple of blog posts blossomed into a following of over one million people who have read and been touched by Mowry's stories. The most extraordinary thing he found when writing about his experiences is that the most common comment about his work is “OMG, that's me”. You are telling my story. I don't feel so alone now.

Living with mental illness is hard, but it's especially difficult when dealing with more than one condition at the same time. Many books about coping with mental illness focus on one disorder, such as anxiety, panic attacks, or depression. Because Dave Mowry didn't see any that dealt with his situation of living with multiple disorders simultaneously, he decided to write about it himself.

OMG That's Me! It is sometimes funny, often poignant, but always deeply honest, open, and personal. Mowry's stories let others know there is help and there is hope, and that they, too can recover and live a full life. This book is a must-read for family members and friends who will gain true insight into the experiences of loved ones living with a mental illness. This book is a must-read for mental health professionals who will better understand the symptoms faced by their patients. And ordinary people will see the strength, resilience, and beauty of people who will shatter the stigma surrounding mental illness.

CONNECT WITH DAVE HERE:

Amazon

Facebook

Linkedin

Substack

You Have Cancer - What Do I Do to Win the Battle?

When Ray Hartjen was diagnosed with multiple myeloma - cancer, it was the first thing he thought about when he woke up, and pretty much the last thing he thought about before he nodded off to sleep. It occupied his thoughts most of the day.

“I’ve got cancer!”

After his diagnosis in 2019, Ray became a cancer fighter every day of the week that ends in a 'y'. Along with the soundtrack of life continuously playing in his head, Ray also performs and records with his two-piece acoustic band, the Chronic Padres.

To snap out of the trauma, he asked himself what type of role model he wanted to be for his family, friends, and community. What would be his legacy?

Ray Hartjen is a writer and musician whose professional career has spanned parts of five decades. Ray has pivoted on many occasions, from investment banking to pharmaceuticals, from consumer electronics to software. One constant throughout his career path has been storytelling with topics as far-ranging as sports to business.

Me, Myself & My Multiple Myeloma is a cancer-patient memoir written by Ray Hartjen, a multiple myeloma patient diagnosed in March 2019.

In this intimate and inspiring account, Ray reflects on every step of his relentless battle with cancer, from working toward a final diagnosis, through an initial induction treatment and an autologous stem cell transplant, and on to maintenance and continuing active treatment. Through it all, Ray shares personal insights into his fight, tending to his systemic physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual needs.

Fighting cancer or any serious health issue, particularly a chronic condition, can be a daunting quest. Me, Myself & My Multiple Myeloma shows the importance of being mission-forward. Mission, of course, is unique to each individual and based on values, roles, and the accountabilities associated with each that matter most.

Written for cancer patients, their caregivers, and their friends and family, Me, Myself & My Multiple Myeloma is a personal story of proactive accountability, stubborn perseverance, evolving perceptions, growing maturity, and, ultimately, hope

                      CLICK HERE TO BUY RAY'S BOOK

• WEBSITE
• Facebook
• Instagram
• X
• Linkedin
• YouTube
• TikTok

Severe Disability and Paralyzed from the Neck Down - Did NOT Stop Ken

Paralyzed from the neck down while playing college football in 1970, Ken Kunken was led to believe the best he could hope for was a career selling magazine subscriptions over the phone. But he battled back from the depths of depression and despair to become an award-winning assistant district attorney.

Some men see things as they are and say, "Why?" Ken dreamed of things that never were and said, "Why not?"

But the Ken Kunken story is more than overcoming adversity. There's more -- much more.

After a lengthy hospitalization, Ken returned to Cornell, where he completed his undergraduate degree in engineering. Ken earned a Master of Arts degree at Cornell in education, as well as a Master of Education degree at Columbia University in psychology. 

Ken became a nationally certified rehabilitation counselor. He worked for more than two years at Abilities, Inc., where he provided vocational and placement counseling to severely disabled individuals. 

Was that enough?  Not for Ken! He enrolled in Hofstra University's School of Law and worked for more than 40 years as a Nassau County assistant district attorney, where he became a Deputy Bureau Chief. 

It’s also a love story that leads Ken to become the biological father of triplets, which was thought to be impossible. Ken's true-life story inspires and motivates others to fight for their dreams against overwhelming odds.

Ken never ever gave up hope. He believed he could lead a useful, productive, and happy life despite his physical disability.

Please share his incredible interview: 

BUY KEN'S BOOK - CLICK HERE

“I Dream of Things That Never Were” describes Ken Kunken’s journey from the lowest point in his life after a serious football injury to the pinnacle of happiness and success.

CONNECT WITH KEN HERE

Facebook

Facebook Personal

Instagram

Linkedin

YouTube

No Obstacle Too Great Not to Overcome and Be Successful

Dr. Fidele Sebahizi's powerful story of courage and perseverance will inspire you to create your own life from the ashes, no matter what giants are in front of you.

Dr. Sebahizi was born and raised in a poor village in the Democratic Republic of Congo. His life was rough. He experienced lots of terrible things, including escaping a genocidal killing at least twice. When he arrived in the United States in 2007, he felt tremendously blessed to have been given such a wonderful opportunity to achieve his unfulfilled dreams, especially going back to school. 

He overcame life obstacles as an immigrant in the United States to achieve the American dream. He became the first immigrant to join and work for the Abilene Police Department in Texas as a police officer. While working for the APD, Fidele earned multiple degrees: a B.A. in Creative Writing from Southern New Hampshire University in New Hampshire, an M.S. in Criminal Justice from Sam Houston State University in Texas, and a Ph.D. in Criminal Justice—Homeland Security from Liberty University in Virginia.

In his interview, he shares incredible stories of courage. In 2004, when he was trapped in a house between two heavily armed forces fighting each other, he didn't know if he would be alive today. In addition, he witnessed a genocidal massacre against his people in a United Nations refugee camp in Burundi, Africa, witnessing the burning bodies of his relatives and friends. 

His faith in Jesus Christ is the common denominator that helped him to overcome life's obstacles and struggles. He knew God was always with him and was determined never to give up.

 

 

Grab Your Copy Now

Embark on an extraordinary journey from a remote African village, through the horrors of a refugee camp massacre, to a remarkable life as a police officer and PhD holder in the United States. "Creating a Life from the Ashes: A Memoir" is a testament to the indomitable spirit of an African refugee who chose to face and overcome insurmountable challenges.

In this book, you will discover:

• How to build a life from nothing, regardless of your beginnings or struggles.
• The importance of confronting challenges head-on.
• Why avoiding challenges can lead to greater difficulties.
• The true happiness that comes from overcoming adversity.
• The power of rejecting excuses and embracing responsibility.

"Creating a Life from the Ashes" inspires readers to rise above their circumstances with determination and resilience. This memoir demonstrates that no matter how humble your beginnings, you can achieve greatness and make a significant impact.

Don't miss out on this powerful story of courage and perseverance. Be inspired to create your own life from the ashes.

Connect with Dr. Fidele

Website

Book Website

X

Facebook