Russ Parker explores the power of wounded group stories and reveals how they affect the people and places where they first occurred. He shows how history repeats itself until we find ways to listen to it, locate where it is happening, and find healing for its consequences.
It was early morning, June 17, 1967, and Dak To Special Forces camp in Vietnam was under attack. A mortar exploded, and West Point graduate Allen B. Clark Jr.'s life was changed forever. This is the story of how one soldier, so gravely injured that both of his legs were amputated, turned his grievous loss into a personal triumph. Clark describes his struggle through a year-long recovery and a severe bout of post traumatic stress disorder, so little understood at the time. He tells of earning his MBA from Southern Methodist University and finding employment as a personal financial assistant to Ross Perot, of moving on to public service and founding the Combat Faith Ministry, a lay ministry to veterans. Clark's story of growth and spiritual fulfillment wrested from his wartime tragedy is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit and is of special relevance in our day of so many soldiers returning wounded in body and spirit from Iraq.
In 1983, when Evans came up with the vision for the first-ever memorial on the National Mall to honor women who’d worn a military uniform, she wouldn’t be deterred. She remembered not only her sister veterans, but also the hundreds of young wounded men she had cared for, as she expressed during a Congressional hearing in Washington, D.C.: “Women didn’t have to enter military service, but we stepped up to serve believing we belonged with our brothers-in-arms and now we belong with them at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. If they belong there, we belong there. We were there for them then. We mattered.” In the end, those wounded soldiers who had survived proved to be there for their sisters-in-arms, joining their fight for honor in Evans’ journey of combating unforeseen bureaucratic obstacles and facing mean-spirited opposition. Her impassioned story of serving in Vietnam is a crucial backstory to her fight to honor the women she served beside. She details the gritty and high-intensity experience of being a nurse in the midst of combat and becomes an unlikely hero who ultimately serves her country again as a formidable force in her daunting quest for honor and justice.
In our broken world, many Christians find their spiritual progress hindered or stalled by psychological wounds from their past. But these wounds can be healed with the proper treatment. Priest and licensed therapist Joshua Makoul shows how we can draw on the insights and resources of both the Church and modern psychology to help us come to terms with the past and use it to further our path to union with God.
First published in 1989, Dan Allender's The Wounded Heart has helped hundreds of thousands of people come to terms with sexual abuse in their past. Now, more than twenty-five years later, Allender has written a brand-new book on the subject that takes into account recent discoveries about the lasting physical, emotional, relational, and spiritual ramifications of sexual abuse. With great compassion Allender offers hope for victims of rape, date rape, incest, molestation, sexting, sexual bullying, unwanted advances, pornography, and more, exposing the raw wounds that are left behind and clearing the path toward wholeness and healing. Never minimizing victims' pain or offering pat spiritual answers that don't truly address the problem, he instead calls evil evil and lights the way to renewed joy. Counselors, pastors, and friends of those who have suffered sexual harm will find in this book the deep spiritual guidance they need to effectively minister to the sexually broken around them. Victims themselves will find here a sympathetic friend to walk alongside them on the road to healing.
Wounds of History takes a new view in psychoanalysis using a trans-generational and social/political/cultural model looking at trauma and its transmission. The view is radical in looking beyond maternal dyads and Oedipal triangles and in its portrayal of a multi-generational world that is no longer hierarchical. This look allows for greater clinical creativity for conceptualizing and treating human suffering, situating healing in expanding circles of witnessing. The contributors to this volume look at inherited personal trauma involving legacies of war, genocide, slavery, political persecution, forced migration/unwelcomed immigration and the way attachment and connection is disrupted, traumatized and ultimately longing for repair and reconnection. The book addresses several themes such as the ethical/social turn in psychoanalysis; the repetition of resilience and wounds and the repair of these wounds; the complexity of attachment in the aftermath of trauma, and the move towards social justice. In their contributions, the authors remain close to the human stories. Wounds of History will be of interest to psychoanalysts, psychologists and other mental health professionals, as well as students or teachers of trauma studies, Jewish and gender studies and studies of genocide.
Events in our lives, both good and bad, form rings in us like the rings in a tree. Each ring records memories that affect our feelings, our relationships, and our thoughts about God. In this classic work, David Seamands encourages us to live compassionately with ourselves as we allow the Holy Spirit to heal our past. As he helps us name hurdles in our lives—such as guilt, poor self-worth, and perfectionism—he shows us how we can find freedom from our pain and enjoy the abundant life God wants for us.
In this empathetic and inspiring resource, Padovani describes how one's emotional and spiritual lives interact, as he challenges readers to live fuller, more satisfying lives.
Amnon Ben-Yehuda, an Israeli native, joined the HAGANAH underground at age 13 and at 17 he joined the PALMACH, the shock troop branch of the HAGANAH. During the War Of Independence In April 1948, at a historic battle in Upper Galilee at a place called Nebbi Yusha, he miraculously survived a serious shot to the head. He ultimately recovered from short-term loss of sight and speech, but remained limited with his right hand. The twenty-two men killed in that battle were buried at the battle site in a common grave that had become a national monument for the heroes. After graduating from U. C. Berkeley in 1952 he ended up with a career in the computer field, serving some 18 years with NCR's Computer Division; six years as GM of the Special System Division and two as GM of the Micrographics System Division. He was president of a small software company for two years before retiring to deal with his emotional wounds of war. At the battle's 40th anniversary ceremony by the gravesite in 1988, Amnon delivered a eulogy for the fallen heroes, many being his childhood friends.