Alex
I just wanted to express my gratitude for your books Wellspring of Compassion and Presence After Trauma. As a survivor of domestic violence who has been trying to heal over the past eight years, they have offered some of the most meaningful, grounding, and affirming support I have encountered.
I only came across them a few years ago but cried when I first opened Wellspring of Compassion. It was so clear to me that you were speaking from experience and I have found that for me, that makes all the difference. In my search for answers and healing, I’ve come to feel acutely the gap between knowledge and experience with my therapists, professional advocates, ministers and scholarly conversation partners. I was surrounded by those with knowledge and expertise who had never experienced it themselves. It makes sense to me now why I started to feel so stuck and even a bit broken.
Reading Wellspring of Compassion, I was overcome because I no longer felt that gap. The anti-oppression framework and the concrete tools resonated with me as rooted in experience and practice. And I no longer felt so alone in it. I chose “presence” as my intention for this year in preparation for reading Presence After Trauma. It has been challenging to be present when I have worked so hard at hiding myself these past eight years, but it has been a challenge that feels manageable.
Both books helped me to trust more profoundly what I know to be true about my experience, encouraged me to find and build support among other survivors, and emboldened me to start creating the survivor resources that I needed (and continue to need) in hopes they may also be of help to others.
Your work is truly a gift and I am ever so grateful for that “help unknown” that was already on the way.
