Trauma survivors are made particularly anxious by the hoopla around the holidays. Because of the fear and pain created by emotional and physical abuse, the nervous system of a trauma survivor is already on high alert, armed to scan and protect from potential danger. The extra stress of social gatherings (even happy gatherings) with the accompanying sensory and emotional inputs inflames a nervous system whose set point is already uncomfortably high. The sensory input at a

As a therapist who specializes in trauma and post-traumatic stress, I am attentive to the ways survivors reclaim their voices and I love to read their stories of survivorship. Rachel Thompson: survivor and advocate Rachel Thompson’s Broken Pieces: Essays Inspired by Life is not a linear memoir. It is a lyrical collection of essays and poetic reflections that trace a survivor’s emotional landscape across time. Thompson writes not only about what happened to her, but about how