Has anyone started reading along yet? If you have not begun, or have only read the introduction, it may be interesting to for you to pause and think about what you already know and believe to be true about the ways that we are impacted by the experiences of our parents and grandparents. There have been so many advances in our understanding of trauma, and it has become much more common knowledge, so I imagine that many of us already have awareness about some of the more apparent ways that we inherit these impacts.
Here are some of my thoughts on the introduction and first two chapters of part 1 on "Our Grandparents."
*I was reminded how complex the theory of epigenetics actually is. I began looking a bit into some of the original research that Atlas references, specifically the studies by Rachel Yehuda (full text of one is available here: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6127768/). Maybe it's just me, but I find it fascinating and bit complicated! I am going to keep digging deeper.
*Can epigenetics really explain what we see in our actual thoughts, feelings, and behaviors...so much so that we may "dream their memories?"
*I would love to hear other people's reflections on Eve in Chapter 1. The author does not begin with a softball here, I think this story really challenges us to expand our understanding of subtle and hidden the traumatic impact can be.
* I was so moved by the explanation of the "dead mother" and how this symbolizes not just actual loss, but the impact of maternal depression and PTSD on a mother.
**TRIGGER WARNING for Chapter 2: Childhood sexual abuse**
*I appreciated the reminder that traumatic experiences are re-processed at different developmental stages throughout our lives, and we will make new meaning (both troubling and enlightening meanings) as we mature. This happens for all traumatic experiences in my opinion, not just sexual abuse.
*I had no idea the original Little Red Riding Hood was so horrifying, but even in it's re-imagined and sanitized version it was pretty strange and ominous, so I guess I should not be surprised! But also noticing that tradition of using story telling to teach lessons and give warnings to children, and how those stories become apart of the language of the broader culture, and the language of our individual psychology. Fascinating.
I’m loving the book so far Amber, and it’s a surprisingly easy and engaging read, given the heaviness of the topic. It brought to mind a recent way that my own ancestral trauma showed up in my life. Just before Xmas, my clinic space had a (relatively small) fire. In the following week, as we dealt with the aftermath of this, I noticed my nervous system over-responding and I struggled to get the overwhelming stench of burned plastic out of my nose and out of my mind. I work a lot with EMDR, so I decided to process this a little bit. As I followed the chains of connection to that smell, an image came up of emerging from an air raid shelter to a scene of houses destroyed by bombing. Although this scene did not belong in my own memory bank, I instantly recognised it as something my grandparents would have experienced. They never spoke (to me at least) about their experiences during The Blitz in the 1940s, but in that moment I could feel that the smell of smoke and burned plastic was interwoven with the terror of their wartime experiences. After making this connection conscious, my nervous system was much more able to settle and I slept much deeper that night. I’m endlessly fascinated by how our ancestors stories live in us and replay themselves until we can address them more consciously.
Vicki this is fascinating! Although the fire and the aftermath sounds really unnerving, I can only imagine that it was a moving experience to feel somewhat connected to your ancestors in that moment. It also sounds completely plausible to me that our minds can make connections like that. At times I notice myself feeling some skepticism while reading this book, specifically at the idea that we can have something as explicit as an image come to mind of an experience we never had. I am not disbelieving, just that it really challenged my previous assumptions about what is possible. But in this example, I can totally see how your brain was working like a computer, making all these quick and complex connections with knowledge that you have previously acquired (about your grandparents, the war, the era, books you have read, movies etc etc) and creating a very visceral experience that made perfect sense given your family history. It brings it to life for me, thank you for sharing that. I am not trained in EMDR, but I have experienced it a bit as a client.
There was a research study done with mice where trauma was paired with the smell of cherry blossom. Two generations later the grandchildren of these mice still showed a fear response to cherry blossom, despite no personal exposure. While this is not a great study from the point of view of traumatising living creatures, I find it absolutely fascinating - it shows us that there's more than just the power of suggestion, or stories that have been passed down going on here. The authors of the study point towards epigenetic changes in future generations (which makes sense from a survival perspective).
Oh I'm keen! Haven't read this one, but trauma and intergenerational trauma are big areas of interest for me. My parents were both born in the immediate aftermath of WWII and I'm endlessly fascinated by how my grandparents' trauma lives on through our family line...
Yay! I'm so glad you will be joining us. I am going to check out the post you shared on intergenerational trauma. I will be posting some prompting questions in the comments, and feel free to share any thoughts or questions that arise as you read. I hope we can have a lively discussion here!
This book sounds right up my street. We have so much trauma in my family, both historically and more recently, and I'm so interested in the psychology of cycle breaking. I'll be reading along ♥️
Awesome Charlotte! So happy to have you here and I can't wait to get a conversation going. I am going to post some initial prompting questions in the comments soon :)
Has anyone started reading along yet? If you have not begun, or have only read the introduction, it may be interesting to for you to pause and think about what you already know and believe to be true about the ways that we are impacted by the experiences of our parents and grandparents. There have been so many advances in our understanding of trauma, and it has become much more common knowledge, so I imagine that many of us already have awareness about some of the more apparent ways that we inherit these impacts.
Here are some of my thoughts on the introduction and first two chapters of part 1 on "Our Grandparents."
*I was reminded how complex the theory of epigenetics actually is. I began looking a bit into some of the original research that Atlas references, specifically the studies by Rachel Yehuda (full text of one is available here: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6127768/). Maybe it's just me, but I find it fascinating and bit complicated! I am going to keep digging deeper.
*Can epigenetics really explain what we see in our actual thoughts, feelings, and behaviors...so much so that we may "dream their memories?"
*I would love to hear other people's reflections on Eve in Chapter 1. The author does not begin with a softball here, I think this story really challenges us to expand our understanding of subtle and hidden the traumatic impact can be.
* I was so moved by the explanation of the "dead mother" and how this symbolizes not just actual loss, but the impact of maternal depression and PTSD on a mother.
**TRIGGER WARNING for Chapter 2: Childhood sexual abuse**
*I appreciated the reminder that traumatic experiences are re-processed at different developmental stages throughout our lives, and we will make new meaning (both troubling and enlightening meanings) as we mature. This happens for all traumatic experiences in my opinion, not just sexual abuse.
*I had no idea the original Little Red Riding Hood was so horrifying, but even in it's re-imagined and sanitized version it was pretty strange and ominous, so I guess I should not be surprised! But also noticing that tradition of using story telling to teach lessons and give warnings to children, and how those stories become apart of the language of the broader culture, and the language of our individual psychology. Fascinating.
I've only read the first few pages so far, thank you for the reminder!
I’m loving the book so far Amber, and it’s a surprisingly easy and engaging read, given the heaviness of the topic. It brought to mind a recent way that my own ancestral trauma showed up in my life. Just before Xmas, my clinic space had a (relatively small) fire. In the following week, as we dealt with the aftermath of this, I noticed my nervous system over-responding and I struggled to get the overwhelming stench of burned plastic out of my nose and out of my mind. I work a lot with EMDR, so I decided to process this a little bit. As I followed the chains of connection to that smell, an image came up of emerging from an air raid shelter to a scene of houses destroyed by bombing. Although this scene did not belong in my own memory bank, I instantly recognised it as something my grandparents would have experienced. They never spoke (to me at least) about their experiences during The Blitz in the 1940s, but in that moment I could feel that the smell of smoke and burned plastic was interwoven with the terror of their wartime experiences. After making this connection conscious, my nervous system was much more able to settle and I slept much deeper that night. I’m endlessly fascinated by how our ancestors stories live in us and replay themselves until we can address them more consciously.
Vicki this is fascinating! Although the fire and the aftermath sounds really unnerving, I can only imagine that it was a moving experience to feel somewhat connected to your ancestors in that moment. It also sounds completely plausible to me that our minds can make connections like that. At times I notice myself feeling some skepticism while reading this book, specifically at the idea that we can have something as explicit as an image come to mind of an experience we never had. I am not disbelieving, just that it really challenged my previous assumptions about what is possible. But in this example, I can totally see how your brain was working like a computer, making all these quick and complex connections with knowledge that you have previously acquired (about your grandparents, the war, the era, books you have read, movies etc etc) and creating a very visceral experience that made perfect sense given your family history. It brings it to life for me, thank you for sharing that. I am not trained in EMDR, but I have experienced it a bit as a client.
There was a research study done with mice where trauma was paired with the smell of cherry blossom. Two generations later the grandchildren of these mice still showed a fear response to cherry blossom, despite no personal exposure. While this is not a great study from the point of view of traumatising living creatures, I find it absolutely fascinating - it shows us that there's more than just the power of suggestion, or stories that have been passed down going on here. The authors of the study point towards epigenetic changes in future generations (which makes sense from a survival perspective).
One of my favourite books on intergenerational stories! I was highlighting it like mad the first time I read it. You are in for a treat 📚
Thanks Billie! I read this maybe a year ago, but I am going to re-read with my highlighter this time!
This looks very interesting. I'm curious how intergenerational trauma affects communities.
Oh I'm keen! Haven't read this one, but trauma and intergenerational trauma are big areas of interest for me. My parents were both born in the immediate aftermath of WWII and I'm endlessly fascinated by how my grandparents' trauma lives on through our family line...
Yay! I'm so glad you will be joining us. I am going to check out the post you shared on intergenerational trauma. I will be posting some prompting questions in the comments, and feel free to share any thoughts or questions that arise as you read. I hope we can have a lively discussion here!
This book sounds right up my street. We have so much trauma in my family, both historically and more recently, and I'm so interested in the psychology of cycle breaking. I'll be reading along ♥️
Awesome Charlotte! So happy to have you here and I can't wait to get a conversation going. I am going to post some initial prompting questions in the comments soon :)
It sounds intriguing! I just purchased it on Audible and will start making my way through it. Thanks for the recommendation.
Oh I am so glad! I can't wait to hear what you think. I am going to post some initial prompting questions here in the comments soon.