Tammy Adler Foeller asks a question many trauma survivors know well: If I understand what happened, why can't I just move on? She explains how trauma can keep the brain's alarm system on high alert, why reasoning becomes harder in survival mode, and why safety, regulation, and trustworthy relationships matter.

Vital Voyage September Author of the Month: Tammy Adler Foeller once believed trauma belonged to other people. Studying trauma through her recovery work led her to recognize inherited patterns of caretaking, conflict avoidance, and hyper-responsibility in her own life - and to understand how family silence can shape the next generation.

Real victimization exists, and Diane Russell Chrestman does not minimize that truth. But in this candid reflection, she explores what can happen when suffering becomes an identity. Using lived experience, ACE awareness, and Internal Family Systems language, she examines the victim role as a protector, the relief it can offer, and the courage it takes to build a life beyond the worst things that happened to us.