true. Moving Beyond Complex Trauma

by Catherine Ada Campbell

Overview

Catherine Ada Campbell spent her childhood summers with her parents in a travelling carnival, with the giant Ferris Wheel babysitting her for hours. In fourth grade, she waved to crowds atop a parade float. She enjoyed lavish birthday parties and studied ballet. Unlike many of her peers, Campbell knew she was never abused.

But at the age of 34, a chance phone call with her brother shattered everything she thought she knew about her family and her past: her memories were false. A memoir of resilience, perseverance and hope, that also explores and examines past and current trauma treatment modalities. 2024 GOLD FIRST PLACE WINNER: BookFest Awards

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9798990509207
Publisher:	Perthshire Books
Publication date:	08/01/2024
Pages:	370
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.94(d)

About the Author

From her earliest childhood, Catherine Ada Campbell struggled with abuse, homelessness, abandonment, and mental illness, not knowing that the happy childhood she remembered was false. A single mom by the time she was 20, she sought wholeness through 45+ years of traditional and experiential therapies, medication, self-help groups, research and education. A writer and former broadcaster, she lives in a small town near the Cascade mountains in Washington state with her husband, and a multitude of visiting wildlife.

Editorial Reviews

09/02/2024

Campbell shares, with hard-won insight and encouragement for other survivors, the story of her traumatic childhood and the memories that Campbell managed to repress until the age of 34, when they burst through during a phone call with her older brother, Lee. As she recounts the wrenching process of uncovering her true memories and detangling her past from the stories she had long conjured to avoid it, Campbell delves into her adult journey through healing, cognitive behavior therapy, and striving to break generational cycles by being a good mother to her own daughter, Andie. True. is a story of a young girl who survived sexual, physical, and mental abuse at the hands of those closest to her, but also of an adult woman unwilling to let those dark truths remain unexposed.

In frank but inviting prose, Campbell shares how she muddled through life in a barely there state, her mind creating a reality that was false but much more pleasant than the truth. The material is pained and charged with feeling, of course, yet Campbell’s telling is illuminating, even inspiring, as she dares to explore her true memories and learn healthy coping devices. Campbell transparently highlights the lasting effects of trauma, with an informative emphasis on the ways that the brain actively seeks to protect and shield. Especially moving is Campbell’s account of piecing together hidden trauma and its lasting impact, from her abusive, alcoholic father to her sexually abusive paternal grandmother, to later obsessive compulsive behaviors and inflicting self-harm.

While she acknowledges that this is one woman’s story rather than a self-help guide, Campbell’s firsthand account and exploration of techniques for facing childhood trauma and mental illness will serve as an encouraging example for others. As Campbell learns more about herself, her co-dependency on others, and ways to heal, she shares a rawly honest account of the journey to achieving a healthy relationship with one’s self and the past.

Takeaway: A touching memoir about repressed memories, recovering, and healing.

Comparable Titles: Cupcake Brown's A Piece of Cake, Jennette McCurdy's I'm Glad My Mom Died.

Production grades Cover: B+ Design and typography: A Illustrations: A Editing: A- Marketing copy: A

BookLife Reviews