Non­fic­tion

From Trau­ma to Heal­ing: Seek­ing Solace and Safe Places to Fall

Bar­bara Gold­en Lambert
September 1, 2020

The new non­fic­tion book, From Trau­ma to Heal­ing: Seek­ing Solace and Safe Places to Fall, authored by Bob­bi Lam­bert, PhD, offers read­ers hope to release the shack­les of past trau­ma and be in con­trol of their own destiny.

Lam­bert, a sub­ject-mat­ter expert on trau­ma since 1985, weaves togeth­er her pow­er­ful per­son­al sto­ry of rec­on­cil­ing fam­i­ly trau­ma and dev­as­tat­ing loss with case-stud­ies from her career work­ing with hun­dreds of clients endur­ing a broad range of trau­mat­ic experiences.

By shar­ing beau­ti­ful­ly syn­the­sized sci­en­tif­ic tru­isms and tools, the author gen­tly wraps her read­ers in a warm blan­ket of hope to heal from their own expe­ri­ences of trau­ma. Dr. Lam­bert shares with us the sto­ry of the trag­ic mur­der of her father that rocked not only her fam­i­ly but also the Jew­ish com­mu­ni­ty of San Francisco.

Trau­ma’s grip on us can be par­a­lyz­ing, freez­ing every part of our being into inac­tion. Loos­en­ing the hold of trau­ma and gain­ing the con­fi­dence to relax into the arms of uncon­di­tion­al love for self and oth­ers is the free­dom essen­tial to our healing.

fam­i­ly & relationships

Discussion Questions

Cour­tesy of Bar­bara Gold­en Lambert

  1. What is your def­i­n­i­tion of a ​“safe place” in your life and how do you feel when you are in one of your safe places?

  2. Who in your life is your ​“safe place” when you need solace and com­fort, and why?

  3. Think back to a time when you felt unsafe. Did you know that some­where inside of you, there was a safe place and how did you recov­er your feel­ing of inner calm and safety?

  4. Do you, or have you, ever kept a jour­nal? If so, what val­ue did it pro­vide for you? If not, why not, and would you be open to start­ing one now and cre­at­ing a safe place for yourself?

  5. Is there some­thing you’ve always want­ed to do but nev­er have and would you regret not doing it? Explore what obsta­cles are in your way and how to over­come them.

  6. What would you want to be remem­bered for at the end of your life by those you love, or, whose lives you have touched?

  7. What would you want those you love to know about what they mean to you? Do they know it and will you tell them?

  8. When you recall your child­hood, would you say you grew up in an uncon­di­tion­al­ly lov­ing fam­i­ly? If so, please describe what it meant to be loved uncon­di­tion­al­ly from an ear­ly age and how that has impact­ed the love you give.

  9. Did you grow up in a fam­i­ly whose love was con­di­tion­al and how did you know? If so, please describe how con­di­tion­al love has impact­ed your life and shaped the love you give to others.

  10. Can you come to terms with the hurt­ful and trau­mat­ic things that have hap­pened over your life­time so that you can love your­self uncon­di­tion­al­ly now? Please describe.

  11. What was the most recent act of uncon­di­tion­al love you demon­strat­ed to your­self or oth­ers, and how was it received?

  12. Are you or some­one you love in need of a safe place to fall right now and what can you do to fill that need in your­self or anoth­er? Will you?

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