Jon us for this virtual discussion on Monday 10/23 at 8PM ET.

When we experience trauma, our hearts are devastated, our guts wrenched and the only way possible to cope with the unbearable sensations is to numb them out. To enable us to move on, our bodies take over the unprocessed memory for us by storing the emotional energy in our muscles, tissues, and organs, in effect rewiring our brains to forget the crushing pain we have no capacity to deal with ourselves. The brain has, in effect, been hijacked, taken over for us to feel safe again by dimming or even forgetting the cause and making us feel we’ve moved on. We then begin to see and experience ourselves, our lives, and the world differently than we would have had the trauma never happened, because we are no longer a whole being. When a trauma is not processed, so that life can return to normal again but instead the stress reaction grows worse over time, PTSD develops. Understanding how the body is protecting us is essential to healing.

About Carol
Carol Schaefer is the author of The Other Mother: A Woman's Love for the Child She Gave Up for Adoption (SoHo Press, 1991), now considered a classic in adoption literature and included in 500 Great Books by Women, a Penguin Books Reader's Guide, a list that goes back to the eleventh century. The book has had German, Italian and Spanish translations.

Adapted as a television movie by NBC in 1995, The Other Mother, starring Frances Fisher, scored high in the ratings with 25 million viewers. The story of the making of the movie was featured in McCall's Magazine. Acquired by the Lifetime Channel, the movie aired many times from 2000 to 2008.The film is now available for viewing on YouTube.

Schaefer has appeared on Good Morning America, CNN, MSNBC, and many local television and radio programs around the country and in Canada, including New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco. She has often been a keynote speaker and given numerous workshops at adoption conferences in the US, Canada, and Italy, and has facilitated adoption support groups for over 25 years. Searching for Healing After Reunion is the sequel to The Other Mother.