Trauma Memoir

When Luiz Schwarcz was a child, he was told little about his grandfather Láios, a Hungarian Jew. Only later would he learn that Láios had ordered his son, Luiz’s father, to leap from a train taking them to a Nazi death camp, while Láios himself was carried on to his death. What Luiz did know was that his father’s melancholia haunted the house he grew up in. As many children of trauma do, Luiz assumed responsibility for his parents’ happiness, and for a time blossomed into the family prodigy. But then, at a high point of outward success, he was brought low by a devastating mental breakdown.

An Uncompromised Life takes listeners through Colleen Gallagher’s past unhealthy relationship which led her to compromise her soul. From this relationship, an unplanned pregnancy was created. Faced with a life-changing decision, and shocked because western medical doctors told Colleen it would be challenging for her to get pregnant after being diagnosed with cancer at age 14, she chose to let her child go.

Bosnien, 1993. Auf Bihac gehen täglich bis zu 2.000 Granaten nieder. Über 100.000 Menschen sind im sogenannten Kessel rund um die Stadt eingeschlossen. Sie hungern, haben Durst und verlassen sich auf Menschen wie Dirk, die humanitäre Hilfe leisten. Was unter "normalen" Umständen schon ein wahrer Albtraum ist, spitzt sich zu, als Dirk den Auftrag bekommt, eine junge Frau aus dem Belagerungsring zu befreien. Damit beginnt eine emotionale Achterbahnfahrt durch die Wirren des Krieges im ehemaligen Jugoslawien.

When Gail Bell was seventeen, she was shot in the back. Coming home from evening class later than usual one night, she took a short cut through the dark streets of a new estate, unaware she was being watched. When a car began following her, she felt a jolt of fear. Then the car stopped and out of the eerie silence came a cracking sound as a bullet struck her from behind. The car sped away and the shooter was never found.

Having struggled with gut-wrenching depression, a broken back, sexual abuse, a severe eating disorder, attempted suicide, and a brain aneurysm - all before she was 18 - Dawn learned to become a fighter and survivor. Her deepest desire is to turn everyone she meets into their own rock star through her strategy based coaching practice.