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The truth about how to overcome adversity
With a Foreword by Professor Steve Hayes, author of The Liberated Mind and originator of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy.
Caught in a maelstrom of personal trauma in his childhood and teenage years, Dr Pakenham stumbled upon the secret to resilience – embracing inner pain is empowering. Later in his life, as a professor and educator of clinical psychology, he discovered his early insight was supported by science and the spiritual traditions.
This raw and powerful memoir is a gutsy exposure of personal resilience in the face of the lingering echoes of trauma. From childhood domestic violence and bullying, intimacy with his mother’s suicide, alienation from gender and sexual diversity, and drug addiction and homelessness, Dr Pakenham weaves together his personal story and professional experiences to reveal how he flourishes through hardships. His story shows how the stigma associated with gender fluidity and sexual diversity is unhindered by history, culture, time, religion or the evolution of progressive social policies.
Each one of us is affected by trauma at some point in our life. In this book Dr Pakenham reveals how his approach has inspired his personal and professional growth and that of his clients’ and students’, and gives real-life examples of how to use your inner pain to invigorate your life.
Author: Kenneth Pakenham
Paperback Published February 2020 234 pages
"This outstanding book shines the light of science and personal experience on dark corners in our society. It discloses the widespread appearance of mental illness, depression, low self-esteem, addiction, bullying and other behaviours that exist in unexpected quarters. When I began talking of these subjects 25 years ago, I was ridiculed. Now they are more freely acknowledged. The personal disclosures, clinical experience, scientific analysis and empirical research that has informed this book show why these subjects are so important and challenging. Unveiling the problems affords guideposts for the exploration of effective social policy. This book will serve as an excellent mental health resource." - The Hon. Michael Kirby, AC CMG