From episode: Conversation with Author Susan Gold - Toxic Family: Transforming Childhood Trauma
Susan Gold was raised in a challenging and chaotic family system, the middle child of five, to fully thrive, she bravely chose to meet the demons of her upbringing that we're continuing to repeat, her book, Toxic Family, Transforming Childhood Trauma Into Adult Freedom, is about that journey. In a small rural town in central Pennsylvania, young Susie is facing trauma as the middle child in a violent and chaotic household. Her brilliant alcoholic astrophysicist father and equally ingenious mentally ill homemaking mother have collided in dysfunction, creating five children in short succession with covert and overt abuse running rampant, a riveting and intense chronicle of a childhood filled with harsh initiations all led to a masterful and thought -provoking transformation. The ebullient belief and determination of a young girl with a vision who would not bend to self -destruct, but rather would convert her experience to triumph are told masterfully in this stunning work. Susan leaves us with support and practical tools she uses today to move forward, centered around each section's theme, breath work, journaling, meditation, movement, all combined in a creative healing process. She is leading retreats, webinars, workshops, and private sessions to help others drop outdated storylines and programming in exchange for living from the heart in authentic freedom as adults. So if you want to find out more about Susan, you can go to her website, www.susangold.us.
Welcome, Susan. Thanks so much for being here today. Melisa, I'm thrilled to be here. And oh my gosh, you are leading us with such heart and such creativity. Your website is beautiful. Your manifesting postcards are amazing. And the book idea is genius. I'm going to go hit click and put it in my cards. Oh, thank you. Yeah. It was really great to put it together. You know, it was, I mean, you know, we're going to talk about your book. Now your book is a very, very personal memoir of some very painful experiences that you went through. Like mine, I mean, pain got me to where I needed to go, but mine was more fun putting together and light, you know? So I can't even imagine what that must have been. Having the courage to write your story, you want to share a little bit with us about your story and what made you feel like you wanted to share it with people?
Well, in 2007, I was told by an Irish clear that I had a book to write and I promptly shoved that idea under the closest carpet. 2019, Then in I had back to back intuitive tell me I had a book to write the last one telling me I had three books to write. And I thought, okay, I better get busy before it's a fricking library. So I was encouraged to write my own personal and professional experience. I was told it was unique and I said, how is this unique? It's sort of like everyone. But I got to it and yeah, no, my story isn't like everyone's, thank goodness. And toxic family is not my title. It's my publisher's title, but my title was transforming childhood trauma into adult freedom because that's what it is to me. I've done so much work over decades and it really found healing. And Melisa, maybe it's remnants of my Southern California days, but I do believe that I was placed in my family with purpose and I have tremendous respect for the roles that my dad and my mom played along with my siblings. And I have gratitude and that's been a transformative shift for me.
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