My Journey to Peace with PTSD [Large Print] [Paperback]

Lady Cerelli (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 26, 2007

Have you been a victim of abuse, suicide attempts, alcohol or drug addiction? Have you miscarried babies, been a workaholic, or experienced frequent insomnia, nightmares, or depression? Are you always angry, finding yourself speeding, or engaging in road rage? These are just a few of the symptoms of a PTSD victim-someone who has been traumatized in the past or due to war. Having been a spiritual counselor for over forty years, Lady Cerelli never dreamed she would walk the same path she had often led her clients on. In this book she shares how keeping trauma to yourself leads to behavior disorders such as those mentioned above (and more). She learned how to be at peace with who she was and change those behaviors in order to grow into the individual she wished to be. My Journey to Peace with PTSD can become the lifeline you need to journey back to your first trauma and connect to who you are. In this way you can heal your own life.

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Peace Publishers (September 26, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0979888301
• ISBN-13: 978-0979888304
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,424,121 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Even if You Don't Have PTSD, October 26, 2007

By 

Anne E. Whitefield - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: My Journey to Peace with PTSD (Paperback)

This compelling story of growing up and growing wise had me engrossed and curious ... and reflecting on my own disordered behavior and the ubiquitous nature of stress. The author's style of writing doesn't always adhere to conventional 'rules' but it's always coherent and gives another dimension to her personality.

I love stories told honestly in the first person. It adds to my sense of myself to understand another person in some depth. Lady Cerelli has shared openly, and this helps open up one of the last taboos: women reporting abuse including incest. Good girls play along and suffer silently. Lady lets us see the whole of who she is. When such daring is motivated by a desire to help, by the urge to heal, then ego must relinquish the sordid details. Somehow this makes room for expression of goodness also.

Since I enjoyed an idyllic childhood, I need to read and learn what happens when kids face huge problems.
And in reading Lady's account, I remember problems that didn't seem little to me at the time like dealing with that infernal elastic belt and trying to hide the bulky pad between my legs under a skirt in the '50s. Lady's journey has been very different and yet I can relate.

The awareness of personal behavior seems easier when someone else gives a good example. In that regard, My Journey to Peace with PTSD encourages me to come to peace with myself and accept the stresses that have influenced me. Peace seems to be that middle way, a choice of balance with note of the extremes.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Must have for women sufferers of PTSD, January 21, 2008

By 

M. Dalton (Ohio) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: My Journey to Peace with PTSD (Paperback)

Finally, a personal account of PTSD specifically tailored for women sufferers. After years of reading and research into understanding my own struggle with PTSD, Lady's struggle revealed to me the starting point for survival. Her struggles and fears are felt so strongly while reading her life story. A book full of ah ha's for the women who feel so alone and fearful of their own emotions and behaviors. I praise Lady for her ability to provide the painful details of her own life so that others may find hope and healing in their struggles with PTSD.

"My Journey to Peace with PTSD" is a must have for any professional practicing in the field of mental health. It is necessary for women sufferers who find their own story too difficult to discuss to first feel a connection with another woman such as Lady. Only then can we release ourselves from a world of secrecy and shame to make an honest commitment to therapy and the prospect of healing. Lady's book has opened up a clearer pathway for my ability to speak about the details of my own traumas in therapy and with family. That is an amazing step in my own life, one filled with avoidance, and a step that has already provided fascinating results.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Walking with the Author, November 16, 2007

By 

Karen Fredette "Author and Poet" (Hot Springs, NC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: My Journey to Peace with PTSD (Paperback)

This book is an extremely vivid and authentic account of one woman's traumatic experiences, building up from sexual abuse during early childhood and culminating in a brutal rape while she was in the military - all of which remained suppressed until she experienced a breakdown in her early 60's. Throughout her life, Lady exhibited all the symptoms of a PTSD sufferer but no one seemed to notice, least of all herself. When the break-through moment came, she courageously looked at her life and asked for help. Then she turned around and asked, "How can I help others?" I was fortunate to walk with Lady as she recovered her memories and committed them to writing - intelligent, no-nonsense and compelling prose. If you have suffered trauma, or wish to help (or at least better understand) someone who has, please read this book. I promise you will be a changed person when you reach the last page. I was!