Poems of Trauma Recovery, Love Loss & Belonging

24/10/2025

As I start Year 2 of my Doctoral journey I have much to contribute toward research around the societal silencing of female survivors of childhood trauma.

I look forward to giving survivors of structural violence a voice.

So thankful for my editors Niall and Susan in ShadowScript Ghostwriters.

Eternally greatful for the Doctorate of Professional Studies in Psychological Trauma in Chester University and the amazing professors leading the programme ❤️

'The Cartography of Healing' with Attracta Gill.

The forthcoming poetry collection by Attracta Gill scheduled for release in Spring 2026 is conceived not merely as an anthology but as an intentional emotional cartography. Its mission is to chart the human spirit’s journey from the fractured landscape of trauma toward an integrated state of self-discovery, offering her readers not just a map but a mirror to their own profound work of mending the self.

The collection’s narrative architecture is built upon a central thesis: that true healing is not a linear march, but an alchemy that requires the confrontation of trauma to build the capacity for love; the strength of that love to withstand the crucible of loss; and the wisdom gleaned from loss to finally forge an authentic sense of belonging. To this end, the work is deliberately structured into four thematic sections: Trauma Recovery, Love, Loss, and Belonging.

This blog delineates the curatorial logic behind this four-part structure, articulating how each theme functions as an essential stage in a larger, cohesive narrative of psychological reclamation and the courageous unfolding of the self.

Section I: Trauma Recovery: Breaking the Silence

This collection begins with Trauma Recovery as its foundational act. This section serves as the initial incision, a courageous first step into the past to shatter the suffocating silence that perpetuates suffering. Here, in this liminal space, the unspeakable is finally given language, and the emotional resonance of buried experience is brought into the light.
The curatorial principle for this section is anchored in the psychological truth that:
One of the most damaging parts of developmental trauma is the silence…

The poems gathered here are instruments designed to give voice to that which has been suppressed. Works such as "The past is not in the past" and "Childhood Trauma" directly excavate the deep-seated origins of pain. In juxtaposition, titles like "The Body knows how to recover from trauma: just listen" and "The Whispering Storyteller"introduce the collection’s primary healing modality: a turning inward to heed the body’s innate wisdom and the quiet truths it has held in trust.

Once this silence is broken and acknowledgement begins, the spirit is prepared to turn toward the constructive forces that make repair possible, leading organically to the collection’s next vital theme.

Section II: Love: Forging a Cloak of Self-Worth

Following the raw honesty of Trauma Recovery, the "Love" section functions as the critical reconstructive phase in the healing arc. This is where the narrative moves from excavation to fortification, exploring the painstaking process of rebuilding the capacity for profound connection; first with the self, and then with others.

The multifaceted nature of love is explored through the lens of empowerment and self-sovereignty, guided by the principle:
Grow a cloak of Love and the debt is to yourself…
This section showcases love not as a passive or romantic ideal, but as an active, internal resource essential for survival and growth. The poems selected illustrate a spectrum of this restorative force:

• Self-Love and Agency: Poems like "I want myself" and "Wild Woman" champion the reclamation of personal desire and untamed authenticity.
• Familial and Foundational Love: The juxtaposition of titles like "A Fathers Love" and "My Fathers Daughter" explores the dual perspective of love as both an external force that shapes us and an internal identity we inhabit; a bond that is both given and received.
• Compassionate Connection: Works including "Curious Compassion Companion" and "Rupture and Repair" examine the practice of extending grace, both to oneself and in relationships with others.
• Hope and Resilience: The inclusion of "Flame of Light and Hope"and "Without Wings, I learned to fly" establishes love as the very fuel for resilience.

To truly build a capacity for love is to become vulnerable to its absence. The strength forged in this section is therefore not a shield against pain, but the very tool required to finally face the profound grief of the next.

Section III: Loss: The Alchemy of Grief

The third section, "Loss," is positioned not as a regression into despair, but as an essential deepening of the healing process. Authentic recovery requires passage through the crucible of grief. This section validates the painful realities of betrayal, sorrow, and letting go, framing them as integral to the path toward wholeness.

The curatorial approach here is one of radical acceptance, centered on the quiet affirmation:
Just as you are…

These poems give sanctuary to difficult emotions, performing a kind of alchemy that transforms pain into wisdom. A narrative arc emerges within the section itself: poems like "Betrayal," "Shame," and "Bye Mam" offer an unflinching space for raw, visceral grief. Following these, works such as "The Wound is the Birthplace," "Grief showed me the way," and "The Wisdom of Trauma" reposition these harrowing experiences as catalysts for profound insight and personal evolution.

By moving through the fires of loss and integrating its lessons, the individual sheds old identities defined by pain. This process clears the path for the emergence of a more authentic self, one who is finally ready to find their place in the world.

Section IV: Belonging: Reclaiming Place and Voice

The final section, "Belonging," stands as the culmination of the journey charted in the preceding themes. It defines belonging not as assimilation, but as a hard-won state of internal alignment that arises from the emotional work of the entire collection. This is not a final destination but an arrival into a deeper way of being.

This section celebrates liberation and integration, speaking directly to "trauma travellers" and urging them to use "movement as your ally" and to "Dive Deep." Belonging, in this context, is a commitment to profound self-knowledge; an ongoing, courageous exploration of the reclaimed inner world. The poems selected narrate this triumphant stage:
• Breaking Free: Titles like "Let me be Free," and "No Turning Back" articulate the definitive act of liberation from past constraints.
• Finding Community: Poems such as "Welcome the Misfits" and "Relational Gentle Kindness" explore the solace found in connections built on mutual understanding.
• Embracing Authenticity: Works including "My Voice," "Shine on you gorgeous survivor," and "I am good" serve as powerful declarations of self-worth and the right to exist fully and without apology.

This final chapter marks the arrival into a state of wholeness, where the "trauma traveller" is no longer defined by where they have been, but by the resilient, powerful, and authentic presence they now inhabit.

The Unfolding of the Self

The four sections of this collection are not disparate chapters but a deeply interconnected, archetypal narrative of the soul's reclamation. This thematic architecture mirrors a universal human quest, guiding the reader from Trauma Recovery to Love, through Loss, and into a profound state of Belonging.
Ultimately, this collection offers readers not a prescription, but a living document that breathes with them. It is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit, a guiding light for anyone on the path back to themselves.

*Original art by Ruth Evans ©

03/10/2025

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02/10/2025

Dr Jane Goodall taught us that we must have hope.

In her words, “Hope is what enables us to keep going in the face of adversity. It is what we desire to happen, but we must be prepared to work hard to make it so.”

Further, “if you lose hope, you become apathetic. You give up and you do nothing. The future depends on all of us getting together now and doing something to try and heal the harm we have inflicted on this planet.”

RIP Jane Goodall
Art © Charlie MacKesy

19/09/2025

🍂 One of the most damaging parts of developmental trauma is the ‘silence’ you learn to live with.

🍂 It is a well-known fact that childhood abuse survivors hold silence around disclosure for many different reasons, such as bystanders turning a blind eye to their distress and being gaslighted into believing that abuse is normal or never happened.

🍂 You are shamed for being a little kid who cannot defend against the horrors being perpetrated against you.

🍂 Research in 2025 has shown that childhood sexual abuse in Ireland is at epidemic levels.

🍂 Survivors’ voices must be at the forefront of informing policy changes related to childhood sexual violence.

🍂 I am advocating for no more shame for survivors of emotional, physical or sexual abuse.

🍂 The shame lies with the perpetrators, gaslighters and enablers who have committed a criminal offence against little children.

🍂🍂🍂🍂🍂🍂🍂🍂🍂

DO NOT BE ASHAMED
by WENDELL BERRY

You will be walking some night
in the comfortable dark of your yard
and suddenly a great light will shine
round about you, and behind you
will be a wall you never saw before.

It will be clear to you suddenly
that you were about to escape,
and that you are guilty: you misread
the complex instructions, you are not
a member, you lost your card
or never had one. And you will know
that they have been there all along,
their eyes on your letters and books,
their hands in your pockets,
their ears wired to your bed.

Though you have done nothing shameful,
they will want you to be ashamed.

They will want you to kneel and weep
and say you should have been like them.
And once you say you are ashamed,
reading the page they hold out to you,
then such light as you have made
in your history will leave you.

They will no longer need to pursue you.
You will pursue them, begging forgiveness.
They will not forgive you.
There is no power against them.

It is only candor that is aloof from them,
only an inward clarity, unashamed,
that they cannot reach. Be ready.

When their light has picked you out
and their questions are asked, say to them:
"I am not ashamed." A sure horizon
will come around you. The heron will begin
his evening flight from the hilltop.

🍂🍂🍂🍂🍂🍂🍂🍂🍂🍂

19/09/2025

19/09/2025

🍂A big thank you to my editors & publishers, Niall and Susan at Sadowscript Ghostwriters, for supporting my journey and believing in my work. Thank you so much for the kind words 🙏

🍂We’re deep in the initial editing stages of a powerful new poetry collection from Attracta Gill at Poems of Trauma Recovery, Love Loss & Belonging. This is a book that doesn’t shy away from life’s hardest moments. Each poem carries echoes and whispers of trauma, but also tender beginnings of recovery and resilience across the book. Editing this volume feels like walking through shadow into light; line by line, memory by memory, shaping something both raw and healing. It’s not just poetry on a page; it’s a journey of courage, honesty, and hope.

🍂We're looking forward to sharing more as this book takes its final shape coming into Spring 2026. For now, thank you for reminding us that healing is never a solitary act.

Art © Ruth Evans

19/09/2025

🍂A few years ago, I was inundated with requests by my followers to publish my poetry. I'm delighted to say that my debut poetry book will be published in Spring 2026. I'm super excited and honoured to announce that I have commissioned renowned artist Ruth Evans to illustrate my book. Ruth is a beautiful, intuitive artist who has worked with another wild woman, Mary Reynolds, on her book 'We are the Arc'.

🍂My poems are for the Daughters of the silent generation, for the Daughters who felt silenced by patriarchal systems, for the Daughters who felt unseen, unworthy and unloved. My poems give voice to the unspeakable taboo of female childhood sexual trauma and abuse, and the silence in society that accompanies it.

🍂I have written these poems to break through the denial of family and societal systems that gaslight and shame survivors into silence. They are written to help transform the loss and shame of intergenerational trauma into hope, love and belonging and to challenge the patriarchal domination of women and children.

Art © Ruth Evans

11/09/2025

We’re deep in the initial editing stages of a powerful new poetry collection from Attracta Gill at Poems of Trauma Recovery, Love Loss & Belonging This is a book that doesn’t shy away from life’s hardest moments. Each poem carries echoes and whispers of trauma, but also tender beginnings of recovery and resilience across the book. Editing this volume feels like walking through shadow into light; line by line, memory by memory, shaping something both raw and healing. It’s not just poetry on a page; it’s a journey of courage, honesty, and hope.

We're looking forward to sharing more as this book takes its final shape coming into Spring 2026. For now, thank your for reminding us that healing is never a solitary act.

31/07/2025

Childhood sexual abuse survivors and what needs to change within Irish Society?

I am an expert by lived experience, a Trauma Psychotherapist for 25 years and an academic entering my second year of a Doctor of Professional Studies in Psychological Trauma (Chester University).

Childhood sexual abuse is a global epidemic. In Ireland, the Sexual Violence Survey (CSO 2022) provides clear evidence that 29% of Irish people have experienced sexual violence in childhood. This rises to 41% amongst 18-24 year olds, which suggests that the problem is worsening significantly. Irish females are twice as likely to experience childhood sexual violence as males.

Silence is a defining trait of childhood sexual abuse, and disclosure can be seen as a lifelong process. Some researchers have noted a 'societal turning away' for survivors and abusive power systems (family, church, state, communities, criminal justice system, mental health systems), which perpetuates the silencing of victims and creates many barriers to healing and significant change (One in Four 2025).

Stigma and cultural silence in Ireland have ensured that many survivors' voices are never heard, and therefore, they remain unable to challenge the abusive power systems. Around half of adult survivors NEVER disclose their experience of childhood sexual violence.

The recent One in Four research calls for a 'whole of society approach" (2025).

What would this look like, and what needs to change for survivors so that they can challenge the silence and isolation?

29/07/2025

**Important Announcement As We Say Goodbye**

Since April 2025, we have stepped down as Directors of the Irish Institute for Biosynthesis. We were privileged to break new ground in 2011 and introduce Biosynthesis Somatic Psychotherapy to many training colleges in Ireland. We successfully ran our internationally recognised PQ Certificate in Biosynthesis Neuro-Somatic Trauma & Depth Psychology-Oriented Psychotherapy from Primary Care Psychotherapy in Naas and Oaklands House, Wicklow.

We thank all our students for their support and love of the method over the years. We thank our International Trainers, especially Gabriele Hoppe of Körperbezogene Psychotherapie, Coaching, and Supervision, who took the time to travel and teach with such humanity, knowledge, and kindness. We thank the wider community of Biosynthesis for their connection.

We thank David and Silvia Boadella for this wonderful method, which teaches us to look for the somatic resources latent behind the trauma. Biosynthesis has provided hope and healing for thousands of survivors of childhood trauma throughout the world.

Thank you all from the bottom of our hearts.

We leave with our hearts full and intending to pursue our personal interests as a family.

Attracta & Austin Breslin

17/06/2025

Thanks to my editors and publishing team Niall and Susan at Book Hub Publishing 🥰

16/06/2025

So excited for this one ❤️

We're working on a debut poetry book by Attracta Gill scheduled for publication in Spring 2026. Her poems illuminate the journey from developmental trauma to healing and belonging by categorising and addressing various aspects of this complex process through distinct themes. Here’s how we feel the poems contribute to understanding this journey:
•
Trauma Recovery: The collection begins by acknowledging the profound impact of developmental trauma, particularly the "silence" associated with it. Poems under this theme suggest that the body holds intrinsic knowledge for recovery ("The Body knows how to recover from trauma: just listen") and highlight the lasting presence of past experiences ("The past is not in the past"). They point towards the possibility of "Freedom of Spirit" and acknowledge the resilience of "Brave Brave children," indicating an initial step towards confronting and understanding one's traumatic past. The idea of "The Whispering Storyteller" suggests that narratives and introspection are crucial for addressing trauma.
•
Love as a Healing Force: Healing is deeply intertwined with the theme of Love, which is introduced with the idea of growing a "cloak of Love" as a debt to oneself. This section includes poems that explore various facets of love relevant to recovery, such as "Love Letters" and "A Fathers Love," suggesting the importance of both self-love and supportive relationships. Titles like "Begin Again" and "Rupture and Repair" directly speak to the process of healing and rebuilding connections, which are fundamental to moving past trauma. "Safe Touch" also implies the re-establishment of healthy physical and emotional boundaries, crucial for trauma survivors.
•
Navigating Loss: The journey inherently involves confronting loss, and this theme is introduced with the concept of accepting oneself "Just as you are". Poems like "Betrayal," "Shame," and "Grief showed me the way" directly address the painful emotions and experiences that often accompany trauma. The title "The Wound is the Birthplace" offers a powerful reframing, suggesting that healing and growth can emerge directly from painful experiences. Other poems like "It’s Easier Now" and "The Rhythm of Falling Apples and Letting Go" point towards the gradual process of acceptance and release that is necessary for healing.
•
Achieving Belonging: The final theme, Belonging, encapsulates the culmination of the healing journey, emphasising a "deep resonance and understanding for trauma travellers" and encouraging the use of "movement as your ally" and to "Dive Deep". Poems in this section illustrate the path to self-acceptance and connection, featuring titles such as "I flew over the cuckoo’s nest," "A Bluebirds Song," and "Once your shame, hurt and trauma start to melt". They highlight the importance of embracing one's true self ("Be Yourself," "I am good") and finding a place where one feels accepted, even celebrating "Welcome the Misfits" and "Let’s Hear for the Ones who Flew". Themes of truth, freedom, and self-expression are prominent, with poems like "Truth will rise like dust," "Let me be Free," and "My Voice". The concept of "Rebirth" and "The rebirth message of Trauma and Easter" signifies a profound transformation and renewal, indicating that the journey leads to a new way of being.
In summary, the poems illuminate the journey from trauma to healing and belonging by systematically addressing the acknowledgement of past wounds, the embrace of love and repair, the processing of loss and grief, and ultimately, the discovery of self-acceptance, freedom, and a place of belonging. They offer a poetic narrative that moves from the initial impact of childhood trauma to a state of integrated healing and connection.
Poems of Trauma Recovery, Love Loss & Belonging