Releasing our Burdens: A Guide to Healing Individual, Ancestral and Collective Trauma

by Richard Schwartz, Thomas Hübl

‘Trauma can cause our parts to take on burdens. Yet, when we bring the spiritual values of curiosity, gratitude, and kindness to these burdened parts, we discover incredible opportunities for healing and awakening’

A radical approach to collective healing, restoring wholeness and reclaiming your true self

When we focus only on our own trauma, we cannot see how other types of trauma – ancestral, cultural, social, and spiritual – contribute to our present pain and suffering. But when we step back to consider how different parts of our identities are connected, we have a much more complete and coherent picture of our pain. And with awareness comes healing.

In this powerful collaboration, Richard Schwartz – creator of Internal Family Systems – and fellow trauma expert Thomas Hübl expand the map of healing. Through practical exercises such as meditation and reflections, this book will help you release the beliefs and emotions that are burdening you. Using an integrative approach, the authors will not only help you understand the roots of your trauma, but offer you the practical tools to end the cycle of harm for good.

194 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 4, 2025

About the author

Richard Schwartz ist das Pseudonym eines deutschen Schriftstellers (* 1958 in Frankfurt am Main), unter dem der Fantasy-Romanzyklus Das Geheimnis von Askir und dessen Fortsetzung Die Götterkriege veröffentlicht werden.

Richard Schwartz hat eine Ausbildung als Flugzeugmechaniker und ein Studium der Elektrotechnik und Informatik absolviert. Er arbeitete als Tankwart, Postfahrer und Systemprogrammierer und restauriert Autos und Motorräder. Am liebsten widmet er sich jedoch fantastischen Welten, die er in der Nacht zu Papier bringt – mit großem Erfolg: Seine Reihe um »Das Geheimnis von Askir« wurde mehrfach für den Deutschen Phantastik Preis nominiert. Zuletzt erschien die neue Reihe „Die Eisraben-Chroniken“.

Reviews

[Bobbi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Actual: 4.5 🌟

Thank you to NetGalley and Sounds True Publishing for the advanced copy!


As a Level 1 IFS-trained therapist, I found Releasing Our Burdens to be a much-needed addition to the literature on healing. The more I engage with Internal Family Systems (IFS), the more I find myself asking: How do we apply these powerful internal tools to broader systems, especially when trauma is cultural, societal, or intergenerational?

This book offers a thoughtful and accessible introduction to that very question. It sets the stage for deeper conversations about collective healing and how individual therapy, while transformative, often needs to be paired with an understanding of the larger systems that shape our inner lives.

While this book serves more as a conceptual foundation than a step-by-step manual, I appreciated how it opened the door for further exploration, especially through Thomas Hübl’s other writings, which I now plan to dive into.

It was the perfect length: informative without being overwhelming, and brief enough to be digestible. I also loved the inclusion of real-live sessions not just with Schwartz but from Hübl too.

[Donna · Rating 5 out of 5]

A dynamic duo, Dick Schwartz and Thomas Hubl, guide readers on a wonderful inner journey. Internal Family Systems has become a popular therapy for many reasons, including the connections to lost and disowned parts of ourselves. Those familiar with IFS know that one of the practices--after building relationships with and witnessing parts--is releasing burdens.

Yet not all burdens belong to our parts. Some of them have been created by the society in which we live, including through racism and other institutional, societal, and individual prejudices. Some burdens have been carried through the generations, including by generational trauma, such as genocide, enslavement, and more.

This is not a book to race through. It's one to savor. It's one to re-read, to highlight or sticky note. There are various practices in the book to help apply the concepts.

Sometimes a reader comes across a book that shifts something within so profoundly that they emerge from the book changed. This is one of those books for me. It's one I will read and re-read, exploring it in different layers each time, gaining new insights, and more. I will be re-reading this with a journal next to me.

I highly recommend this book to everyone who is interested in IFS. It's a game-changer.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

RELEASING OUR BURDENS: A GUIDE TO HEALING INDIVIDUAL ANCESTRAL AND COLLECTIVE
TRAUMA
BY: RICHARD SCHWARTZ, THOMAS HUBL

About: 3.5 Stars rounded up to Four!

Sounds True Publishing which I have really been quite impressed with discovering several Five Star cutting edge Scientific theories to some Introductory Beginners Guides which the one that comes to mind was also a collaboration like this one in which the mutual efforts resulting in a more in depth and in my opinion the dual efforts are captivating & engaging reading experience. As I said above this Publisher has delivered all five star highly impressive prior works which was immersive and was part of the reason why I chose this. I have a background in psychology that I'm not a clinician, but with my wide experience keeping up to date with academic journals in extensive modalities I'm quite familiar with trauma, and Ancestral trauma which is not listed in the DSM-5, but is a widely known phenomena studied in the field of psychology. My familiarization is broken down into three sub groups in which descendants can experience it generally 1. Parenting Styles, 2 Communication, Epigenetics. It can be a witnessed event or direct exposure. Collective Trauma is also given equal coverage in this powerful ARC by which is approximately just under 200 pages in which Dr Richard Schwartz, PhD has incorporated scripts which he is known for among my most recognized, and has authored many books, but his work with Internal Family Systems or IFS is very effective when it comes to healing which this book has incorporated, and is co-written with Thomas Hubl and their combined efforts encourage us to approach as they model to become more curious and compassionate just like this book is written. Fatimah Finney has a very moving chapter that deals largely with oppression and racism of all kinds among much more , and I was totally impressed with her which is between the 40% and 50% mark. She is eloquent, erudite and also effective in her vast multitude of examples as she discusses marginalization in society of which one segment surprised me. Overall, this was informative with the approach of emphasizing that I came away with more of eye opening content that expanded on what I already suspected that not all individual trauma is rooted in our own experiences, but I have now more context to broaden my belief that generations of families and groups can share. This is a valuable resource in which the scripts serve as templates that further makes this another way to heal on your own. I'm so happy to have read this, and it's another great reading experience that deserves a wide audience.

Publication Date: December 2, 2025

Thank you to Net Galley, Richard Schwartz, Thomas Hubl, and Sounds True Publishing/St. Martin's Essentials/Sounds True for generously providing me with my ARC, in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own, as always.

#ReleasingOurBurdens #RichardSchwartz #ThomasHubl #SoundsTruePublishing #StMartinsEssentials #SoundsTrue

[Eve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Disclosure: I received an advance review copy of Releasing Our Burdens from Sounds True Publishing via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Releasing Our Burdens brings together Thomas Hubl and Richard Schwartz Ph.D. in a collaboration that seeks to connect Internal Family Systems (IFS) with collective and ancestral approaches to trauma. Having previously read Schwartz’s No Bad Parts: Healing Trauma and Restoring Wholeness with the Internal Family Systems Model and used IFS in my own therapeutic journey, I was curious to see how this work would expand on those foundations. IFS is a thoughtful modernization of Jungian archetypes and Freudian structures, and it has offered many, including myself, valuable ways of identifying and naming emotions.

This book continues that conversation while widening the lens to collective and ancestral experiences of trauma. Some of the most compelling ideas highlight how much of what we carry is not ours alone, but shaped by family legacies and cultural histories. The inclusion of Fatimah Finney’s chapter was especially meaningful; her reflections on social injustice and intergenerational wounds grounded the book in timely relevance, and I wished her voice had been given even more space.

That said, the structure of the book, particularly the reliance on extended transcripts, made the reading experience feel a bit dense at times. The prose leans academic and can come across as repetitive, which may limit accessibility for some readers. A clearer framing in the description about the use of transcripts would have set more accurate expectations. Still, those transcripts may prove illuminating to readers who appreciate seeing how theory translates into practice.

Overall, Releasing Our Burdens raises important questions about how individual, ancestral, and collective healing intersect. While I found some sections less engaging, the concepts themselves are valuable, and readers who are newer to IFS or trauma-informed approaches may find this a helpful introduction. Therapists and healing practitioners at the start of their journey will likely benefit most from its insights.

[Kate Laycoax · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book felt like sitting down with two wise, compassionate guides who finally get it. As someone who’s been through more trauma than I sometimes know how to name, I’m always searching for books that go beyond surface level self-help, and Releasing Our Burdens absolutely delivered.

What hit me the hardest? The reminder that not everything I carry is mine. Some of my heaviest pain isn’t just from my own life, but it’s ancestral, cultural, collective. And realizing that doesn’t make it less personal… it makes it feel less shameful. It gave me permission to stop blaming myself for wounds that were never mine to begin with.

Richard Schwartz’s Internal Family Systems work resonated with me, and adding Thomas Hübl’s perspective on collective and spiritual trauma was… honestly, eye opening. It connected dots in my own healing that I didn’t even know were related.

The exercises aren’t complicated, but they are powerful if you take the time with them. The biggest shift for me was leaning into curiosity and kindness toward the parts of myself I usually want to shove down. There’s something quietly revolutionary about approaching your trauma not with judgment, but with gentle gratitude.

I found myself crying, pausing, breathing deeply and sometimes feeling an actual physical release, like I was letting go of something I’ve been gripping for too long.

If you’re healing, if you’ve been through hell and are trying to make sense of the pieces, please read this. It’s not a “quick fix” kind of book. It’s a companion for the long, messy, beautiful work of becoming whole again.

✨ If you’ve ever wondered why you feel so heavy, and you’re ready to let some of it go… this is your book.

Thank you to NetGalley, Richard Schwartz, and Sounds True Publishing for the eARC of this book.

[Shana · Rating 1 out of 5]

***Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review***

I just can't with this. While I find parts work as interesting as any other modality, there is something specific to the IFS community that gives me the ick. Perhaps it's the spiritual, almost religious following it commands? Or the fact that it costs thousands to be trained in it and people can be on waitlists for a long time before even being granted access? Though to be frank, many therapy how-to books from other modalities also make me wince, so maybe it's the genre as a whole?

In this specific case, I felt like Schwartz caught onto the increasing popularity of discussing collective and generational trauma *in a certain way* and decided he could capitalize on this by providing his IFS-informed perspective. But what did it add? Nothing I read there was eye-opening and different; it seemed like the same stuff I've read elsewhere in different words. I also felt some sort of way with the fact that Fatimah Finney, a Black Muslim therapist, contributed a chapter but wasn't named as a co-author though she was really the only one to provide depth and lived experience to the book.

Another pet peeve with therapy books that showed up in this one was the therapeutic dialogue examples provided. Several were with IFS therapists themselves! Of course this is going to work with someone who has already bought into this modality, both financially and emotionally! I would rather see how tricky it gets when you work with someone with some skepticism, with whom you have to build trust, and where the healing doesn't magically take place in the span of an hour. These examples come off as disingenuous.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Releasing Our Burdens brings together trauma experts Thomas Hübl and Richard Schwartz in an ambitious exploration of how personal wounds intertwine with collective and ancestral pain. The book’s premise is powerful—healing ourselves means understanding the legacies we inherit and the systems we live within. Readers familiar with Internal Family Systems or group-based trauma work may appreciate the depth of theory and the authors’ compassion for human suffering.

That said, the book is difficult to follow. Despite moments of insight, it often reads more like a dialogue than a guide. For most readers, it may feel dense and abstract; for practitioners or those already versed in trauma studies, it might offer a valuable perspective. However, for the average reader, it’s a challenging and uneven read.

[Beverly]

I stayed up all night reading this book. I carry a lot of trauma and this book helped me to understand all of it a little better.