“Surprisingly, it is often when wandering through the emotional carnage left by the worst of humankind that we find the best of humanity ad well.”
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“The most traumatic aspects of all disasters involve the shattering of human connections. And this is especially true for children. Being harmed by the people who are supposed to love you, being abandoned by them, being robbed of the one-on-one relationships that allow you to feel safe and valued and to become humane—these are profoundly destructive experiences. Because humans are inescapably social beings, the worst catastrophes that can befall us inevitably involve relational loss. As a result, recovery from trauma and neglect is also all about relationships—rebuilding trust, regaining confidence, returning to a sense of security and reconnecting to love. Of course, medications can help relieve symptoms and talking to a therapist can be incredibly useful. But healing and recovery are impossible—even with the best medications and therapy in the world—without lasting, caring connections to others.”
― The Boy Who Was Raised As a Dog: And Other Stories from a Child Psychiatrist's Notebook
― The Boy Who Was Raised As a Dog: And Other Stories from a Child Psychiatrist's Notebook
“When she transformed into a butterfly, the caterpillars spoke not of her beauty, but of her weirdness. They wanted her to change back into what she always had been. But she had wings.”
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“The more healthy relationships a child has, the more likely he will be to recover from trauma and thrive. Relationships are the agents of change and the most powerful therapy is human love.”
― The Boy Who Was Raised as a Dog: And Other Stories from a Child Psychiatrist's Notebook
― The Boy Who Was Raised as a Dog: And Other Stories from a Child Psychiatrist's Notebook
“We also need to recognize that not all stress is bad, that children require challenges and risk as well as safety. It is natural to want to protect our children, but we need to ask ourselves when the desire for risk-free childhoods has gone too far. The safest playground, after all, would have no swings, no steep slides, no rough surfaces, no trees, no other children—and no fun. Children’s brains are shaped by what they do slowly and repeatedly over time. If they don’t have the chance to practice coping with small risks and dealing with the consequences of those choices, they won’t be well prepared for making larger and far more consequential decisions.”
― The Boy Who Was Raised As a Dog: And Other Stories from a Child Psychiatrist's Notebook
― The Boy Who Was Raised As a Dog: And Other Stories from a Child Psychiatrist's Notebook
Sandra’s 2025 Year in Books
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