That is the question their father often asked of Ronni and Jennie as children. In this episode, they begin to share their story—growing up in a home with abuse, addiction, and untreated mental illness—and how it affected them as young children. The fear, denial, and isolation in their home made it very difficult for them to develop a healthy relationship.
We are two sisters who weren’t supposed to be friends. We grew up in a family with addiction, abuse, and untreated mental illness that harmed us physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. It also pitted us against each other; there was even some abuse between us.
We managed to come together in adulthood, to rebuild our relationship and find healing. Having each other for support and validation, especially of painful childhood memories, dramatically accelerated the healing process for us both!
In the beginning, we followed conventional approaches to healing (counseling, Al Anon/ACOA groups), which gave us more insight, but only took us so far. From there we have continued to explore yoga, meditation, energy healing, sound healing, breathwork, and intuitive work---all of which have brought amazing transformation in our lives, as well as the lives of those we love.
We have worked for years in fields related to family trauma. Ronni has conducted research and taught courses on family violence. Jennie has seen the physical, emotional, and psychological outcomes of childhood trauma as a clinician in family practice. Now, our mission is to bring together our personal and professional experiences to help others find the remarkable healing that we have experienced, both individually and in our relationship. We are sharing our story (in ...
