This is my whimsical take on the fact that I didn't explain very well that Jeannie's BRAVE Childhood was the book I wrote for teachers. But first a review: "I loved reading this book. It really spoke to how the child's brain processes trauma and the hope of working through it no matter what age you are. I am thankful for this author's honesty and inclusion of her conversation with God as I questioned how she could trust God throughout this process. Wonderful book. I have reco

“What would have helped me as a child?” I try to answer this in Jeannie’s BRAVE Childhood: Behavior and Healing through the Lens of Attachment and Trauma. The following except is one such answer. I could never sit still. I desperately needed to release trauma held in my body and one way to do that is through physical activity. The bicycle on the cover of BRAVE not only symbolizes the freedom I felt as a child when riding, but also how important exercise was for my survival. I

About midway through my healing process, I came to the realization that I did not know how to play, at least not with the abandonment of a young child. I had worked hard to find the hurting child inside of me who should have played, but she couldn’t. As an early childhood educator, I had always believed in the importance of play, but never realized some of the ways I could not play were directly related to trauma. What I learned about this became an entire chapter in Jeannie’

Thinking a child who doesn’t enter into play is simply being shy or obstinate prevents us from helping the child utilize this important path

Increasingly, the researchers are telling us the key to learning is physical activity (though this is not a new understanding). While we nee

“Tell the teachers to start watching for posts,” Jeannie said. “They will understand and buy my book and it will help them understand childr

During my healing journey, my dissociated child selves, frozen in time by trauma, provided a window into the mind of a child who has suffere

Jeannie, the resourceful and resilient child self of author Janyne McConnaughey takes center stage in this companion book to BRAVE: A person

For a child who has suffered trauma—especially abuse, sexual abuse in particular, the main goal of every single day is to feel safe. This ne

We often stop ourselves and the children in our lives from doing everything necessary for the body to heal from trauma. We stop our tears, w

I realize more and more how trauma informed my teaching methods and choices. No one expected anyone else to be perfect. Stories were receive

Not only was I telling my story to the world, but I was also was putting it in printed form. My fear of being corrected was well founded sin

Jeannie was and is tenacious, but I don’t think there is really anything inside me that is not available to every human being. We are born t

I was an underachiever. Has God enabled me to live my life and use my suffering to help others? Absolutely! But there is so much I would hav

The doctor my parents took me to was wise beyond his era. He said, “She seems to be a bit anxious about school. Maybe it would help to keep