Step into the deeply moving world of Demarra West as she shares her inspiring memoir, "Me Too: A Therapist's Journey to Heal, Find Liberation, & Joy." This gripping and emotional journey takes you through Demarra's triumph over the adversity of complex trauma and into the light of healing and liberation.
The first memory that Demarra has of trauma was when she was six years old, although trauma was present long before that with her absentee father and the violence she witnessed from her stepfather. By the time she was thirteen, Demarra experienced eight of the ten Adverse Childhood Experiences Scale trauma indicators which nearly obliterated her existence. The culmination was substance abuse, incarceration, homelessness, and more. Many people, including those positioned to support Demarra, had written her off as she worked to survive the tumultuous, nearly all-consuming pain that only trauma can serve up. Yet somehow she survived and learned to thrive-at least on the surface.
More than thirty years later from that first memory of trauma, being a successful therapist and entrepreneur, and entering into a life of wife and motherhood, Demarra realized that, she too, had deep healing to do. Although she was aware that her trauma was a driving force to become a therapist she felt that the pains of her past were no longer running the show. She couldn't have been further from the truth.
This awakening caused Demarra to start again-leaving behind everything that was familiar to her, including a loving husband of fifteen years, and moving into uncharted territory in search of herself, and all that had been lost.
Demarra's story is a powerful rallying cry for survivors everywhere, offering a roadmap for healing and a testament to the human spirit's ability to overcome even the most challenging obstacles. As a therapist and self-healer, Demarra offers insight for readers seeking to overcome past trauma and live abundantly in every area of their lives. But even more than that, it's for those charged to support victims so they can begin the healing process immediately, including law enforcement, therapists, educators, and more. For it's not the trauma itself that's harmful, but the aftermath as well, which is why believing victims is so critical.
As readers journey through the pages, they are left with a resonant and hopeful promise-an assurance that, no matter who we are, and what we've been through, the path to healing and joy is not only possible but part of our birthright and inherently worth pursuing.