The Glory in Us All Embracing the Life We Bury

A guide to recognizing our full potential by embracing the difficult and unknown parts of ourselves. We are shaped by the blueprint of our family legacies and intergenerational patterns. They form our personalities, ways of being, acting, and thoughts about our stories. Through our relationships with our parents, caregivers, and surroundings, we learn to determine our self-worth and decide what to expect from others. This sets the tone and template for our relationships with those around us and for how we derive purpose. To live with ourselves, we are taught to bury our overwhelming, confusing, and shameful parts. The Glory in Us All explains, through the stories of Dr Cassandra Aasmundsen-Fry’ s clients, how our buried knowledge and feelings make us feel unfulfilled and stuck in our lives. It explores how we can embrace ourselves and live a fulfilling, content life with meaningful relationships and purpose. Unearth and embrace these difficult parts to reconnect with ourselves and with hope!

Dr Cassandra Aasmundsen-Fry, Psy.D, is a clinical psychologist with a doctorate in clinical psychology, whose career has been based in Boston, Massachusetts. She has founded MindWell: Modern Psychology and Therapy, a mental health practice in bustling Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and is a practising psychologist who works with couples and individuals of all ages. Dr Aasmundsen-Fry specializes in working with clients who have trauma, complicated families, and relationships and psychological issues that hold them back from having a purpose and feeling content in their lives.

Introduction ix Preface xi Part I: How We Become Who We Are Chapter 1: Epigenetics 3 Chapter 2: Intergenerational Trauma 19 Chapter 3: Attachment 45 Part II: That Which Shapes Us Along the Way Chapter 4: Trauma and Psychological Distress 73 Chapter 5: Family Dynamics 109 Chapter 6: Grief and Loss 145 Part III: What We Do Not Know, We Do Not Know Chapter 7: Defence Mechanisms and Maladaptive Coping 161 Chapter 8: Thought Distortions and Negative Thinking 169 Chapter 9: An Examined Life: Embracing the Life We Bury 179 Acknowledgments 185 Endnotes 187