PERHAPS A GIFT VOUCHER FOR MUM?: MOTHER'S DAY
Bonnie R. Armstrong spent decades as an apparently normal person who knew nothing of the complex dissociative infrastructure that hid much of her childhood from her conscious memory and supported her from within. She functioned as an effective and happy wife, mother, sister, friend and advocate for children and families. Professionally, she specialized in youth development, education and preventing child abuse, not knowing she was also a resilient survivor.Bonnie enjoyed a forty-year career that involved high-level positions in two governors' offices, including a stint in Washington, DC, working with the Carter administration and Congress. She wrote Making Government Work for Your City's Kids for the National League of Cities and provided consultation that guided a generation of city council members who wanted to improve conditions for children and families in their communities.In the late 1990s, she moved to philanthropy and focused on building public-private partnerships to strengthen communities, families and child welfare systems to prevent abuse and ensure every child can live in a safe and loving home. She served as an elected school board member, appointed commissioner, nonprofit board member, and expert consultant on child and family policy issues. A national speaker and workshop presenter, she also authored numerous other publications and received many awards for her leadership and accomplishments. Bonnie holds a master's degree in human development from Pacific Oaks College and is a certified life coach.At the age of fifty, a mysterious, debilitating illness attacked Bonnie, eventually requiring her to use a wheelchair to continue her active life and travel schedule. After six years of testing and continued degeneration, her neurologist ruled out medical causes and referred her to a psychologist. Together, Bonnie and her therapist slowly uncovered her dissociative disorder, her strong internal community, and the secrets of her childhood.Bonnie retired in 2012 to focus on healing, learning and writing about her journey through mystery, discovery, horror and the curative interdependence of body, mind, spirit and nature. Big Bonnie lives together with about a dozen of her internal community members, focused on continued healing and their shared life's purpose: to break generational cycles of abuse and fear and to create a more loving, harmonious world for their grandchildren and yours to grow up in.Bonnie and her internal family especially love sunsets, trees of all kinds, travel, the energy of red rock formations, and mashed potatoes. To learn more about Bonnie's latest activities, visit her website at bonnierarmstrong.com.
Of the many published personal works on dissociative disorders, there's not a better, more insightful account than this one. Engaging, sincere and sometimes shocking, I was hooked from the start and wanted every detail. The author shares her extraordinary and complex life with clarity, sincerity, dignity and love. -Dr. Chris Downs, psychologist and author In An Apparently Normal Person, Bonnie Armstrong lives a full life, devoted to a career in child advocacy. But when she's plagued by a series of physical ailments unresponsive to treatment, she begins a journey of uncovering and unraveling unspeakable childhood trauma. Armstrong provides readers with an in-depth look at a world unknown to most. Through the sharing of her story, Bonnie leaves us with an important legacy of breaking down the stigma of a mental health diagnosis. While it's difficult to read some of the painful details, Bonnie Armstrong's vulnerable and honest writing makes it an easy read. This fascinating, enlightening and profound memoir has moved me to my core. Above all, she has shown me the resilience and power of the human spirit. -Merle R. Saferstein, author of Living and Leaving My Legacy, Vols. l and ll An Apparently Normal Person is a searching memoir of medical mystery, self-discovery, and harrowing honesty as Bonnie Armstrong works to uncover the source of her physical and mental afflictions. As her life is upended, it becomes clear that overwhelming trauma has reshaped both her body and her brain. The author's searing story invites the reader into a struggle to learn the terrain of complex trauma and recovery. We share her disbelief and her determination as her story unfolds in a page-turning series of advances and setbacks. Armstrong's writing is personal and steeped in deep feelings as she comes to understand her dissociative disorder has saved her life. The stigma of speaking out about one's lived experience with a mental health diagnosis is transformed into her superpower in her triumphant memoir, An Apparently Normal Person. -Catherine Klatzker, RN, author of You Will Never Be Normal Bonnie Armstrong's book, An Apparently Normal Person, is a tour de force of courageous storytelling and information, a memoir that offers a path to hope and healing for those who suffer from buried traumatic experiences. Bonnie reveals her personal story, her quest for healing, and the spiritual and scientific ways that mind, body and soul can be reconnected. -Linda Joy Myers, founder of the National Association of Memoir Writers and author of Don't Call Me Mother and Song of the Plains I couldn't put this book down! With each page of An Apparently Normal Person, Bonnie's unique story unfolds into a journey of self-discovery that anyone can relate to. Through accounts of trauma and adventure, she balances educating the reader with keeping them inspired and hopeful. I learned so much and would highly recommend Bonnie's story to therapists and anyone who is in therapy as a resource for understanding the role of dissociation as an adaptive response to trauma. -Andi Fetzner, PsyD, partner in Origins Training and Consulting
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