Due out in April 2027!
Healing the Wounded Self
A Trauma-Focused 12-Step Journey for Women
For women rebuilding their lives after trauma and addiction, this book reframes and supplements the 12 steps not as a checklist but as a path back to wholeness. Written by a trauma chaplain who has companioned survivors at their most fragile moments, Healing the Wounded Self is for the woman who has a foundation in recovery, and is on solid enough ground to dig deep. If you’re ready for a guide that speaks directly to how trauma shapes your recovery and growth, Healing the Wounded Self offers what most recovery books don't: a compassionate, clinically grounded companion that honors both the spiritual weight of the 12 steps and the real, embodied experience of healing as a woman.
Lean on Chaplain Deb for skill, experience, and compassionate strength.
Chaplain Deb, M.Div., MBA, BCC is a Board-Certified Clinical Chaplain and Fellow in Palliative Care and Hospice Chaplaincy, ordained in the United Church of Christ. She spent over a decade at a Level 1 Trauma Center where she led trauma-informed care initiatives and provided spiritual care to survivors, families and clinical staff following two mass shooting incidents, as well as during the Covid pandemic in which violent crime rose by over 70%. She lectures on Trauma Chaplaincy in seminaries and is a frequent webinar speaker.
Deb is the author of Healing the Wounded Self: A Trauma-Focused 12-Step Journey for Women, releasing April 2027 – a journalbook bridging trauma-informed healing with 12-step recovery that addresses a gap she saw firsthand: that substance abuse and trauma are almost never separate issues for women. Healing the Wounded Self was born from her years walking alongside patients and families through crisis, grief and healing, as well as one-on-one with traumatized women. She speaks to audiences of women in recovery, faith communities, and clinical/chaplaincy professionals on the intersection of trauma, spirituality, and addiction, offering both the pastoral compassion of a chaplain and the lived understanding of someone who has walked this path herself.
Deb’s work with our group was transformative. She has led two weekend retreats for our group. From presenting the strong connection with trauma and addiction to giving us tools to gently address our own unique issues, Deb’s expertise was invaluable.