It Didn't Start with You: How Inherited Family Trauma Shapes Who We Are and How to End the Cycle

von Mark Wolynn

One of Healthline’s 13 Best Mental Health Books of 2022 One of Cosmopolitan’s 15 Books About Mental Health That Everyone Should Read One of Men’s Health’s 20 Best Mental Health Books to Read in 2022 One of Choosing Therapy’s 10 Best PTSD & Trauma Books for 2021 Winner of the 2016 Nautilus Book Award in Psychology Finalist for the 2016 Books for a Better Life Award   “Mark Wolynn does a masterful job of illuminating the ways in which our ancestors’ unresolved suffering, often unknown to us, disables us and binds us painfully to them. He gives us the tools and skills—an approach that combines understanding, imaginative dialogues, and compassionate reconnection—to free and heal ourselves.”  —James S. Gordon, MD, author of Unstuck: Your Guide to the Seven-Stage Journey Out of Depression “ It Didn’t Start with You takes us a big step forward, advancing the fields of trauma therapy, mindfulness applications, and human understanding. It is a bold, creative, and compassionate work.” —Sharon Salzberg, author of Lovingkindness and Real Happiness   “This groundbreaking book offers a compelling understanding of inherited trauma and fresh, powerful tools for relieving its suffering. Mark Wolynn is a wise and trustworthy guide on the journey toward healing.” —Tara Brach, PhD, author of Radical Acceptance and True Refuge“Mark Wolynn’s extraordinary book cracks the secret code of families and proves that you can go home again—once you understand how history made you. Full of life-changing stories, powerful insights, and practical tools for personal healing, It Didn't Start With You deserves a place on your bookshelf next to Alice Miller’s The Drama of the Gifted Child and Dan Siegel’s The Developing Mind. You’ll never see your family the same way again.” —Mark Matousek, author of Ethical Wisdom“Bridging both neuroscience and psychodynamic thinking, It Didn’t Start with You provides the reader with Mark Wolynn’s hard-earned toolbox of do-it-yourself clinical aids and provocative insights.” —Jess P. Shatkin, MD, MPH, Vice Chair for Education at NYU Langone Medical Center’s Child Study Center and author of Child & Adolescent Mental Health “After reading It Didn’t Start with You, I found myself immediately able to apply Mark Wolynn’s techniques with my patients and saw incredible results, in a shorter time than with traditional psychotherapeutic techniques. I encourage you to read this book. It’s truly cutting edge.” —Alexanndra Kreps, MD