Susan Gold - Transforming Childhood Trauma Into Adult Freedom

Most people look back on their childhood with nostalgia: lazy summer days with friends eating smores, festive holiday dinners with family, the comradery from baseball games and doing goofy things like messy art projects and sleepover pillow fights. Susan Gold had none of this. The daughter of a narcissistic father and detached and abused mother, and siblings who were always out to get her, Susan was subject to her own hell of abuse and cruelty.   Susan outlines what it was like to grow up in this poisonous environment in her riveting memoir Toxic Family: Transforming Childhood Trauma into Adult Freedom. As the title suggests, Susan not only survived the loneliness, hurt and pain she endured but learned from them to triumph into adulthood. In our in-depth conversation, Susan reveals how she did it and how the lessons she learned can help others heal their own traumas. Among the topics she discusses·     The survival mechanisms she used to make her a successful professional·     The survival mechanisms that led her into destructive and near-fatal behavior·     Why her marriage was doomed to failure even before it started·     How she got Andy Warhol to do something he never wanted to do·     How she stopped the tide of generational abuse·     Why she is now committed to helping heal others·     The practical advice she advocates for growthChildhood abuse does not have to doom you forever. If you or someone you love went through this kind of pain, don’t miss this insightful episode of Dream Power Radio.    Susan Gold was raised in a challenging and chaotic family system, the middle child of five. To fully thrive, she bravely chose to meet the demons of her upbringing that were continuing to repeat. Her book, "Toxic Family: Transforming Childhood Trauma into Adult Freedom" is about that journey.      Professionally, Susan became known for attaching celebrity talent to projects in NYC which led her to produce for television and film and on to Los Angeles. She convinced modern art legend Andy Warhol to do an on-camera commercial for Pontiac, a talent deal American TV personality Donny Deutsch still claims as one of his best, helped launch Fox News Channel at the request of Chair, Roger Ailes, and on behalf of Disney Channel persuaded A-list celebrities including Ben Stiller, Jack Black, Taylor Swift, David Beckham and more to be interviewed by cartoon characters…Phineas & Ferb.     Susan is a decorated endurance athlete competing in three marathons, and dozens of triathlons and has the distinction of finishing third in her age group at the treacherous Escape from Alcatraz event.      After living with force on both coasts of the United States, Susan heeded an intuitive call for a quieter life and now resides in the northwest corner of the mystical state of Montana with her beloved partner and their pets. Keen on leaving a legacy to help others heal from challenges she’s successfully met, Toxic Family: Transforming Childhood Trauma into Adult Freedom, is part of that quest. With the same magic Susan created in her entertainment career, she is now leading retreats, webinars, workshops and private sessions to help others drop outdated storylines and programming in exchange for living from the heart in authentic freedom as adults.     Supporting homeless animals, especially dogs, and cats, and helping others up the ladder are her joys. Her pride is her son, a political science major at the University of the Pacific. Website: https://www.susangold.us/    This link will lead you to a free audio file of the first pages of her new book, a mini session to say hello and connect personally, and keI'd love to know what you think of this episode. Text me here.Support the showDon't miss a single episode! By clicking the "Support the Show" link, you can subscribe to my podcast and get sneak previews of upcoming episodes, bonus material and special giveaways designed to uplift your dreaming life.And if you want more ways to find joy in your life,  check out my website thedreamcoach.net for information about my courses, blogs, books and ways to create a life you love.