Trauma, Healing & Post-Incarceration Syndrome with Kevin Shird: Part One

In this special in-studio episode of Sundays with Vernā, Vernā sits down with author, educator, and social justice advocate Kevin Shird for a deeply personal conversation about trauma, choice, incarceration, and transformation. Kevin shares his journey from growing up in poverty in Baltimore to becoming involved in the underground drug economy at a young age, a path that ultimately led to more than a decade in federal prison. With honesty and remarkable clarity, he reflects on the series of choices, circumstances, and unresolved trauma that shaped his early life and the lessons that emerged from living through its consequences. Together, Vernā and Kevin explore the language we use around incarceration, the realities of prison life, and what it means to hold space for both accountability and humanity. Their conversation moves beyond labels and stereotypes to examine how identity is formed, challenged, and rebuilt. Kevin also opens up about the practices that helped him survive incarceration: education, fitness, mentorship, and a commitment to reimagining who he could become. Along the way, he offers powerful insights about transferable skills, community, and the psychological shift required to believe in a different future. With vulnerability, wisdom, and hard-earned perspective, this first part of their conversation challenges us to think differently about trauma, redemption, and what becomes possible when people are given the opportunity and support to transform. This is part one of a two-part conversation. --- For more information on Vernā, visit her website: www.vernamyers.com For more information on Kevin Shird and A Life For A Life Foundation, visit: https://alifeforalifefoundation.org/ To Learn About Kevin's Book, A Life For A Life: Poor Choices and Unresolved Trauma Is Killing America: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/216809326-a-life-for-a-life