The Pain We Carry

It’s time to heal the invisible wounds of complex trauma and reclaim your mind, body, and spirit.

If you are a person of color who has experienced repeated trauma—such as discrimination, race-related verbal assault, racial stigmatization, poverty, sexual trauma, or interpersonal violence—you may struggle with intense feelings of anger, mistrust, or shame. You may feel unsafe or uncomfortable in your own body, or struggle with building and keeping close relationships. Sometimes you may feel very alone in your pain. But you are not alone. This groundbreaking work illuminates the phenomena of complex post-traumatic stress disorder (C-PTSD) as it is uniquely experienced by people of color, and provides a much-needed path to health and wholeness.

In The Pain We Carry, you’ll find powerful tools to help you understand and begin healing from repeated trauma. You’ll discover ways to feel safer in your body, build self-compassion and resilience, and reclaim your health and wellness by reconnecting with your sense of self and your ancestral wisdom. You’ll learn how trauma is connected to grief, how it can affect both the mind and the body, and how it can persist from one generation to the next. Most importantly, you’ll find the validation you need to begin mending your heart, and the skills you need to live a life of intention—even in the midst of an oppressive system.

It’s time to find relief from the trauma and burdens you have been carrying and start celebrating and rediscovering who you are. With this guide, you will uncover your own strength in order to work toward healing C-PTSD within the external constraints you face to live a life of resilience, empowerment, reflection, and perseverance.

Author Biography

Natalie Y. Gutiérrez, LMFT, is founder of Mindful Journeys Marriage & Family Therapy PLLC, and a licensed marriage and family therapist working primarily with BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) survivors of complex trauma—ranging from racial trauma, sexual trauma, attachment trauma, and intergenerational trauma. Natalie is a certified internal family systems therapist and prospective trainer at the IFS Institute. Natalie’s individual and group healing work blends the intersections of psychotherapy, activism, and curanderismo. She has more than 23,000 followers on Instagram, where she shares her journey of healing and empowerment. She currently resides in New York, NY. Foreword writer Jennifer Mullan, PsyD, is a clinical psychologist and published author. She currently serves communities as a consultant, therapeutic coach, and ancestral wound worker who seeks to unpack the oppressive legacy of modern mental health practices, particularly for Queer, Indigenous, Black and Brown People of Color (QIBPOC). She has been featured in Allure, GQ, Cosmopolitan, on The Today Show, and more.