Tonight was the last tap class of this session through Parks and Rec and our teacher Carol told us “You started as my up-and-comers and now you’ve up and come.” Music to this rusty tapper’s ears. Here’s me practicing steps in the garage on a piece of plywood, aka my tap board. What took me so long to come back to this joy?
Almost everyone in the adoption community has read or heard about Nancy Verrier’s influential book “The Primal Wound,” which posits that early separation of a baby from his or her mother affects their ability to attach and bond to others over the course of a lifetime.
Simon Benn was adopted at five weeks and is now in his mid-fifties. He’s spent years reflecting on the primal wound and its impact on his life.
Simon is creator of the podcast “Thriving Adoptees” and has created a webinar “Whole: Healing My Primal Wound” in which he shares his journey, insights and lessons learned. The webinar will air on Tuesday January 3, 2023 at 9 am PST. Admission is free but registration is required (here). If you miss the live broadcast, registration allows you to watch at your leisure.
Home for Simon is North Yorkshire, United Kingdom but he works with adoptive families internationally through virtual connections as a consultant, coach and sounding board. Simon and I met through our mutual interest in adoption; from listening to episodes of his podcast I regard him as a thoughtful, wise, empathic person who thinks deeply about issues around identity, belonging, self-esteem and adoption.
Below is a description of Simon’s webinar “Whole: Healing My Primal Wound” in his own words.
Looking forward to it!
From Simon Benn:
My copy of the Primal Wound arrived on my 47th birthday – January 4th 2014.
Reading it I thought…Am I stuck with the Primal Wound? Will it ever heal? How do I live with the scars? What on earth do I do to be whole?
So I began searching for answers.
What I’ve learned over the last 9 years has brought me peace.
I’m rarely triggered.
I know deep down that I’m ok.
Don’t get me wrong…
I still have my moments.
But those moments don’t hurt as much or last as long.
I’ve touched on my healing insights during over 200 conversations on the podcast.
Now on the eve of my 56th birthday I ‘m sharing much more on this crucial subject on a free webinar.
Find out more at https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/whole-healing-my-primal-wound-tickets-473258638327
Simon Benn on the primal wound Read More »
If you, like me, love the handwoven plastic market baskets made in Guatemala, but a buying trip isn’t (yet) on your schedule, check out the website for La Canasta (“canasta” means basket in Spanish). I met co-founder Alexandra in Antigua, Guatemala this summer—she’s also an adoptive mom—and was delighted to learn she’s as besotted with these beautiful and useful works of art as I am.
These baskets are multipurpose: purse, beach bag, book bag, diaper bag, briefcase. I carry my tap shoes in one. And they’re virtually indestructible, washable with soap and water. Scrolling through the La Canasta inventory, I must remind myself “I don’t need another basket!”
(Or do I?????)
Order now for holiday delivery. La Canasta will ship to anywhere in the world. xoxo
La Canasta Company Read More »
Over Thanksgiving, we drove to San Francisco to see “Ain’t Too Proud: The Life and Times of the Temptations.” Fabulous!
Afterward, I said to Olivia “For me, every song is memory.” To which she replied, “For me, every song is a dance at a family wedding.”
Yes and yes. xo
