Having been fortunate to work with Sharon previously, I came to appreciate how she shares her perspective on trauma and lived experience in expansive and creative ways, enabling meaningful reflection in a non-judgemental conversation. While our personal experiences differ in detail, Sharon’s insight influenced my ability to recognise the lasting negative impact that trauma has, how this is replicated across society, and how it can continue to hold us back unless we identify and challenge that cycle. That unique relatability led to ‘wow’ moments, when it became possible to refine previously muddled thoughts and recollections and contextualise them. Sharon helped me to meaningfully draw together the dynamics of culture, family and interpersonal relationships, social status, environment and economics into a coherent whole from which I could begin to dismantle the personal barriers these influences had created. Whether as a leader, a teacher, or both, it is powerful to be awakened to understanding that trauma-ingrained thoughts and instincts effectively induce a state of operating automatically, as though we have been programmed with inadequate stock responses to the multi-various challenges that life and work present us with. If you have ever felt overwhelmed, or that your sense of positive impact and influence is limited, be reassured that it can be transformed into a source of personal and professional strength, growth, and excellence. Sharon’s holistic approach to personal development empowers you to better relate, empathise, creatively engage and educate as an individual impacted by trauma yet capable of overcoming it to the benefit of self and others.
Gordon, Libraries Group Head