Translating Your Past: Finding Meaning in Family Ancestry, Genetic Clues, and Generational Trauma

Review
"Translating Your Past is an important work that invites all of us to step into our past to bring healing into our present and to transform our future. These steps affect those around us and those yet to come. Each chapter provides necessary threads to help us face and process the array of factors that form our identity: family history, genetics, generational patterns, ethnicity, religion, plus maneuvering the unknowns, adoption, and trauma. The biblical story frames and undergirds the dialogue. A recommended read for everyone looking to be more whole."--INGRID FARO, PhD, MDiv, visiting professor of Old Testament at Northern Seminary
"As a therapist and former history teacher, I'm elated by the content of this book. We humans are products of our stories, of the family systems into which we are born, and of the genetic code handed down to us. When we understand who we are and the family and cultural environments in which we are socialized, we are better able to understand ourselves and heal from various wounds. Michelle Van Loon guides the reader to see how our family stories provide insight into both our struggles and joys. I highly recommend this resource!"--BRENDA YODER, licensed mental health counselor, educator, and author of Fledge: Launching Your Kids without Losing Your Mind
"As I grow older, I long to know more about the people in my family tree. This timely book helps me reconcile the people and places that make up my genealogy. Translating Your Past is a gift box for every reader, reminding us that our story is a valuable mosaic, carefully woven together by the Author of life. Michelle Van Loon's words welcome us to behold our beautiful and broken family history through a redemptive lens, assuring us that we are indeed part of God's good work!"--DORENA WILLIAMSON, bestselling author of ColorFull and The Celebration Place
"Families don't come with a gift receipt. We can't return the bad back we got from Grandpa or the receding hairline we got from Grandma. Our family inheritance, like the Star Wars series, is going to have stories we are proud of and stories we wish were never created (like Episodes 1-3). In Michelle Van Loon's latest book, Translating Your Past, she teaches us how to learn from the past, live in the present, and look forward to the future. Thanks to this book I'm hoping to set aside more money for my kids' college tuition and less for their future therapy sessions."--DAN STANFORD, author of Losing the Cape: The Power of Ordinary in a World of Superheroes
"In Translating Your Past, Michelle Van Loon helps readers unwrap the threads of the past and better understand how genetics, ancestry, and trauma influence the patterns we weave into our present and future. This book provides a much-needed tool that assists readers in recognizing the many factors that contribute to attitudes, health, personality, and character strengths, and the author writes with grace and insightful narrative that draw the reader from page to page. Translating Your Past is a vital book for psychologists, social workers, educators, the medical community, people helpers, families, clergy, and the faith community. It combines cutting-edge research, spiritual application, and practical resources for anyone looking for help understanding the critical role of our past in shaping our present and future. A must-read for anyone who wants to better understand themselves and others."--SHELLY BEACH, cofounder of PTSD Perspectives and coauthor of the award-winning Love Letters from the Edge: Meditations for Those Struggling with Brokenness, Trauma, and the Pain of Life
"Michelle Van Loon weaves together the stories of biblical characters, modern men and women, and her own family to help us map the blessings and curses of our past and make sense of our family stories. A wise, redemptive, fascinating book for everyone interested in family history, intergenerational wounds, and the possibility for healing."--AMY JULIA BECKER, author