131: What Happened to You Doesn’t Have to Define You

<p>The ways we learn to survive as children can follow us long after the danger has passed. In this deeply personal conversation, I sit down with Rich Dunning, author of “Silence Was My First Language,” to explore how a childhood shaped by abuse, violence, poverty, homelessness, and addiction continued to affect him well into adulthood. Rich shares how silence, overachievement, distrust, and alcohol became ways of coping with pain he had never addressed, and how addiction eventually brought him to a turning point that changed his life.</p><p><br></p><p>We talk about sobriety, accountability, rebuilding trust, and what it means to forgive without excusing the harm that was done. Rich also shares how telling his story has helped him release shame, reclaim his voice, and turn his experiences into a source of hope and purpose for others.</p><p><br></p><p><strong style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">What You'll Learn</strong></p><ul><li><span style="background-color: transparent;">How childhood survival patterns like silence, hypervigilance, and overachievement can continue into adulthood</span></li><li><span style="background-color: transparent;">Why outward success doesn’t necessarily mean the wounds of the past have healed</span></li><li><span style="background-color: transparent;">How addiction became a way for Rich to escape unresolved trauma (what ultimately led him to sobriety)</span></li><li><span style="background-color: transparent;">Why accountability and self-forgiveness can exist at the same time</span></li><li><span style="background-color: transparent;">What forgiveness looks like when you still need boundaries with the people who hurt you</span></li><li><span style="background-color: transparent;">How releasing shame and speaking openly about your story can become part of the healing process</span></li><li><span style="background-color: transparent;">Why healing isn’t just about changing your own life, but also about breaking cycles for the people who come after you</span></li></ul><p><br></p><p><strong style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">About Rich Dunning</strong></p><p><span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Rich Dunning is an author, speaker, and advocate whose work is rooted in his own journey through childhood trauma, addiction, and recovery. He is the author of Silence Was My First Language, a memoir about breaking cycles of abuse, releasing shame, and reclaiming you