Tagged With "Abuse Survivor"
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Re: Defining Resilience Series: Step 5 - Healthy Habit Formation
Oh my gosh! I totally looked for an author name on the blog, but did not see one. My bad for assuming it was yours. Thanks for clarifying.
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Re: Yoga Transformed Me After Trauma and Sexual Assault [yogajournal.com]
LOVE THS ARTICLE!!! SOOO admire Ebony and want to cheer her on!!! Thank you for sharing with us, Laura!
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Re: Yoga Transformed Me After Trauma and Sexual Assault [yogajournal.com]
Are you kidding, Gail? I couldn't post this article here fast enough ! It's like the brass ring of post-trauma stories!
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Re: Yoga Transformed Me After Trauma and Sexual Assault [yogajournal.com]
TOTALLY AGREE!! It would be wonderful to connect with Ebony. Have you tried? Bring her into this community!!
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Re: Yoga Transformed Me After Trauma and Sexual Assault [yogajournal.com]
I haven't, but I will. Same with the author of another recent post that you and I talked about -- can't remember her name but I will look her up and invite her too. Been meaning to message you about it to make sure you hadn't already contacted her.
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Re: Vacancy: Self-Worth in the Mind of a Childhood Abuse Survivor
Succinctly said, Jason. Thanks for putting into words what most survivors struggle with. Hugs
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Re: Vacancy: Self-Worth in the Mind of a Childhood Abuse Survivor
Yes. This. So much so. Thank you for this beautifully written summation of my current state. I love helping others along their healing journey and feel blessed to have reached a place of profound healing to be able to do so. However, I have found myself in a place of overwhelm and self-imposed isolation these past few months. I continue doing my thing . . . blogging, podcast interviews, therapy dog volunteer work . . . and, I truly believe, that has kept me grounded. My therapy. A great way...
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Re: Vacancy: Self-Worth in the Mind of a Childhood Abuse Survivor
Wow, Jason. There's just nothing like a personal story of someone else who's been there. Learning I'm not alone by reading or hearing of someone else's experience never loses its potency. Thank you for sharing this here, where so many of us get it.
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Re: Thoughts to share
Excellent reminders for us all and a unique idea for a post, too. Thanks, Michael.
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Re: A Holiday Guide for Abuse Survivors [psychcentral.com]
Beautifully said and so comfortingly necessary for so many. Thank you.
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Re: Opening Up by Writing It Down: How Expressive Writing Improves Health and Eases Emotional Pain
Jill: I love this. I think this is a new version of an older work, is it not? I know his first version of Opening Up is from the 80's and I have that copy. I have written a white paper on this topic as well, how expressive writing eases symptoms of traumatic stress, which includes an overview of Pennebaker's work. I love free-writing, and sometimes do it alone, sometimes in community. When the community is safe, it's a BEAUTIFUL process because all are invited to share and are often prompted...
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Re: Why not share information on trauma and resilience directly with survivors?
It's about time. It's funny how a trauma survivor can sometimes feel like "only" a survivor, and therefore somehow not an expert or even a valid source (?!?!) on what it is to be just that. Thanks for sharing this and thanks for being a part of making trauma recovery more survivor-directed.
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Re: CPTSD and Social Awkwardness: Another Source of Isolation
Great post. The thing I like about your blog posts/videos, Anna, is that they often address those otherwise "sidelined" effects of childhood trauma -- the ones that don't often make the clinical "symptoms of childhood trauma" lists. They're also the ones that those of us who've experienced childhood trauma suspect, in our perhaps not-always accurate (because they've been thrown off-kilter by the trauma) guts and hearts that this everyday problem that we can't quite put our finger on is yet...
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Re: Victim to Victory: Memoir
Heather, Congratulations on your triumph in overcoming, illness, abuse, and PTSD, and congratulations on your book! Disclosing one's story can be healing for the storyteller and for those who receive the story. Many of us on this site are looking for inspiration and new paths to healing, so thank you so much for sharing the information about your book.
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Re: Cancer as a survivor
Cissy, your experience sounds truly harrowing, thanks in part to apparently incompetent "healthcare" providers. I keep thinking back to when Gilda Radner was finally diagnosed with ovarian cancer, there was a terrible uproar because despite her unrelenting symptoms it had taken an inordinate amount of time to get that diagnosis. That was 30 years ago, and yet doctors are still scratching their heads for months when middle-aged women report pelvic pain? This is maddening. And unconscionable.
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Re: Are You Re-Traumatizing Yourself? 16 Things We Do That Can Set Us Back with Childhood PTSD
While I agree that these behaviors can be re-traumatizing and are characteristic of dysregulation, in my mind they are all simply symptoms of unaddressed, untreated/undertreated trauma. They're the "cries for help" that tell the person experiencing them (and maybe the people around them) that there's something not quite right. But even after effective treatment of childhood trauma, they can still crop up because those old habits we developed to survive all those years ago die very hard.
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Meet The Black Ballerina and Entrepreneur Helping People Heal From Their Trauma [blackenterprise.com]
By Lydia Blanco, Black Enterprise, May 15, 2020 Tyde-Courtney Edwards, founding director of Ballet After Dark , is a classically trained black ballerina , art model, and survivor of sexual assault who is on a mission to help others heal from their trauma through the art of ballet. Now, during the pandemic, she is helping people unwind and reset their focus on healing virtually as her studio is closed. Edwards began her journey at the Baltimore School for the Arts and has over 20 years of...
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Mental Health Awareness: When Suffering Is Not an Illness
When I was an adolescent and young adult, I struggled with depression. As I reflect back on that time, so much of what I was experiencing was deeply tied to coming to terms with my sexuality. Growing up in the 1980’s in a relatively conservative town, I was closeted (even to myself) until I was a young adult. The pain and fear of being different, of not belonging, of being judged or rejected for who I was more than my adolescent brain could wrap its conscious head around.
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The association between exposure to childhood maltreatment and the subsequent development of functional somatic and visceral pain syndromes [thelancet.com]
By Joht Singh Chandan, Deepiksana Keerthy, Dawit Tefra Zemedikun, et al., EClinical Medicine, June 6, 2020 Abstract Background : Childhood maltreatment is a global public health issue linked to a vast mortality and morbidity burden. This study builds on current literature to explore the risk of developing central sensitivity syndromes (CSS) (consisting of somatic and visceral pain syndromes) subsequent to childhood maltreatment exposure. Methods : A retrospective population based open cohort...
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Re: The association between exposure to childhood maltreatment and the subsequent development of functional somatic and visceral pain syndromes [thelancet.com]
This is a welcome document, validating earlier suspicions I had, particularly with one client who suffers chronic RLC and leg spasming. Thank you.
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The Surviving Spirit Newsletter June 2020
Hi Folks, The latest edition of the Surviving Spirit Newsletter is posted at the website - http://newsletters.survivingspirit.com/index.php To sign up for an e-mail copy, please write to me @ mikeskinner@comcast.net or sign up @ Website via Contact Us. Thanks! Michael. The Surviving Spirit Newsletter June 2020 http://newsletters.survivingspirit.com/pdfs/2020-06-The_Surviving_Spirit_Newsletter_June_2020.pdf Newsletter Contents : 1] I desperately miss human touch. Science may explain why. By...
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Unbecoming an Armadillo: Recovering from Trauma with EMDR
Unbecoming an Armadillo By: Victoria F. Burns, PhD, LSW Victoriafrances49@gmail.com Instagram: @betesandbites “When you are traumatized, you are basically in a permanent defensive mode” — Gabor Mate I’m sitting across from Meg on her charcoal grey love seat. My forearms are resting on a velvety mustard-yellow throw cushion and I’m holding crescent shaped pulsers in each hand. Meg’s my psychologist; a rare gem who specializes in chronic illness and trauma. Every two weeks, we spend an hour...
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Christine (Cissy) White Returns. Hear My Story (www.thetraumatherapistproject.com)
Yesterday, Guy McPherson of the Trauma-Therapist Podcast shared the interview we did a few months ago. It was just after my last round of chemo and though I was tired and pale and my wig kept slipping - and also - I was super excited to be on one of my favorite podcasts and engaged in conversation. Here's an excerpt and the link to the video and audio. I appreciate how often Guy McPherson shares the perspective of trauma survivors with his podcast audience. Here's the link to the Trauma...
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The Healing Place Podcast Interview
Hi Folks, I had the honor of appearing on Teri Wellbrock's, The Healing Place Podcast a few weeks ago. Teri is a gracious host and we had a lot of fun with this show, despite the seriousness of some of the topics. Who doesn't like to chat about the joys of dissociation? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMv9ZMAw_t4 A deep, yet smile-filled conversation with Michael Skinner, musician and trauma advocate. Please join us as we sit down to discuss: * his role as a musician and the importance of...
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Loving An Orchid: Understanding Child Abuse Trauma's Impact [psychologytoday.com]
By JoAnn Stevelos, Psychology Today, August 21, 2020 As a child, I was an orchid but lived like a dandelion. I have always prided myself on my resiliency, for surviving a long and painful childhood filled with abandonment, psychological, physical, emotional, and sexual abuse . Child abuse can do that to you—give you a false sense of self and what resiliency really looks like. Resiliency is not just surviving. This false narrative of resiliency can take years to undo. One approach is to try...
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COVID, ACES, and Radical Self-Care
COVID, ACES and Radical Self-Care Dr. LateshIa Woodley, LPC, NCC & Alexis Kelly, MPA COVID Thursday, March 13, 2020, I woke up thinking I love my life, I have the best job in the world, I get to wake up every day and strive to make a difference in the lives of students and families. Little did I know that a few hours later my life, the lives of my family, and the lives of the families that I serve would forever be changed due to the COVID pandemic. Prior to the pandemic, I was leading...
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Stop Child Abuse Now (SCAN) Pod cast 10-22-20
Stop Child Abuse Now (SCAN) Pod cast https://www.blogtalkradio.com/naasca/2020/10/22/stop-child-abuse-now-scan--2513 "Tonight's special guest is Michael Skinner , a returning NAASCA family member from New Hampshire. Michael is an award-winning advocate survivor. Michael's non-profit, ' The Surviving Spirit ', offers a monthly newsletter addressing the issues of trauma, abuse and mental health concerns, public speaking and his music. He notes that these cover a wide variety of issues."We want...
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"A Better Normal" Community Discussion: Suicide Awareness and Community Cafes
Join us on Friday November 6, 2020 from noon to 1:00 PST as we come together and join Satya Chandragiri MD, Bonnie O’Hern RN, Denise Proudfoot RN, & Michael Polacek RN for a discussion around the tender issue of suicide. Together we will discuss ways people and providers can support each other and encourage communities to take action to support one another around suicide prevention, crisis intervention, and the layers of culture and structural barriers to care. A special emphasis will be...
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Why It’s Important to Identify as a “Trauma Survivor”
My clients aren’t running around town wearing “I’m a trauma survivor” t-shirts. Of course they aren’t. Who wants to announce that bad things happened to them? No one! And yet, unfortunately, many live with the aftereffects of trauma every day and don’t know it. Trauma is what happens to your nervous system after you’ve felt unsafe and scared, and powerless to escape or protect yourself. If a person can’t eventually resolve that sense of danger, that person’s nervous system is likely to...
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Family Visits: Ten Self-Care Tips
Lately, a lot of people who grew up with childhood trauma are going “no contact” with their families and loved ones. I hear people talking about it with relief and sometimes a sense of accomplishment. For many people, the abuse was egregious and may be ongoing; in these cases, walking away for good may be necessary and courageous. For others, going no-contact is an emergency form of self-protection that, over time, may not need to be permanent. So I want to share with you ten tips to protect...
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A Safe Place For Men
Each day from Thanksgiving until Christmas, hear the voices of male survivors of childhood, adolescent or adult sexual abuse share their stories of hurt, pain, joy and triumph as they heal from the aftermath of betrayal and trauma. You are not alone https://www.safeplaceformen.com/30days Thank you Thomas! Honored to help kick this series off – gifts of healing. Take care, Michael Skinner https://safeplaceformen.podbean.com/ www.safeplaceformen.com #safeplaceformen #malesexualabuserecovery
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Self-care is not participating when you don’t want to.
There is power in standing up for yourself and sticking to your personal boundaries regarding how you participate in life as a trauma survivor. I hate the constant barrage of showing up because of obligation. Fuck that. I mean, when I think about the fact that people will shame you over not doing something that you don’t want to do, I get irate. I think about how many times in our lives that we are put in the position of showing up due to social constructs, and I want to smash my face into...
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Art and Trauma: Creativity As a Resiliency & Healing Factor
Art and Trauma: Creativity As a Resiliency & Healing Factor I have long believed that all of the creative arts are healing. I was drawn to music because it made me feel good, first just listening, then learning to play the drums and then performing in rock bands. Later in life, learning the guitar and singing along with songwriting. Sadly, trauma disconnects so many of us from our creative outlets...finding the ways to reconnect with our creative selves goes a long ways in healing the...
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Art and Trauma: Creativity As a Resiliency & Healing Factor
Art and Trauma: Creativity As a Resiliency & Healing Factor I have long believed that all of the creative arts are healing. I was drawn to music because it made me feel good, first just listening, then learning to play the drums and then performing in rock bands. Later in life, learning the guitar and singing along with songwriting. Sadly, trauma disconnects so many of us from our creative outlets...finding the ways to reconnect with our creative selves goes a long ways in healing the...
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Survivor Stories Online - Friday, December 11, 2020 8:00 PM – 10:00 PM
Survivor Stories Online - Friday, December 11, 2020 8:00 PM – 10:00 PM GET YOUR FREE TICKETS for this Zoom event at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/survivor-stories-online-tickets-129044969979 Survivors of sexual abuse and assault are invited to read a poem, tell a story, sing a song, share in any way they see fit. Survivors of sexual abuse and assault are invited to read a poem, tell a story, sing a song, share in any way they see fit. Speakers and performers include: Musician, Advocate,...
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Award-Winning Musician and Advocate, Michael Skinner - Healing Childhood Sexual Abuse - YouTube
Award-Winning Musician and Advocate, Michael Skinner - Healing Childhood Sexual Abuse - YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gEVZG4-81ZM Welcome to the Ms. Texas Show where we showcase life in Texas and highlight Amazing survivors of traumatic events, family violence, sex trafficking, sexual abuse and Community Leaders to share community resources. Today's guest is Michael Skinner, award-winning advocate, educator, writer and critically acclaimed singer, songwriter, guitarist, addressing...
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Re: Why It's So Hard to Talk About Abusive Mothers [themighty.com]
As a survivor, for most of my life that double standard held me back from acknowledging my mother's role in my traumatization. And, yes, I suspect her behavior was/is a result of being traumatized herself. But denying that she's capable of exactly what she did only delayed my own healing. It was when I was able to finally break through that barrier (and that breaking through is a process that I still struggle with, because pointing the finger at one's mother is TABOO) that I was able to make...
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The Surviving Spirit Newsletter January 2021
Healing the Heart Through the Creative Arts, Education & Advocacy Hope, Healing & Help for Trauma, Abuse & Mental Health “ Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars”. Kahlil Gibran The Surviving Spirit Newsletter January 2021 “ May 2021 bring everyone Joy - Peace - Hope - Love - Good Health - Renewed Faith - Inclusiveness - Empathy - Understanding - Kindness - Acceptance - in a Safer World. May we spend more time &...
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Relieve Pandemic Tension in Your Mind, Body with Yoga and Meditation
The COVID-19 pandemic has been a shock to the system for many -- for individuals, for countries, for economies on a huge scale. As a survivor, you know we will get through this . The only way out is through. But the stress the pandemic has visited on your body has not been kind. Meditation and activities that promote mindfulness (like yoga) can help stem some of this stress and relieve the tension the pandemic has left behind in your bones. If you’re ready to move toward healing and more...
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The Disconnect of Trauma and the Lies We Follow
Honored to be part of the Survivor Stories event hosted by Michael Broussard of Ask a Survivor. Performing two songs of mine and sharing the back story to their creation - "Songs For The Keys To Your Life"and "When Your Heart Follows A Lie" “ Go to where the silence is and say something.” - Amy Goodman Survivor Stories- Michael Skinner - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehkz2kkkIa4&t=40s Take care and share as you wish...Michael Skinner A diagnosis is not a destiny “ Our lives begin to...
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Healing the Hidden Wounds from Childhood: The Promise of Healing, Part II (Glenn R. Schiraldi, Ph.D., Lt. Col., USAR, Ret.)
So many people are struggling with unhealed, hidden wounds from toxic childhood stress. For some the pain is obvious. Others might look outwardly strong, capable, and in control. However, unhealed inner wounds cause needless suffering and can lead to a dizzying array of psychological, medical, and functional problems. This three-part blog discusses the road to recovery. Part I explained “The Principles of Healing.” This part explains why traditional treatments are not usually the best...
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Healing the Hidden Wounds from Childhood: The Promise of Healing, Part III (by Glenn R. Schiraldi, Ph.D., Lt. Col., USAR, Ret.)
So many people are struggling with unhealed, hidden wounds from toxic childhood stress. For some, the pain is obvious. Others might look outwardly strong, capable, and in control. However, unhealed inner wounds cause needless suffering and can lead to a dizzying array of psychological, medical, and functional problems. Fortunately, there is hope for healing—even decades after traumatic wounding from ACEs occurs—enabling us to be 100% there for ourselves, our families, and others we work and...
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The Surviving Spirit Newsletter March 2021
Healing the Heart Through the Creative Arts, Education & Advocacy Hope, Healing & Help for Trauma, Abuse & Mental Health “ Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars”. Kahlil Gibran The latest edition of the Surviving Spirit Newsletter is posted at the website - http://newsletters.survivingspirit.com/index.php or here's the PDF -...
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Re: The Method For Receiving Infinite Support and The Power of Gratitude and Appreciation
Thanks for presenting this perspective on our place in the universe.
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The Method For Receiving Infinite Support and The Power of Gratitude and Appreciation
Those who struggle with ACE’s have a tendency to focus on the negative as a means of self-protection. We fear opening our hearts because of the brutality we experienced in early childhood when our hearts were already open. It takes a tremendous amount of inner work to free our energy from continuing to produce the false barrier of protection, which constitutes our barrier to experiencing all of the love and joy and support that we long for. In this article I offer an alternative view that...
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Re: Can Gratitude Be Good for Your Heart? [greatergood.berkeley.edu]
This is sure good news for all of us, but in the context of this group, it’s especially useful to anyone hoping to combat the possible long-term effects of ACEs/trauma on cardiovascular health (and just wanting to heal). My concern for ACEs/trauma survivors (or anyone, really) is that sometimes cultivating gratitude can come at the cost of fully acknowledging and processing traumas. There can be a sense guilt just for admitting to oneself — not to mention others — that some very bad things...
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Re: Can Gratitude Be Good for Your Heart? [greatergood.berkeley.edu]
Laura: Please feel free to share these articles as a post so more people will see them. I LOVE the ingratitude list and your comment. To me, it reads like a blog post and I LOVE your voice. It's clear, curious and honest. I LOVE gratitude lists. Now, after my 40's, but while knee-deep in healing I wanted to punch anyone who said something that felt like, "Turn that frown upside down" because it felt minimizing. It didn't just feel minimizing, sometimes it was, as in denial. Plus, all the...
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Re: Can Gratitude Be Good for Your Heart? [greatergood.berkeley.edu]
Your analogy of baking a cake is spot on (speaking of reading like a blog post )-- the desired ingredients will vary from baker to baker and from cake to cake, but without all the essentials, we're just not going to end up with a cake and we have to admit that and then do something about it or go cakeless .... which would be a shame. Let me reiterate -- I am all for gratitude lists and for an "attitude of gratitude". My husband and I still have a gratitude list still on our laptop desktop...
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Left Behind: Surviving Suicide Loss (dailygood.org)
In the spring of 2017, Nandini Murali, a South Indian journalist and author, returned from an out-of-town assignment to an eerily quiet home. Typically, her husband would greet her at the front door, but that morning he hadn't answered her phone calls. It was Nandini who discovered his body, and confronted an unfathomable reality. T.R. Murali, one of the most prominent urologists in India, and her beloved husband of 33 years, had ended his own life. "Space dissolved," writes Nandini, of that...