My guest this week is Dr. Michael Lovell, president of Marquette University. Michael is deeply committed to trauma-informed care in the city of Milwaukee (where Marquette is located), and to addressing the persistent racial disparities in our society. He’s been outspoken about his own history of childhood trauma, and is using the pain of his past in his efforts to serve others.

That’s something I see so often in my clinical work—that our own struggles can be transformed into a way to help those who are suffering. I’ve certainly found that in my own life, too. Sometimes we might think, “I can’t help others, because I have so much pain myself.” But it’s for exactly that reason that we’re prepared to make a difference in someone else’s life. The pain we experience seems to carve a deeper well in us, and gives us more we can draw from and offer to others.