Ronni and Jennie: Conversations on Recovery from Childhood Trauma and Abuse

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Ronni and Jennie share memories of their beloved brother, and the healing their reconciliation with him has brought.

Ronni and Jennie are sisters who were not supposed to be friends. They grew up in a home with addiction, abuse, and untreated mental illness, which generated dysfunctional dynamics that often pitted them against each other. Miraculously, they came together in adulthood to help each other heal. Now, drawing on their personal and professional experiences, they are telling their story to help others recover from childhood trauma and abuse, mend their own sibling relationships, and live joyfully. They invite you to join them in this healing conversation. 

Please feel free to share your own experiences, or ask questions, via their website: www.ronniandjennie.com (other free content is also available there), or follow them on Instagram: @ronni_and_jennie.

Ronni Tichenor is Professor Emeritus of Sociology at State University of New York--Polytechnic Institute, specializing in family studies; Jennie Weaver is a board-certified Family Nurse Practitioner with over 25 years' experience in family practice and mental health. They detail their story in their book, Healing Begins with Us: Breaking the Cycle of Trauma and Abuse and Rebuilding the Sibling Bond.

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In this bonus episode, Ronni and Jennie share why you should “never say never” in healing.

Ronni and Jennie are sisters who were not supposed to be friends. They grew up in a home with addiction, abuse, and untreated mental illness, which generated dysfunctional dynamics that often pitted them against each other. Miraculously, they came together in adulthood to help each other heal. Now, drawing on their personal and professional experiences, they are telling their story to help others recover from childhood trauma and abuse, mend their own sibling relationships, and live joyfully. They invite you to join them in this healing conversation. 

Please feel free to share your own experiences, or ask questions, via their website: www.ronniandjennie.com (other free content is also available there), or follow them on Instagram: @ronni_and_jennie.

Ronni Tichenor is Professor Emeritus of Sociology at State University of New York--Polytechnic Institute, specializing in family studies; Jennie Weaver is a board-certified Family Nurse Practitioner with over 25 years' experience in family practice and mental health. They detail their story in their book, Healing Begins with Us: Breaking the Cycle of Trauma and Abuse and Rebuilding the Sibling Bond.

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As we pursue healing, we reach plateaus where we feel like we have things under control. Then life comes along and challenges us in new ways. No matter how far we have come in our healing, there is always more to learn. 

Ronni and Jennie are sisters who were not supposed to be friends. They grew up in a home with addiction, abuse, and untreated mental illness, which generated dysfunctional dynamics that often pitted them against each other. Miraculously, they came together in adulthood to help each other heal. Now, drawing on their personal and professional experiences, they are telling their story to help others recover from childhood trauma and abuse, mend their own sibling relationships, and live joyfully. They invite you to join them in this healing conversation. 

Please feel free to share your own experiences, or ask questions, via their website: www.ronniandjennie.com (other free content is also available there), or follow them on Instagram: @ronni_and_jennie.

Ronni Tichenor is Professor Emeritus of Sociology at State University of New York--Polytechnic Institute, specializing in family studies; Jennie Weaver is a board-certified Family Nurse Practitioner with over 25 years' experience in family practice and mental health. They detail their story in their book, Healing Begins with Us: Breaking the Cycle of Trauma and Abuse and Rebuilding the Sibling Bond.

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When we look to others to help us in our healing, it can be easy to put those mentors on a pedestal. Ronni and Jennie talk about what happens when they disappoint you, or turn out not to be who you thought they were.

Ronni and Jennie are sisters who were not supposed to be friends. They grew up in a home with addiction, abuse, and untreated mental illness, which generated dysfunctional dynamics that often pitted them against each other. Miraculously, they came together in adulthood to help each other heal. Now, drawing on their personal and professional experiences, they are telling their story to help others recover from childhood trauma and abuse, mend their own sibling relationships, and live joyfully. They invite you to join them in this healing conversation. 

Please feel free to share your own experiences, or ask questions, via their website: www.ronniandjennie.com (other free content is also available there), or follow them on Instagram: @ronni_and_jennie.

Ronni Tichenor is Professor Emeritus of Sociology at State University of New York--Polytechnic Institute, specializing in family studies; Jennie Weaver is a board-certified Family Nurse Practitioner with over 25 years' experience in family practice and mental health. They detail their story in their book, Healing Begins with Us: Breaking the Cycle of Trauma and Abuse and Rebuilding the Sibling Bond.

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Experiencing trauma can make you feel like you have to hold back in life, or create an emotional suit of armor to protect yourself. Ronni and Jennie talk about how they have learned to recognize when they are being too guarded and when it is safe to be open and trusting with others.

Ronni and Jennie are sisters who were not supposed to be friends. They grew up in a home with addiction, abuse, and untreated mental illness, which generated dysfunctional dynamics that often pitted them against each other. Miraculously, they came together in adulthood to help each other heal. Now, drawing on their personal and professional experiences, they are telling their story to help others recover from childhood trauma and abuse, mend their own sibling relationships, and live joyfully. They invite you to join them in this healing conversation. 

Please feel free to share your own experiences, or ask questions, via their website: www.ronniandjennie.com (other free content is also available there), or follow them on Instagram: @ronni_and_jennie.

Ronni Tichenor is Professor Emeritus of Sociology at State University of New York--Polytechnic Institute, specializing in family studies; Jennie Weaver is a board-certified Family Nurse Practitioner with over 25 years' experience in family practice and mental health. They detail their story in their book, Healing Begins with Us: Breaking the Cycle of Trauma and Abuse and Rebuilding the Sibling Bond.

Send us Fan Mail

Many people feel they need to know exactly what happened to them in order to heal. Ronni and Jennie share how following their feelings (even in the absence of memories) has helped them release the pain associated with the trauma they experienced.

Ronni and Jennie are sisters who were not supposed to be friends. They grew up in a home with addiction, abuse, and untreated mental illness, which generated dysfunctional dynamics that often pitted them against each other. Miraculously, they came together in adulthood to help each other heal. Now, drawing on their personal and professional experiences, they are telling their story to help others recover from childhood trauma and abuse, mend their own sibling relationships, and live joyfully. They invite you to join them in this healing conversation. 

Please feel free to share your own experiences, or ask questions, via their website: www.ronniandjennie.com (other free content is also available there), or follow them on Instagram: @ronni_and_jennie.

Ronni Tichenor is Professor Emeritus of Sociology at State University of New York--Polytechnic Institute, specializing in family studies; Jennie Weaver is a board-certified Family Nurse Practitioner with over 25 years' experience in family practice and mental health. They detail their story in their book, Healing Begins with Us: Breaking the Cycle of Trauma and Abuse and Rebuilding the Sibling Bond.

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We all learn lessons from our parents, for better or worse. Now that their mom and dad are both gone, Ronni and Jennie talk about what they have taken away from the time they had with their parents.

Ronni and Jennie are sisters who were not supposed to be friends. They grew up in a home with addiction, abuse, and untreated mental illness, which generated dysfunctional dynamics that often pitted them against each other. Miraculously, they came together in adulthood to help each other heal. Now, drawing on their personal and professional experiences, they are telling their story to help others recover from childhood trauma and abuse, mend their own sibling relationships, and live joyfully. They invite you to join them in this healing conversation. 

Please feel free to share your own experiences, or ask questions, via their website: www.ronniandjennie.com (other free content is also available there), or follow them on Instagram: @ronni_and_jennie.

Ronni Tichenor is Professor Emeritus of Sociology at State University of New York--Polytechnic Institute, specializing in family studies; Jennie Weaver is a board-certified Family Nurse Practitioner with over 25 years' experience in family practice and mental health. They detail their story in their book, Healing Begins with Us: Breaking the Cycle of Trauma and Abuse and Rebuilding the Sibling Bond.

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Ronni and Jennie share memories of their mother, and talk about the complicated emotions surrounding them.

Ronni and Jennie are sisters who were not supposed to be friends. They grew up in a home with addiction, abuse, and untreated mental illness, which generated dysfunctional dynamics that often pitted them against each other. Miraculously, they came together in adulthood to help each other heal. Now, drawing on their personal and professional experiences, they are telling their story to help others recover from childhood trauma and abuse, mend their own sibling relationships, and live joyfully. They invite you to join them in this healing conversation. 

Please feel free to share your own experiences, or ask questions, via their website: www.ronniandjennie.com (other free content is also available there), or follow them on Instagram: @ronni_and_jennie.

Ronni Tichenor is Professor Emeritus of Sociology at State University of New York--Polytechnic Institute, specializing in family studies; Jennie Weaver is a board-certified Family Nurse Practitioner with over 25 years' experience in family practice and mental health. They detail their story in their book, Healing Begins with Us: Breaking the Cycle of Trauma and Abuse and Rebuilding the Sibling Bond.

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Ronni and Jennie’s mother has just passed, and they share the range of emotions this has triggered, as well as what this moment means in their healing.

Ronni and Jennie are sisters who were not supposed to be friends. They grew up in a home with addiction, abuse, and untreated mental illness, which generated dysfunctional dynamics that often pitted them against each other. Miraculously, they came together in adulthood to help each other heal. Now, drawing on their personal and professional experiences, they are telling their story to help others recover from childhood trauma and abuse, mend their own sibling relationships, and live joyfully. They invite you to join them in this healing conversation. 

Please feel free to share your own experiences, or ask questions, via their website: www.ronniandjennie.com (other free content is also available there), or follow them on Instagram: @ronni_and_jennie.

Ronni Tichenor is Professor Emeritus of Sociology at State University of New York--Polytechnic Institute, specializing in family studies; Jennie Weaver is a board-certified Family Nurse Practitioner with over 25 years' experience in family practice and mental health. They detail their story in their book, Healing Begins with Us: Breaking the Cycle of Trauma and Abuse and Rebuilding the Sibling Bond.

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We all try to make sense out of what happens in our lives, but it can be very difficult to find meaning in experiencing trauma or abuse. Ronni and Jennie share how they have come to understand the abuse they lived through, and how it shapes their purpose in life now.

Ronni and Jennie are sisters who were not supposed to be friends. They grew up in a home with addiction, abuse, and untreated mental illness, which generated dysfunctional dynamics that often pitted them against each other. Miraculously, they came together in adulthood to help each other heal. Now, drawing on their personal and professional experiences, they are telling their story to help others recover from childhood trauma and abuse, mend their own sibling relationships, and live joyfully. They invite you to join them in this healing conversation. 

Please feel free to share your own experiences, or ask questions, via their website: www.ronniandjennie.com (other free content is also available there), or follow them on Instagram: @ronni_and_jennie.

Ronni Tichenor is Professor Emeritus of Sociology at State University of New York--Polytechnic Institute, specializing in family studies; Jennie Weaver is a board-certified Family Nurse Practitioner with over 25 years' experience in family practice and mental health. They detail their story in their book, Healing Begins with Us: Breaking the Cycle of Trauma and Abuse and Rebuilding the Sibling Bond.