Does a traumatic childhood doom you to unhappiness and dysfunction?  Meet Wendy Correa who overcame a horrific youth. Dreams were a key part of her recovery! Wendy’s debut book is memoir My Pretty Baby: Seeking Truth and Finding Healing. Wendy starts with a pivotal dream of a black jaguar which had her face then talks about how childhood trauma affects life-long mental health including addiction, depression, and even physical ailments like irritable bowel syndrome and heart disease. She says that 64% of people have experienced at least one of the ten traumas highlighted by the “ACE” scale which lists Adverse Childhood Experiences. She encourages listeners to google the ACEs quiz to start thinking about how trauma might be informing our own lives.

She describes some of the modalities that were healing for her including meditation, psychotherapy, music, somatic practices saying “the issues are in the tissues.” Wendy describes the work by Bessel van der Kolk and his seminal book “The Body Keeps the Score.” After the break we talk about the dangers of toxic positivity and the art of learning “to suffer well” of which a pivotal component is forgiveness. She also mentions Whitney Goodman and Joan Didion.

Here is a link to a short video clip of the conversation:

The Full-Length video can be found here:

BIO: Wendy B. Correa is a writer, yogi, hiker and public speaker. She has worked in film, music, and radio. She holds bachelor’s degrees in psychology and theater arts. A wife and mother, she resides in Denver, Colorado. My Pretty Baby, an Amazon #1 Best Seller, is her debut book.

WendyBCorrea.com

This show, episode number 346, was recorded during a live broadcast on January 17, 2026 at KSQD.org, community radio of Santa Cruz.

Here are links to other Dream Journal episodes you might be interested in:

Meditation and Trauma Recovery with Edit B Kiss

Post Traumatic Spiritual Growth with Linda Schiller

Intro and outro music by Mood Science. Ambient music new every week by Rick Kleffel. Archived music can be found at Pandemiad.com. Many thanks to Rick for also engineering the show and to Erik Nelson for answering the phones.

SHARE A DREAM FOR THE SHOW or a question or enquire about being a guest on the podcast by emailing Katherine Bell at [email protected]. Follow on LI, IG, YT, FB, & LT @ExperientialDreamwork #thedreamjournal. To learn more or to inquire about exploring your own dreams go to ExperientialDreamwork.com.

The Dream Journal aims to:

A dream can be meaningful even if you don’t know what it means.

The Dream Journal is produced at and airs on KSQD Santa Cruz, 90.7 FM. Catch it streaming LIVE at KSQD.org 10-11am Pacific Time on Saturdays. Call or text with your dreams or questions at 831-900-5773 or email at [email protected]. Podcasts are available on all major podcast platforms the Monday following the live show. The complete KSQD Dream Journal podcast page can be found at ksqd.org/the-dream-journal/.

Closed captioning is available on the YouTube version of this podcast and an automatically generated transcript is available at Apple Podcasts within 24 hours of posting.

Thanks for being a Dream Journal listener! Available on all major podcast platforms. Rate it, review it, subscribe, and tell your friends.