The Resilient Light: Resources for Your Healing Journey
Welcome to your healing toolkit. Here you’ll find books, tools, and faith-filled resources that have supported my journey through trauma, motherhood, and restoration. May they meet you right where you are.
Books That Shaped Me
These are the books that didn’t just teach me — they transformed me. Whether you’re just beginning your healing journey or deep into the process, each one offered powerful insight into trauma, the body, and recovery. I only recommend what I’ve personally read and found impactful.
The Body Keeps the Score: Bessel van der Kolk explains how trauma physically reshapes the brain and body — and how healing is possible. This book is the foundation of understanding trauma in a scientific, yet accessible way
Walking the Tiger: This book changed the way I understood trauma in the body. Peter Levine teaches that trauma isn’t just stored in the mind—it lives in our nervous system. Waking the Tiger helped me see my physical reactions not as overreactions, but as deeply rooted survival responses. It gave language and science to what I had felt for years but couldn’t name. If you’ve ever wondered why your body reacts before your brain does, this is a must-read.
It Didn’t Start with You:This book was like unlocking a part of myself I didn’t even know was hidden. It Didn’t Start With You explores how generational trauma can be passed down, even without words or direct experience. It helped me understand my parents with more compassion and made me more intentional about what I carry forward—and what I don’t. If you’re navigating patterns that don’t make sense on the surface, this book can help you trace the deeper roots.
Faith-Based Healing Tools
My faith is the anchor of my healing. These tools have grounded me in truth, comforted me in darkness, and reminded me of who I am when trauma tries to tell a different story. Whether you’re just exploring or deepening your walk, I pray these serve you well.
Bible Reading Plan for Healing
A 30-day Scripture plan focused on comfort, restoration, and identity in Christ. Designed to help you anchor your heart in truth during moments of anxiety, grief, and emotional overwhelm.
Breath Prayer Guide
Pairing breathwork with Scripture, this guide helps regulate your nervous system while keeping your mind fixed on God. Inhale His promises, exhale the lies trauma planted.
Worship Playlist for Trauma Recovery
Curated worship songs that have walked me through some of my darkest moments—songs of surrender, hope, and divine reassurance. Let them wash over you.
Prayers + Prompts Journal
Printable journal pages with healing prompts, scriptures, and space to pour out your heart to God. A safe place for honest prayers and breakthrough moments.
Trauma Recovery + Mental Health
Resources to understand, process, and move through trauma with practical tools and compassionate guidance.
Somatic Practices
Trauma is stored in the body — and movement helps release it. These practices invite you back into your body gently and intentionally.
Therapy & Support
Professional help can offer safety and structure for your healing journey. Therapy isn’t weakness, it’s wisdom. Check out Psychology Today Directory to find a therapist near you. Or if you prefer virtual support options check out Crisis Text Line or Better Help.
Podcasts
I don’t listen to traditional trauma recovery podcasts. Instead, I gravitate toward faith-based voices that speak life into who we are, even in the midst of our pain. Pastors like Jerry Flowers, Dharius Daniels , and Craig Groeschel often touch on topics like identity, healing, and emotional restoration — even when the word trauma isn’t used. These messages have helped shape my mindset, deepen my faith, and challenge the lies I once believed about myself. If you’re looking for guidance rooted in truth, love, and purpose, these are great places to start.
Life.Church (Craig Groeschel)
Life.Church, founded by Pastor Craig Groeschel, offers biblically grounded messages that are both practical and powerful. While not trauma-specific, many of Pastor Craig’s teachings dive into topics like anxiety, identity, shame, and spiritual resilience. His messages are a steady reminder that healing and strength are found in Jesus, and that our past doesn’t have to dictate our future
Jerry Flowers
Pastor Jerry Flowers offers powerful, relatable messages that blend biblical truth with emotional healing. Through his signature Therapy Thursdays series, he dives deep into topics like trauma, emotional baggage, identity, boundaries, and relationships — all from a faith-rooted lens. His words are honest, heartfelt, and deeply convicting, helping listeners confront the parts of themselves that need healing while reminding them of their worth in Christ. If you’re ready for soul-level growth, Jerry’s voice is one worth tuning into.
Change Church (Dr. Dharius Daniels)
Change Church, led by Dr. Dharius Daniels, is where spiritual depth meets personal development. His sermons don’t just inspire — they equip you with wisdom to navigate emotional wounds, mental battles, and spiritual stagnation. Dr. Daniels speaks directly to the soul, often addressing the unseen struggles that stem from trauma and helping listeners walk in purpose, identity, and healing through Christ.
Helpful Links
Whether you’re just beginning your healing journey or deep in the work, these tools have supported me—and may support you too. From trauma research to calming practices, here are some of the most impactful resources I return to again and again.
Somatic Experiencing – Learn more about Peter Levine’s approach to body-based trauma recovery
ACEs Too High – Understanding Adverse Childhood Experiences and their long-term effects
Polyvagal Theory Overview – Learn how your nervous system responds to safety and threat
The Body Keeps the Score – Resources – Tools and lectures from Dr. Bessel van der Kolk