Winters
When Personal and Cultural Cycles Turn Dark
Welcome to all of our new subscribers - We’re glad you’re here!
Today I am sharing a story written by one of our Family Scapegoating Abuse (FSA) Education Substack subscribers, Lynne Feldman. Lynne participates in our monthly Writers Group Chat - a paid subscriber feature where community members can explore issues related to healing from FSA through journaling, memoirs, poetry, or other personal works. You can learn more about our paid and free community offerings by visiting https://familyscapegoathealing.substack.com/p/explore-our-community
In Winters, Lynne explores her internal and external sense of Winter while also weaving in a poetic work of her mother’s, who was an accomplished poet and painter. She also acknowledges the impact of family scapegoating and its effects, including redefining herself beyond the distorted ‘scapegoat’ identity:
I integrated being a Family Scapegoat Abuse survivor with insights gained from decades of trauma therapy; I saw how I had been preconditioned to being hypervigilant as well as expecting personal rejection, betrayal, and loss. No true healing could occur until I retired and replaced these introjects since past somatic wounds of rejection, betrayal, and loss popped up unexpectedly to pull me back into victimhood. If not a scapegoat or victim, what role do I now assume?
Trigger Warning: Lynne’s beautiful self-reflection as embodied in Winters references national, social, and political concerns as related to her life’s journey. As some of my subscribers are sensitive to such issues being discussed in our FSA Recovery environment, you may choose to not read her piece. Alternatively, you can visit Winters and stop reading if you begin to feel activated and perhaps return to it later.
You can access Winters below Lynn’s photo and biography, below.
-Rebecca
About Lynne Feldman
Lynne D. Feldman, Esq. Lynne grew up in Dallas, TX during the Civil Rights Era and was close by when JFK was assassinated. This launched her interest in political science, law, and education. She attended Columbia University’s Graduate Faculties for her MA in Public Law and Government, received a Teaching Degree, and then a law degree, in addition to many academic certifications. She taught government, law and sociology for 25 years while maintaining a law career and became involved with philosopher Ken Wilber’s Integral Institute where she founded the Education Committee. As a teacher she received honors from the White House, the New Jersey Legislature, and her home school. She is still active as an attorney and is a member of the US Supreme Court Bar. She is an author who wrote Integral Healing about her twin bouts with breast and lung cancer, to which Wilber wrote the foreword; and has chapters in several books and magazines. She has been widowed since 2016 and currently lives in New Jersey with her daughter, Erica Fields, Erica’s husband, Simon Knott, and their son, Adam Knott. Lynne remains active with the legal community, her Temple, and many civic groups. Lynne has been involved in the study of cults, including leaderless ones, and extended that to the effect her mother had on her.
Not only am I subscribed I'm kinda smitten. I have to see what Lynne does next. Rebecca, thanks so much for sharing. This was much needed.
Hi Rebecca, I'm really enjoying your newsletter and it's helping me find understanding. I recently wrote a letter of forgiveness to my mother (that she won't see) that helped me a lot. I think it's been helping others to see it as well. I posted it here. https://elizabethgracemartinez.substack.com/p/a-letter-to-my-mother