Book excerpt: Trauma often follows familiar patterns, yet remains deeply complex and unique to each individual. While everyone experiences pain, each person's journey through it is their own. Understanding and striving for happiness while living with that pain is a personal endeavour. This story explores Marla's journey of childhood trauma, how a 'normal' life may not be as normal as it seems, and how one person's reality can be very different from another's. Acknowledging the existence of problems is the first step towards healing.