Finding Hope in Dark Times: Hendrika de Vries' Journey of Courage and Healing

Finding Hope in Dark Times: Hendrika de Vries' Journey of Courage and Healing

In Nazi-occupied Amsterdam during World War II, young Hendrika de Vries witnessed extraordinary courage. Her family hid a Jewish child in their home, and she watched her mother join the Dutch Resistance and withstand interrogation at gunpoint after the child was discovered and taken away. These experiences would shape a lifetime devoted to resilience, hope, and helping others find their strength. Hendrika's remarkable journey spans continents and generations. From her childhood in wartime Holland to her teenage years as an immigrant and champion swimmer in 1950s Australia, and later as a young wife and mother in the turbulent United States of the 1960s, her life story is one of perseverance, adaptation, and purpose. https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjic0aYDPS6mNMq5rSvXAIjmzmATLtu0t9H0zV-jUEhkoH4kYCjSuU2pmy-yLT4_AaAj5MzmL6zRQkSGwT_HGXyZg_8aMqyfR397pJ01oz7OF2mjYdE7p6Gud3MQNI-Dmjzwo2mGUQLpjbtwi3dg_odpAG61AJKXQViZZdGkRntKIogTA3ALVi2PgZg0LI/s564/Hendrika_deVries_headshot_creditAnnMacNairShaw%20.jpeg As a young swimming instructor in Australia, Hendrika experienced a defining moment when she helped a boy whose legs had been paralyzed by polio learn to trust his upper body and move through the water. Watching him discover his own strength revealed a calling that would eventually lead her to become a family therapist in the United States. Today, Hendrika de Vries is a retired family therapist, teacher, and writer with a background in theology and depth psychology. She is the author of two memoirs, including one about a little Dutch girl who journeys from the shadows of war to a new life in Australia, confronting loss, shattered dreams, and inner struggles before discovering her unique path forward. Through her writing and speaking, Hendrika inspires audiences with a powerful message: even in the darkest times, hope and possibility remain. She believes that by sharing our stories, we become witnesses to resilience and agents of change. Her life and work remind us that courage, compassion, and the human spirit can endure—and flourish—against all odds. https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvFuWHkuTLoxCIJwEn0nnUWycKEhVy-Mt3uetjIlCtY6Q3rCcDLqXhizkmaUUEm342HgGOb-5y-hKsQ45Z5P_Ky4dlbOnaLK84EJWzwgHOPZb2VQehiiHPC1R3K3hScjOfQCHnX3wua6Z7RjbsfTJ3hnMi9OyjyH9rxqqDtj8TRRIZkJBzfpaWVgaQU8A/s1280/open-turns-cover.jpeg GET YOUR COPY HERE [https://draft.blogger.com/u/2/blog/post/edit/5922534140630607175/353432760790440331] If you believe in the power of dreams and intentions, this inspirational coming-of-age memoir, set in 1950s Australia, where an immigrant girl swimmer turns challenges and disappointments into opportunities for success, is for you. Henny was just a little girl when she experienced brutal violence and hunger in WWII Amsterdam, but she is now a teenage immigrant swimmer in 1950s Australia, where she must learn to turn challenges into success. She is smart, she swims fast, and she has definite opinions about the kind of woman she intends to be. She hears the timeless Land speak and sees the Southern Cross as a beacon when she walks in the bush with her father. She enjoys swimming star fame and championship victories and turns to the pool in her search to belong, to face fears and dashed hopes, until at every turn she sees more clearly her unique path ahead. https://draft.blogger.com/u/2/blog/post/edit/5922534140630607175/353432760790440331 https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh76V7HvqyWLlIxWjivvOMtXPO8n3lFHbpbINejIbVM_Wwet_ZQiRGzhPoeZvUCSlq2XPuBdWf9j-QuPSERpK5LvDv4eTiyzLagWXAXADvUyn_8lHigf1bhrEY8JSDlxJOaY9pCnDNh7kSV3nQc4UncWsmpBD834BzTMHc-dm9bHJT8iwMwrcdhG-Bece4/s327/71AFes4ryvL._AC_UY327_FMwebp_QL65_.webp GET YOUR COPY HERE [https://draft.blogger.com/u/2/blog/post/edit/5922534140630607175/353432760790440331] When a Toy Dog Became a Wolf and the Moon Broke Curfew Born in the Netherlands at a time when girls are to be housewives and mothers and nothing else, Hendrika de Vries is a "daddy's girl" until her father is deported from Nazi-occupied Amsterdam to a POW camp in Germany and her mother joins the Resistance. In the aftermath of her father's departure, Hendrika watches as freedoms formerly taken for granted are eroded with escalating brutality by men with swastika armbands who aim to exterminate those they deem "inferior" and those who do not obey. As time goes on, Hendrika absorbs her mother's strength and faith, and learns about moral choice and forced silence. She sees her hidden Jewish "stepsister" betrayed, and her mother interrogated at gunpoint. She and her mother suffer near starvation, and they narrowly escape death on the day of liberation. But they survive it all—and through these harrowing experiences, Hendrika discovers the woman she wants to become. Get in Touch with Hendrika Website [https://draft.blogger.com/u/2/blog/post/edit/5922534140630607175/353432760790440331] Facebook [https://draft.blogger.com/u/2/blog/post/edit/5922534140630607175/353432760790440331]

How to Have Hope When There is No Hope

Dorsey Ross' birth was a surprise. Dorsey's parents were in their forties, had two grown daughters, and were considered past child-bearing age. When Dorsey was born, the doctors believed he wouldn't survive due to his life-threatening disability. Dorsey was born on January 16th, 1977, with a congenital disability known as Apert's Syndrome. His forehead was pushed outward, his nose and mouth were pushed inward, and his fingers and toes were fused, meaning he had no individual movement of them. Doctors gave Dorsey's parents no hope for his survival and advised them to put him into an institution. His parents both knew and trusted in God, and they believed that God would do great things in Dorsey's life. Throughout his life, Dorsey has had to overcome a lot of obstacles, including being bullied, called names like monster and freak, and undergoing multiple operations. 68 Operations Later...... Teachers told Dorsey he would not make it in college, and with all odds against him, he entered Queensborough Community College. After four years there and after attaining an associate degree, he entered the University of Valley Forge. After years of hard work and perseverance, he graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in Youth Ministry. His life saying is, "can't is a word not in his vocabulary" because, for most of his life, he has never used the word can't. He believes that with God, all things are possible and that he can do all things through Christ, who gives him strength. It's with God's help that he is overcoming life's obstacles. GRAB YOUR COPY HERE [https://draft.blogger.com/u/2/blog/post/edit/5922534140630607175/58841275448008112] Dorsey has undergone multiple operations over his lifetime. However, regardless of what he has had to face, Dorsey has not given up. He does everything he can to accomplish the goals and dreams God gave to him.

From Behind the Iron Curtain to a Career with the United Nations

At 16, after seven years of isolation, pain and physical and emotional abuse Christine Sadry reached a breaking point. She was battered, bruised, and could no longer see a way forward. In that moment of deep despair, she attempted to take her life. As she was slipping into unconsciousness, something deep within her stirred — a spark of life that refused to go out. She called a friend just to thank her for her friendship. Her friend heard something in Christine's voice and sensed something was wrong. That phone call saved her life. And it also became a turning point. That moment of hopelessness became the beginning of her strength. https://draft.blogger.com/u/2/blog/post/edit/5922534140630607175/1107725060779967534 Christine Sadry was born in Poland, behind the Iron Curtain, and was adopted in 1964 by a Polish American couple living in the United States. After graduating from West Catholic Girls High School in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, she worked at the United States Social Security Administration from 1973 to 1979. She started her 31-year career with the United Nations in 1979, working on international conferences. Later, she began working with the United Nations peacekeeping missions in Angola, Mozambique, former Yugoslavia, Sierra Leone, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. https://draft.blogger.com/u/2/blog/post/edit/5922534140630607175/1107725060779967534 13 Years Lost was selected as a finalist for the Independent Book Publishers Award! The ceremony in St. Paul, Minnesota, was a beautiful celebration of literary voices and creative spirits. https://draft.blogger.com/u/2/blog/post/edit/5922534140630607175/1107725060779967534 Grab your copy NOW [https://draft.blogger.com/u/2/blog/post/edit/5922534140630607175/1107725060779967534] Christine had a deep need to give voice to her story that was buried for so long to help others who have endured pain in silence. She wanted to show that even in the face of abandonment, trauma, and isolation, it is possible to heal, to rise and to live a life with hope and meaning. Standing alone in the baggage claim of JFK International Airport, nine-year-old Christine Sario anxiously awaited the arrival of her new parents. After the untimely death of her beloved mother and the abandonment by her father, Christine was sent by her grandmother to the United States and the hope of a better future. Her resilience led her to New York City, where she started over with her daughter, Dana. There, she will begin a remarkable, exciting career at the United Nations. This is the extraordinary story of a Polish immigrant who overcame unthinkable challenges and embraced the American dream. Follow Christine as she defies the odds, travels the world, is blessed by the Pope, and finds true love. C

How to Cope Through Pain: Shigeko Ito on Complex PTSD and Family Healing

Shigeko Ito is an author, educator, and mental health advocate with a PhD in Education from Stanford University. Drawing on her cross-cultural experience and academic insight, she writes about intergenerational trauma, the lasting effects of childhood emotional neglect, and the healing process. Her memoir, The Pond Beyond the Forest: Reflections on Childhood Trauma and Motherhood, tells the story of a middle-aged Japanese immigrant mother struggling to raise her teenage son and save her marriage while confronting memories of her own childhood trauma as her son enters adolescence. Throughout the journey, Shigeko remains committed to healing herself and improving her relationships with her husband and son. https://draft.blogger.com/u/2/blog/post/edit/5922534140630607175/7344628069936535005 Her story resonates with many readers, especially those who feel burdened by unresolved trauma. In her interview, Shigeko spoke about the challenges of parenting as a survivor of childhood trauma, healing from complex PTSD, and how writing her memoir deepened her self-understanding, self-compassion, and acceptance. She is passionate about raising awareness of complex PTSD, a still-emerging diagnosis that many people overlook because of its subtle and elusive nature. INTERVIEW READ HER MEMOIR HERE [https://draft.blogger.com/u/2/blog/post/edit/5922534140630607175/7344628069936535005] https://draft.blogger.com/u/2/blog/post/edit/5922534140630607175/7344628069936535005 For fans of Stephanie Foo's What My Bones Know, a memoir of a middle-aged Japanese immigrant mother's struggle to raise her teenage son and save her marriage when she finds herself triggered by memories of her own childhood trauma as he enters adolescence. At age twenty-two, Shigeko Ito immigrated to America to escape Japan's rigid society and a neglectful childhood home that landed her in a mental hospital at seventeen. She thrived in her new, healthier environment and thought her traumatic past was all behind her. Until it wasn't. Motherhood, she realized, was far more challenging than she could have ever imagined. But it was her son's high school years that proved to be particularly daunting, and that was when her past reemerged—in the form of intense flashbacks to her childhood trauma and tumultuous teenage years. With the stream of daily stresses compounded by menopausal irritability, Shigeko often found herself regressing into a bunker-like mentality with childish coping mechanisms, a pattern that threatened to undo her most prized achievement: her happy family. In The Pond Beyond the Forest, Shigeko faces her past head-on, taking the reader along on her quest to uncover the root causes of her lifelong struggles—a journey that leads to deeper self-awareness, understanding, and acceptance, and ultimately saves her family and marriage.

Strong Leadership Demands that You Never Start with WHY - Start with WHO

David Ask states boldly that everything rises and falls on men leading well. When men fail to lead—or to love well—everyone loses. But when men lead with courage, nobility, and kindness, everyone wins. David Ask is an entrepreneur with products in over 3700 retail stores, including giants like The Home Depot and Lowe's. David collaborates closely with Dr. Andy Garrett as the Lead Coach for the transformative True North Resiliency program. David believes that understanding who you are on a very granular level is the key to understanding why you do what you do. "Never start with WHY; start with WHO." https://draft.blogger.com/u/2/blog/post/edit/5922534140630607175/2309850939374607550 Today, David is going to share his story: a 15-year struggle of spinning his wheels and feeling disillusioned about purpose and joy. Many of you will relate to and appreciate his story of success. Tune in to The Ask Experience [https://draft.blogger.com/u/2/blog/post/edit/5922534140630607175/2309850939374607550] The Ask Experience is a bold, honest, and deeply personal podcast for people who refuse to live small, distracted, or disconnected. Hosted by David Ask - entrepreneur, vocalist, and author of the upcoming book "The Guardians of Grit" - this show goes straight to the heart of what it means to truly know WHO'S you are and who you are and then have the courage to live from that place every single day.