CAN YOU SEE ME?

The story of a life is always a complex tale of love, pain, fear, loss and joy. All of us have known these emotions if we have been lucky enough to win the human lottery - birth and survival. This poses the question: do echoes of past trauma experienced by our ancestors affect descendants, not just as myth or memories but as part of our DNA? By exploring in detail the history of my family and how their experiences impacted my life, I have discovered that telling the story of our lives is a process of cherishing human dignity and in this context, however extraordinary or ordinary, it deserves to be passed on to the next generation. I cannot prove or disprove that DNA passed on will harbour the echoes of trauma and sadness. I can’t change what has happened or continue to try and explain outcomes or excuse abuse. All I can do is live the rest of my life with hope, just as my ancestors did when they left their homes to find a better place to live.