The Witness
A Personal Journey Through Fear, Trauma and Healing
by Sharon Berk

---

Can we live from a place of love instead of fear? How much does fear shape our beliefs, behaviours, and identities? What if the fear we carry isn’t ours alone, but the echo of generational trauma? These are the central questions author and retired psychotherapist Sharon Berk seeks to answer in this holistic guide on self-healing. In The Witness: A Personal Journey Through Fear, Trauma, and Healing, Sharon shares her personal story as a child who grew up immersed in domestic violence and carried this trauma into adulthood. For years, fear ruled her life, even after accomplishing significant milestones like motherhood and a prospering career. When her unresolved trauma manifested as illnesses, an autoimmune disorder, and even a tumour, Sharon launched her healing journey earnestly, drawing on her education and professional experiences in early childhood education and psychology. Blending narrative and research, this guide offers a path for readers to begin their own self-healing, no matter what the cause. It includes practical tools, techniques, and prompts grounded in key psychological frameworks, such as Jungian principles, attachment theory, and the Adverse Childhood Experiences Study, to help readers understand how conditioning and early experiences shape the psyche. Readers of Bessel van der Kolk’s The Body Keeps the Score and Jeannette Walls’s The Glass Castle will enjoy how Sharon Berk bridges the psychology of trauma and validates personal experience. Accessible and informative, The Witness is a must read for anyone who has ever wondered why fear still rules their life and how they can finally break free.

www.sharon-berk.ca

---

“It doesn’t erase the past—but it frees you from being ruled by it. That could well be the heartbeat of this remarkable and deeply affecting book. The author’s voice remains intimate and grounded, allowing its impact to be seen clearly—on the body, the mind, the nervous system, and the soul. What makes this book truly extraordinary, though, is its second half—a compassionate, nuanced exploration of what it means to live beyond it. Healing is presented not as a destination but as a lifelong process. For therapists, who have not lived through such chaos themselves, this book is a must-read.” —Nico Scholten, Psychologist “Many of us keep the most painful past experiences secret or unacknowledged. That secret corrodes our self-worth and drains our energy to enjoy life. If it is you, look for this book.” —Joanna Ulanowska, Retired teacher “By fostering awareness, it offers both hope and the possibility of breaking the cycle for future generations.” —Becky Sheridan, Retired nurse “Many will relate to this story and gain insight into how they too can break the chain of trauma. An excellent emotional read.” —Sarah Luttrell, Retired Teacher of Children with developmental, physical and medical disabilities

---

Sharon Berk is a retired educator and psychotherapist with a Master of Arts in Adult Education and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology. She later completed graduate-level counselling studies in Australia. Sharon taught Early Childhood Education at Lambton College in Ontario and at Queensland University in Australia before moving into counselling. She worked with Relationships Australia and Deaf Children Australia and later established her own private practice. In both her academic and clinical work, Sharon led numerous workshops on parenting, relationships, and child development—guided by her deep belief that early experiences shape lifelong patterns of connection and resilience. Witnessing how many people carry unresolved trauma inspired Sharon to share her own story. Her writing has appeared in Inspired, Senior Living Magazine, and in a local newspaper column focused on children and family life. The Witness: A Personal Journey Through Fear, Trauma, and Healing is her first full-length book. In her free time, Sharon enjoys gardening and acrylic painting. Her children live in other countries, and while many of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren are far away, she remains closely connected to them through modern technology.

---

Contributors

Author

Sharon Berk

FriesenPress Editions