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by Bruce Whealton

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- Child Abuse
- Insecure Attachment, abuse, emotional deprivation
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Tell Me I Am Not Invisible: A Story of Social Anxiety, Attachment, and Complex-PTSD

Revisions for Chapter 23: The Body, Illness, and the Ghosts of Shame

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04/30/2025 - 13:34 by brucewhealton	Current revision

About Bruce Whealton

Books ( My Amazon Author Page)
Tell Me I’m Not Invisible Audiobook
Three Times a Victim Audiobook
Support Group - Social Anxiety, Complex-PTSD, Loneliness, and Narcissistic Abuse
Justice Campaign
My Substack - Videos, stories, updates, and insights

Books by Bruce Whealton

Title: Tell Me I Am Not Invisible: A Story of Social Anxiety, Attachment, and Complex-PTSD
Title: A Diary with an AI on Mental Health Matters
Title: Puncture Wounds II - More Nightmares
Title: Memoirs of A Healer/Clinical Social Worker: Autobiography of Bruce Whealton
Title: Three Times A Victim: Living Under the Shadow of Toxic Shame
Title: What Really Matters: Poems about Love, Loss & Trauma
Title: Poems from the Invisible People
Title: Echoes of the Psyche
Title: The Labyrinth of the Mind

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Table of Contents

Preface
Introduction to Part I – When Love Was Still Unimaginable
Section One: The Past and Early Years of My Life
Chapter 1: The Birth of Shame
Chapter 2: Becoming a Ghost In my Own Story
Chapter 3: A New Life Awaits - Going Off to College
Chapter 4: Boy Meets Girl - The Five-Year Journey
Chapter 5: Learning Social Skills and How to Deal with Shyness
Section Two: First Love
Chapter 6: Meeting Celta
Chapter 7: First Love: The Relationship with Celta - The first few months
Chapter 8: Alcohol, Anorexia, and Love
Chapter 9: Love's Salvation
Chapter 10: After Celta: From Tragic Loss to hope and escape
Chapter 11: Moving On With Poetry
Section Four: Becoming a Family
Section Three: A Love Story: Making A Connection
Chapter 12: Moving to Wilmington: My Adult Life Takes Off
Chapter 13: Meeting Lynn
Chapter 14: Our First Kiss
Chapter 15: Greater Intimacy
Chapter 16: Relationship Formalities - More than just friends
Chapter 17: A Life with Lynn at the Center
Chapter 18: Lynn and Bruce Get Engaged and...
Chapter 19: A Home, A Commitment—Without a Wedding
Chapter 20: A Home of Our Own
Chapter 21: Word Salad – A Shared Vision of Art and Love
Chapter 22: Building a Home, Weathering the Small Storms
Chapter 23: The Body, Illness, and the Ghosts of Shame
Chapter 24: The Illness We Tried to Forget
Chapter 25: My Other Family – Holding On to Lynn
Section Five: Being a Therapist - A Backdrop to my life with Lynn
Chapter 26: Becoming Who I Was Meant to Be
Chapter 27: Assaulted
Chapter 28: Pursuit of Career Dreams - Psychiatric Social Work
Chapter 29: A Period of Becoming Through My Career Journey
Chapter 30: Becoming a Therapist, Becoming Myself
Chapter 31: Career Success! Building A Psychotherapy Private Practice
Chapter 32: Career Success—Helping Others, Becoming Whole
Chapter 33: When Two Become One Body - Love, Beauty & Serenity

Three Times A Victim Podcast

🎧 Three Times a Victim (Podcast)

Open the podcast page »

More about Me

Learn/Read more by clicking on this link to find more writing and creative expression by Bruce Whealton at https://linktr.ee/brucewheatlon

Blood-Covered Victim Called 911, Taken Away in Handcuffs: How a Gentle Therapist Became a Convicted Felon After Being Attacked

On October 1, 2004, I called 911 after being violently attacked in my own home. Despite my bleeding wounds and witnesses who saw my attacker leave unharmed, I was arrested while she went free. The truth about who I was—a compassionate healer dedicated to helping others—was erased overnight, replaced by a false label of "violent offender." This wasn't my choice. It was forced upon me. Now, I'm reclaiming my truth and identity.

Discover the truth and help make it right:

Read the full story - Get the book on Amazon (223 pages, free with Kindle Unlimited) https://brucewhealton.com/victim-book
Short on time? Listen to the podcast instead https://brucewhealton.com/victim-podcast
Want to help now? Even $5 makes a difference on GoFundMe https://gofund.me/f74f4724
Know someone in media? Share this story https://brucewhealton.com/contact