Kimberly Dozier Speaks About Her Trauma Experience on CNN

Kimberly Dozier, one of America’s most notable trauma survivors spoke with Fionnuala Sweeney On CNN’s “International Correspondents” on the second anniversary of her trauma experience—having fallen victim to a car bombing as a war correspondent in Iraq on Memorial Day 2006. Dozier wrote about here trauma experience in her book “Breathing the Fire” and has been at the forefront of late as a shining example of what it is to survive trauma and the importance of trauma care both in Iraq and stateside.

In this video, Dozier speaks in great detail about that day, her experience and her road to recovery. Her candor about what her recovery entailed on an emotional level should be noted by both trauma survivors and especially by family, loved ones and friends of survivors everywhere. Her comments about assumptions people close to survivors make is something that is very commonplace and she addresses how harmful and hurtful these assumptions can be.

In particular, addressing the difficulties in the emotional recovery process of recovery, Kim states:

A lot of people think that if you’ve been through a major trauma like this that you’re going to be permanently scarred in the head and the heart as well as your body and they make assumptions that you must be going through flashbacks, you must still be plagued by nightmares and you must be in pain in all sorts of different ways. I’ve got to say when you’re a trauma survivor you’ve fought so hard to get back to health but also to put away the painful memories. That’s one of the reasons why I wrote the book; it’s grief processing. Just taking all the pain out of the memories by writing it down.

An important point is made here for trauma survivors everywhere. Processing the memories for many is a huge part of the process of separating the emotional pain from those memories.

One of the main reasons this site was begun primarily as a blogging platform is to give survivors a platform in a central place to do just that. In good company with so many other survivors, this might be a good choice for those ready to begin that process.

Dozier’s book “Breathing the Fire” is an important read for everyone, even those few who’s lives have not been touched by trauma injury in some way. Kim goes a long way in demystifying the process of the trauma experience, the toll it takes on a person both physically and emotionally, and what it took for her to move beyond it, a process that in many ways is ongoing for her, as it is really for all survivors.

Ms. Dozier stands as an amazing example of what surviving trauma can be, and it’s important for anyone who’s life has been touched by trauma injury to read this important book. 

See more links on articles, videos and podcasts on Kim’s amazing career.