What Happened to You Doesn’t Have to Define You

What You’ll Learn

• How childhood survival patterns like silence, hypervigilance, and overachievement can continue into adulthood
• Why outward success doesn’t necessarily mean the wounds of the past have healed
• How addiction became a way for Rich to escape unresolved trauma (what ultimately led him to sobriety)
• Why accountability and self-forgiveness can exist at the same time
• What forgiveness looks like when you still need boundaries with the people who hurt you
• How releasing shame and speaking openly about your story can become part of the healing process
• Why healing isn’t just about changing your own life, but also about breaking cycles for the people who come after you

The ways we learn to survive as children can follow us long after the danger has passed. In this deeply personal conversation, I sit down with Rich Dunning, author of “Silence Was My First Language,” to explore how a childhood shaped by abuse, violence, poverty, homelessness, and addiction continued to affect him well into adulthood. Rich shares how silence, overachievement, distrust, and alcohol became ways of coping with pain he had never addressed, and how addiction eventually brought him to a turning point that changed his life.

We talk about sobriety, accountability, rebuilding trust, and what it means to forgive without excusing the harm that was done. Rich also shares how telling his story has helped him release shame, reclaim his voice, and turn his experiences into a source of hope and purpose for others.

About Rich Dunning

Rich Dunning is an author, speaker, and advocate whose work is rooted in his own journey through childhood trauma, addiction, and recovery. He is the author of Silence Was My First Language, a memoir about breaking cycles of abuse, releasing shame, and reclaiming your voice. Sober since 2017, Rich now uses his story to offer hope to others navigating trauma and addiction. He is also the founder of the First Language Foundation, which supports children and young adults affected by abuse, homelessness, hunger, addiction, and exploitation.

Get your copy of “Silence Was My First Language”: https://www.richdunningbooks.com/ 

Learn more about the First Language Foundation: https://firstlanguagefoundation.org/

Follow Rich on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@richdunningbooks 

Follow Rich Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/richdunningbooks/ 

Connect with Rich on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rich-dunning-9a3137360