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Forgotten Children Bovine TB: Hidden History Wins Award
There is a particular satisfaction in receiving recognition for work that is not really about you. ‘Yet’ recovers the story of the forgotten children of bovine tuberculosis. Hundreds of thousands of British children were hospitalised for months, sometimes years, in the era before effective treatment existed. When I learned the book had been awarded Runner-up…
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The Voyage of the Shalimar, 1859: The Man Who Sailed Away and the Wife He Left Behind
On 12 September 1859, Thomas Alexander Kidd stood on Liverpool’s bustling docks with his family, ready to leave everything behind. The former merchant, magistrate and police commissioner had sold his comfortable life for steerage tickets to New Zealand. Beside him waited his wife, Mary Agnes, and their six children—Eliza, Georgina, Mary, Helen, Frances and young…
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What We Inherit Beyond Genes: Uncovering Our Emotional Ancestry
Sometimes, the patterns we repeat in relationships have less to do with conscious choices and more to do with heritage. Some families keep their distance emotionally, while others feel entangled in each other’s lives. The reason may lie in what I describe as our ‘emotional DNA’ – the unseen inheritance that carries forward the echoes…
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Attachment Theory and Family History: A Quick Introduction
Our earliest bonds with caregivers create blueprints for lifelong relationships, passed down through generations like emotional DNA. By viewing family history through attachment theory, we uncover patterns of connection and disconnection, trauma and resilience. Understanding these invisible inheritances transforms genealogy from collecting names into mapping the emotional currents that shaped—and continue to shape—our families.
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How Psychological Legacies Shape Mental Health and Family Dynamics
Family history is more than tracing names and dates—it’s about understanding the emotions and experiences that shaped our ancestors. Using attachment theory and Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), genealogists can uncover patterns of trauma, resilience, and connection that echo across generations, turning historical research into a journey of empathy and insight.
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Attachment, Trauma & the Impact on Future Generations
Research has indicated that psychological trauma such as childhood abuse might impact the long-term physical health of not only the immediate victim, but also their offspring, by etching itself onto the victim’s DNA
