About the Book
It Didn’t Start With You is a groundbreaking exploration of how trauma can be passed down through generations, affecting our mental and physical well-being in unexpected ways. This book reveals that the pain we experience—manifesting as depression, anxiety, fears, phobias, obsessive thoughts, and even unexplained physical symptoms—may not solely originate from our own experiences. Instead, these struggles can be traced back to the unresolved traumas of our parents, grandparents, and even earlier generations—a process now described by scientists as “secondary PTSD.”
Drawing on the latest findings in epigenetics, neuroscience, and the science of language, the book explains how traumatic memories can be encoded in our DNA through chemical changes, perpetuating a cycle of suffering across generations. It presents compelling case studies that illustrate how individuals unknowingly carry forward the emotional legacy of past family tragedies. For example, one person might face unjust consequences that echo a previous generation’s unresolved guilt, while another might experience inexplicable fears linked to ancestral loss or grief.
The book serves as a practical guide for those seeking to break free from these inherited patterns. Through a series of thought-provoking questions, case studies, and body-centered exercises, readers are invited to become detectives in their own family history. They learn how to identify the emotionally charged language of their worries and trace it back to its roots. More importantly, It Didn’t Start With You offers tools—such as visualizations, healing sentences, and practices based on neuroscience—to help transform old, fear-based responses into empowering, healing ones.
Ultimately, this book empowers readers to create new neural pathways and form a healthier relationship with themselves and others. By understanding and addressing inherited family trauma, individuals can break the cycle of suffering and build a more resilient, joyful life.
About the Author, Mark Wolynn
Mark Wolynn is the director of The Family Constellation Institute in San Francisco and a world leader in the field of inherited family trauma. Renowned for his innovative approach, Mark has established himself as a bestselling author and a highly sought-after lecturer. He has presented his work at hospitals, clinics, conferences, and academic institutions globally, including the University of Pittsburgh, JFK University, the Western Psychiatric Institute, Kripalu, The New York Open Center, The Omega Institute, 1440 Multiversity, and the California Institute of Integral Studies.
His seminal book, IT DIDN’T START WITH YOU: How Inherited Family Trauma Shapes Who We Are and How to End the Cycle (Viking/Penguin), which won the 2016 Silver Nautilus Book Award in psychology, has been translated into over 35 languages. Through his teaching and training, Mark reaches a wide audience of trauma therapists, psychologists, psychotherapists, psychiatrists, mental health professionals, coaches, counselors, educators, physicians, and other health practitioners.
Mark specializes in addressing depression, anxiety, obsessive thoughts, fears, panic disorders, self-injury, chronic pain, and other persistent conditions. A Summa Cum Laude graduate in English and Psychology from the University of Pittsburgh, his academic background is further enriched by graduate work in English at both the University of Pittsburgh and the University of Arizona.
His articles have been featured in Psychology Today, Mind Body Green, MariaShriver.com, Elephant Journal, and Psych Central, and his poetry has even been published in The New Yorker.
