Adverse Childhood Experiences and the path towards healing. You are not alone.
I share my trials, my victories, and my stories with you in hopes that if any of you were ever touched by childhood abuse or neglect, as I was, you will see yourselves in my experiences and feel strengthened to voice what you had not been able to before. I hope we can learn together why we respond to life through a particular lens, and that there are ways to climb out of this prison of pain, silence, and shame.
My name is Bess Hilpert

GO BLUE

Awareness of Child Abuse… Friends, April is Child Abuse Awareness & Prevention Month. Unfortunately, many adults are squeamish at the mention of child abuse. Certainly, adult victims of Adverse Childhood Experiences are reluctant to share or revisit their awful memories. Perpetrators of child abuse keep their secrets hidden deep inside. The result is there is… Continue reading GO BLUE

Into the Quiet Now

Quashing Night Terrorism… Friends, I recently traveled to celebrate my sister’s significant birthday milestone. It was a glorious week filled with so many laughs, too much food, dancing into the moon-lit night, chardonnay sips, clinking glasses, stories shared, whispers of love, and more laughter. I returned to Texas with my heart full and my body… Continue reading Into the Quiet Now

Finding Forgiveness

Changing Perspective To Change Thoughts… Rumi, thirteenth century poet and Sufi mystic, teaches us to “Forgive others, not because they deserve forgiveness, but because you deserve peace.” Since releasing my book finding I, A Journey of Repair so many of you have asked: “Bess, how could you have forgiven…?” Friends, forgiveness was not hard. The… Continue reading Finding Forgiveness

Stretching My Brain

Learning the Latest Research Findings… Hi friends. I have had the privilege of sitting shoulder to shoulder all week with sixty-two leading medical doctors, psychiatrists, nurse practitioners, and nurses from around the United States and Canada gleaning the very latest in Psychopharmacology. We are exploring the neurobiology of the brain and the brain affected by… Continue reading Stretching My Brain

Braving My First Podcast

Deep dive into Finding I, A Journey of Repair… Friends, recently I was brave. For me, very brave. 😊 My husband laughed when my response to his “How’d the podcast session go?” question was, “Well, I probably lost five pounds of water through my sweaty arm pits.” It took a few washings of that cotton… Continue reading Braving My First Podcast

Infinite Worth

Towards Evolving More Human Human Beings… Yesterday, while visiting The Williamson County Child Advocacy Center in Georgetown, Texas, I was introduced to an attachment theory modality called The Circle of Security. The Circle of Security is a visual map of attachment. The “father” of attachment theory, John Bowlby, said this about attachment: “Intimate attachments to other… Continue reading Infinite Worth

Love Wins

Timely Love Makes A Difference… In August of 2022 a tiny soul broke through the veil into the earthly realm. It was months too early, yet filled with all the needs of any soul landing that day. It was scared, cold, hungry, and in need of motherly touch. It cried hoping for a swaddle and… Continue reading Love Wins

Sing Your Song

Speaking Shame, Singing Pain, Seeing ME… Welcome back, friends. I have been thinking a lot about the power of sharing my story; and noticing the small, yet significant, changes that have taken place in my life over these past fourteen months. As you know, and for those of you who might not, I share my… Continue reading Sing Your Song

Mending a Flu Break

Kintsugi for People… Happy New Year, friends! The Holiday Season, trimmed with cookies, presents, hopes, and children’s saucer-sized eyes gave way to the flu, passed from one family member to the other, finally landing hard on my doorstep. The nearly four-week “flu-sie” journey taught me isolation, impatience, frustration, and ultimately surrender.  How I wished I… Continue reading Mending a Flu Break

Christmas Poems

Hopes and Tears Throughout the Years… “In answer to your letterI found on the wallI note your requestFor gifts large and small.For you may not knowBut I’ll tell you right hereThat times are so toughThat I ate my reindeer.” … Grand Pa 1931 Santa Fe, New Mexico And so, the ninety-two-year tradition began in the… Continue reading Christmas Poems