ABOUT THE BOOK

Shame & Developmental Trauma

Emotionally Distant Parents

Drugs, Sex, and the Turmoil of the 70’s

Inexplicable Paranormal Phenomenon

“…Tarra Judson Stariell lays bare her soul in Sanity Lost & Found…. Readers will be both simultaneously horrified and deeply inspired as she weaves her story through the hands of a gifted writer and the heart of a compassionate trauma therapist. I stand proud to be counted amongst her peers.”  Kim Flowers, LCSW

“… gripping with mystery and horrifying in reality… We highly recommend this book, particularly for anyone who has experienced or is working with trauma, addiction, or dissociative disorders.” Robert Hilton, Ph.D., and Virginia Wink Hilton, Ph.D.

“…an extraordinary story told with remarkable clarity… a meaningful and honest illustration of the process of recovery toward wholeness that can support mental health professionals and the survivors that they serve.”  – Gretchen Mallios, LCSW, RYT. 

“…compelling from start to finish! …gut-wrenching and seems unbelievable….It gives hope and reassurance to the reader that healing, and life, are indeed your birth right… and attainable.”  Karen B. White, LMFT

 How do we become victims of our own irrationality?

What makes us vulnerable to the predators among us?

Why would an otherwise sensitive, intelligent woman allow herself to return again and again to her abuser?

How do we stop the erosion of our self-worth?

For anyone who has ever allowed themselves to be victimized, has ever doubted their value, or wants to protect their children from suffering, SANITY LOST AND FOUND is a compelling, informative, and inspirational read that weaves together the how and why for such vulnerabilities and the components necessary for recovery and transformation.

"He did not need to chain or lock us in the room; our fear kept us in bondage, more securely immobilized than any physical restraints could have ever done.…What chains are greater than those imposed by the beliefs in our minds?"
Tarra Judson Stariell, LMFT
Author

REVIEWS

"Sanity: Lost and Found, is an extraordinary story told with remarkable clarity, by author and psychotherapist Tarra Judson Stariell. In spite of the fact that Ms. Stariell’s memoir describes numerous moments of profound suffering and hurt, she does so in such a way that the reader is safely pulled along until they arrive at an ending in which she regains her identity, self-love, and discovers her ability to contribute to others’ healing as a result of her own journey. It is a memoir about surviving psychological abuse, substance abuse, childhood sexual abuse, depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress. It is also a memoir about the enduring and powerful role of relationships in the search for meaning and identity. Sanity: Lost and Found is a meaningful and honest illustration of the process of recovery toward wholeness that can support mental health professionals and the survivors that they serve."
Gretchen Mallios, LCSW, RYT. Psychotherapist & Certified EMDR Therapist
"When we each began reading Sanity: Lost and Found, we could not put it down. It was both gripping with mystery and horrifying in reality. No other books we have read about this subject of the search for self-affirmation have been so personally written. It is also unique in leading to a conclusion of how psychotherapy can help, step by painful step, toward a resolution of the core journey in life. We highly recommend this book, particularly for anyone who has experienced or is working with trauma, addiction, or dissociative disorders."
Robert Hilton, Ph.D., Co-founder of the Southern California Institute for Bioenergetic Analysis, Trainer Emeritus of the International Institute for Bioenergetic Analysis (IIBA) and Author, Relational Somatic Psychotherapy, Collected Essays.

Virginia Wink Hilton, Ph.D., Past President, IIBA, Trainer Emeritus, IIBA and Coauthor, Therapists at Risk: Perils of the Intimacy of the Therapeutic Relationship (Hedges, Hilton, Hilton, & Caudill).
"In hopes of helping those similarly suffering, Tarra Judson Stariell lays bare her soul in Sanity Lost & Found. Ms. Stariell’s commitment to those tyrannized by violence is made all the more impressive given that she herself has bravely undertaken the painstaking journey toward freedom and healing. Readers will be both simultaneously horrified and deeply inspired as Ms. Stariell weaves her story through the hands of a gifted writer and the heart of a compassionate trauma therapist. I stand proud to be counted amongst her peers."
Kim Flowers, LCSW, Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Therapist
"Tarra’s book was compelling from start to finish! It is horrifying to read that an intelligent, educated, personable woman from a middle-class family could be BRAINWASHED and give up more than a decade of her life! It is also gut- wrenching and seems unbelievable. Thankfully, her account of the road back to herself and recovery is equally as compelling and spectacular. Fortuitously, she found a form of therapy that could heal all aspects of herself--her feelings, beliefs, trauma and lost relationships. Bioenergetics, in the hands of her talented and caring therapist, brought her to a self she had never known; back to her body and life itself. Over many months and years with much support from therapist and groups, she pealed-off layers to uncover the true feelings lost to her from her lack of support as a child and her years as a victim. This culminated in the awesome knowing that she could LOVE HERSELF, trust and believe in and express herself. Tarra’s account of her healing steps continually challenged me to check within myself to see if I had fully claimed and healed myself; my “little girl within”. It gives hope and reassurance to the reader that healing, and life, are indeed your birth right... and attainable."
Karen B. White, LMFT