Becoming Unbreakable

A Big Sister’s Guide to Trauma

by Dana Killion

Unbreakable. That’s a big ask. It’s bigger than what we consider healed, and it’s more than survival.

We deserve more than just relief.

Written in sharply unwavering prose, Becoming Unbreakable is simultaneously an accompaniment to therapy, a warm-up to more intensive recovery, and a breathtaking examination of the traumas that inform our lives—but don’t define us. 

Over the course of eight years, author Dana Killion escaped an addictive marriage to a husband with a secret life, endured the loss of both of her parents, and suffered the death of her eldest son from a drug overdose. Despite the petrifying effects of grief, Killion found a way through, transforming her life and becoming unbreakable. Her process for this becoming is meticulously laid out alongside support, guidance, and, vitally, a path forward.

In sharing her narrative and the framework of her metamorphosis, Killion answers fundamental questions that get to the root of our traumatic responses: Why do some of us become empty husks of the person we once were, even after therapy? How do some of us overcome our pain more effortlessly and move on? How do we become someone bruised but not broken?

Trauma doesn't have to triumph. We can make the choice.