Unwrapping: A Novel About Generational Trauma

A N E X C E R P T

“You know, Maya, I’m not going to push on that. I will share something I have said to some of my other clients with parent issues. I know you’re angry with your mother, and perhaps there’s some anger at your father for not being there for you. And perhaps you still carry guilt over not being a ‘good’ daughter, whatever that is. But as an adult, I think it’s important to understand that you owe your parents nothing.”

“Parents have a contract, of sorts, to provide food, clothing and safe shelter to their kids until they leave the household. And I know yours fell down on the latter, Maya. In return, though? You owe them nothing. It’s great when parent–child relationships work well into the adult years. But it’s not a requirement.” 

She was silent through his little spiel, and he could tell she was fighting to hold back her emotion. He wanted to know more about the trauma in her life. Although he might have been inclined to work her trauma through EMDR, she had previously told him she was familiar with it and didn’t need it or want it. He didn’t ask for details. Sometimes, he believed, if you have faith in your client, you go with what they want because it’s their journey.

Maya closed her eyes. Steve heard her sniffle. Then he heard her breathing softly—breath in, hold, breath out, hold. He waited. 

​***

​Her voice was petulant, with a hint of the anger Steve recognized in her current self. But her expression was softer and more pained than present day. Her eyes narrowed and darkened. She was 15. 

​“Joey and Anna,” she said quietly, with evident distaste. “They were 15 and 16, the oldest of the five kids in the house. Anna was a brunette with a short butch haircut. My height. She made me feel good about myself again. It was only a couple months after the first asshole raped me. I could still feel him. Still sore.”

​Maya winced at the memory. She spoke with her head down and appeared even more pale than usual, almost shrinking into herself. Steve strained to hear her when she continued, but he didn’t want to disturb her narrative.

What People Say About Unwrapping

  • "Leslie Gura contextualizes the process of psychotherapy within an engaging story with complex, compelling characters. Unwrapping is an important and rare novel about the process of trauma recovery that is both insightful and entertaining.”

    Mark B. Scholl
    Professor of Counseling
    Wake Forest University
    Winston-Salem, NC

  • “Take intriguing plot twists, romantic angst and generational trauma, and you get Unwrapping. I came away with deep empathy for Gura’s well-developed characters. An informed, touching read."

    Sherry L. Allen, LPC, NCC
    Owner and Principal Therapist
    GrowSteady
    Nashville, TN

  • "It's difficult to find a book that is teaching vital information while absorbing the reader simultaneously into a story, allowing our imagination to take us there. Gura found the middle world between reading enjoyment, learning about hard and triggering topics, and tools that can be utilized for learning."

    Laneita Williamson, RN, BSN
    Trauma-informed Care Manager
    CareNet Counseling
    Winston-Salem, NC

  • "I absolutely loved this novel! So many different story lines. The characters are real and their stories are true. I feel for them."

    Maria Teresa Jones, MDiv, BCC
    Spiritual Director and Dreamwork Facilitator
    Ceiba, Puerto Rico

  • “Others have shared the techniques and theory of the art of care; Gura is the only one that I know of who has brought that carefully honed practice into proper focus with the dramatic perspective it deserves. What could be more amazing, surprising or compelling than people helping each other along their way through life?”

    Gary Gunderson, MDiv, DMin, DDiv
    Professor, Faith and the Health of the Public
    School of Divinity
    Wake Forest University
    Winston-Salem, NC