Living the Dream with Curveball
Oct 16, 2026 · 34 min · 10 segments
Send us Fan Mail Send us Fan Mail In this insightful episode of Living the Dream with Curveball, we are joined by Devorah Brinckerhoff, a talented…
Devorah BrinckerhoffGuestCurtisHostWell, talk about, um, wh- why our own stories keep us in prison and why creativity is the key to freedom.
I don't know that everybody would say that they would identify as having trauma.
It's not so much what happened, it's the meaning we made from what has happened, and inside of that is a lot of distortion and misunderstanding.
And so I have a sexual abuse history, and that led me to feel shameful.
And, and when I was growing up and a young adult, like, I didn't know why, but the fallout of trauma is what caused so much problem, not the actual event itself or events, right? So it's the, it's the meaning that we make, especially when we don't have any other skills.
And so many children have so many difficult experiences that the meaning that they make from it is usually about themselves, like, "I am bad," or, "It's my fault." And so- You can ask anybody who has been a victim of, of a traumatic experience and ask them w- like how they, how it changed how they felt about themselves.
And that creativity was such a g- for me, such a gentle way to honor what had happened.
Like, I didn't even know I was doing it until I was, I was in my late 30s, um, how it had helped me.
And, and so adding the intention when I guide other people to, to really witness the meaning that they made because of an experience rather than I am my experience.
So it's the creativity allows the separation between the human who had the experience and the experience itself.
Absolutely.
It makes perfect sense.
Well, talk about the difference between processing trauma through therapy versus transforming it through creativity.
So they both do wonderful things, and I am a non-verbal person, like I'm talking with you now.
I didn't have a story or memories that could go with what had happened.
And so it's a very somatic experience of, of letting go, of releasing what was locked in there.
Well, talk about, um, wh- why our own stories keep us in prison and why creativity is the key to freedom.
I don't know that everybody would say that they would identify as having trauma.
It's not so much what happened, it's the meaning we made from what has happened, and inside of that is a lot of distortion and misunderstanding.
And so I have a sexual abuse history, and that led me to feel shameful.
And, and when I was growing up and a young adult, like, I didn't know why, but the fallout of trauma is what caused so much problem, not the actual event itself or events, right? So it's the, it's the meaning that we make, especially when we don't have any other skills.
And so many children have so many difficult experiences that the meaning that they make from it is usually about themselves, like, "I am bad," or, "It's my fault." And so- You can ask anybody who has been a victim of, of a traumatic experience and ask them w- like how they, how it changed how they felt about themselves.
And that creativity was such a g- for me, such a gentle way to honor what had happened.
Like, I didn't even know I was doing it until I was, I was in my late 30s, um, how it had helped me.
And, and so adding the intention when I guide other people to, to really witness the meaning that they made because of an experience rather than I am my experience.
So it's the creativity allows the separation between the human who had the experience and the experience itself.
Absolutely.
It makes perfect sense.
Well, talk about the difference between processing trauma through therapy versus transforming it through creativity.
So they both do wonderful things, and I am a non-verbal person, like I'm talking with you now.
I didn't have a story or memories that could go with what had happened.
And so it's a very somatic experience of, of letting go, of releasing what was locked in there.
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