Drug dealing. Gun violence. Gang activity. These were daily events Larry Love witnessed growing up in Hartford, Connecticut in the 1990s. By age 10, he thought he had trained his body and mind to deflect the trauma of seeing drug raids, armed robberies, and overdoses, as he, too, turned to selling drugs and carrying a gun. By age 14, he was a father. By age 33, he was a devoted father of three who found himself waking up in the ICU with near-fatal gunshot wounds and a bullet still lodged in his collarbone. He had comfort in the chaos because it was familiar.
Through it all, Love was a man pulled in two directions-violence and anger, or healing and peace. The Healing Culture chronicles Love's transformation from the hardened street life to a respected community leader actively creating change in his beloved city. Though it may read like a movie script to those who have never experienced this lifestyle, Love's life is very much real. He paints vivid descriptions of pivotal moments throughout his life that led to his own trauma and eventual healing.
Love describes the realization that trauma has layers, from what he experienced in his own life, to national and worldwide events we have all witnessed, such as 9/11, the deaths of
Treyvon Martin and George Floyd, and mass shootings like Sandy Hook.
"We are the product of our environment ... and our children are the future," Love writes. An active leader in the community where he once sold drugs, Love and his family now focus on the well-being of body and soul. Coaching youth sports. A crisis team and victim support advocate in local hospitals. Leading teen groups. Community cleanups. Love demonstrates in The Healing Culture how healing oneself can impact healing within communities and for generations to come.
Throughout his story, Love recognizes numerous people and events that have been a part of his own Healing Culture. One in particular is David M. Shapiro, MD -a seasoned trauma surgeon who saved Love's life after a violent shooting and provided a source of strong encouragement that accelerated Love's healing journey. In turn, Dr. Shapiro was healed in his own way by Love's transformation. Dr. Shapiro was so moved by Love's experience that he has written the foreword to The Healing Culture. He said that Love's story, "Reminds us (medical professionals) that we aren't simply saving lives, but changing communities."Love's continued healing is a testament to his own resilience and belief that individual trauma can be a tipping point for change on a societal level.
