We were lucky to catch up with Tracy BRACK recently and have shared our conversation below.

Tracy, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.

Starting a non-profit is definitely one of the biggest risks, I’ve ever taken. After leaving a relationship that was abusive, I had to make sense of what happened to me. I didn’t want to believe that the pain of that experience meant nothing. I had to make it count for something. After being in a domestic violence shelter for some time afterwards, I couldn’t unsee what I had already seen.

The impact of so many women and children whose lives, have been in many cases, have been irreparably harmed. Many of those wounds will unfortunately never be healed. I couldn’t pretend what happened to them and to myself, wasn’t as bad as it was and that it didn’t affect us as badly as it did.

From the pain of my experience, I knew I could not sit on the sidelines and continue to watch other people’s lives being destroyed by domestic violence. Ironically, domestic violence is mostly preventable. We must do more to prevent this devastation. Education is critical in protecting survivors from future harm and for protecting our youth from unhealthy relationships before they get involved. Our children are counting on us to lead the way.

I stepped out on faith and Finally Set Free was born. Since we opened, it definitely has been challenging and very risky at times, but it has been one the most rewarding decisions of my life. Knowing what we do, can make the different between life and death for someone has been worth the challenges and the risks we have undertaken.

Tracy, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

What most people may already know about me is that I am the Founding Executive Director of Finally Set Free, of a non-profit in the State of Georgia. What most people may already know about me is that I serve on the Governance Board of Director for the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence.

What most people may already know about me is that I also serve on the Georgia Coalition Against Domestic Violence Programmatic Task Force. What most people may already know about me is that I am a licensed registered nurse, a certified trauma support specialist and a certified relationship health educator.

They may also know that I have cared for, educated and advocated for hundreds of survivors of domestic violence for over 16 years of my nursing career. They may also know that I have worked at some of the top level one trauma centers in our country, including Yale Hospital, New Haven, in Connecticut They may also know that I am a freelance writer whose article ” What Everyone Should Know About Domestic Violence”, was in the top 10 most read that was chosen by the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence in 2020.

What most people may not know about me is that over 30 years ago, I lost a very special friend of mine at the age of 19 years old. She was murdered by her ex-boyfriend when she left the relationship. The world lost a sweet spirit that day and her family and those who loved her, lost a piece of their heart they can never get back.

Unfortunately, my journey with domestic violence would not end there. The tornado of domestic violence would rip through my own life, and it would change me forever. I was broke and broken. I was consumed with shame, humiliation and a secret I didn’t know how to tell anyone. I knew people would judge me, if they ever found out.

“How could you have let this happen? “ I played that question over and over inside my mine so many times, I lost count. One of my closest family members even said to me, that as far as my ex-abuser was concerned, ” You were the one that chose him.” What he was really saying was that I got what I deserved because I chose this person.

Although those words don’t hurt me as much as they once did. I hope I never forget them. Those words serve as reminder of what survivors go through, even from those closest to them. It is why I am willing to walk with survivors through their own journey of healing again and again and again. It is why Finally Set Free exists. Our mission is simple. We exist to bring survivors of domestic violence education, hope and healing, in order to break free from the patterns of future unhealthy relationships; In addition to, educating our youth about healthy relationships. 

Our vision is clear. We envision a world where no child will ever have to witness domestic violence. The sad reality is, some of the biggest victims of domestic violence are the smallest. Our children are being severely impacted psychologically, emotionally, physically and developmentally. In addition to serving survivors, our certified relationship educators facilitate workshops to educate Georgia’s youth on healthy relationships from middle school through college age students.

What makes us difference from other survivor organizations? We have a one-to-one mentor program called “Each One, Reach One. ” It is the first of its kind in the state of Georgia. Our clients are paired with another survivor who is farther along in their healing journey enough to be the support our clients need.

Other than training/knowledge, what do you think is most helpful for succeeding in your field?

I think some of the most important things that make someone successful in this industry are being relatable and having the ability to make authentic and genuine connections with other people. Whether is be with your clients or those you come in contact with through your other programs or speaking engagements, you must be able to meet them where ever they are.

In other words, you must be able to have them see themselves through you. You must be able to make them feel as if you are one of them, no matter who they are or where they came from. You must be able to make them feel that you are in this together and you genuinely care about the outcomes in their lives.

It really is true, that most people don’t really care about the knowledge you have, the degrees you hold or how many titles you have behind your name. They only things that really matter to most people are how much you care about them and how you make them feel.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

I remember when I first left the relationship with my abusive ex-boyfriend.  My healing journey was nothing like I expected. I expected it to be just another bad breakup. Little did I know, my relationship with him wasn’t normal, and my breakup would not be normal either. These relationships are very different than just bad breakups, because trauma is involved.

I wanted to give up because my recovery wasn’t quick, it wasn’t easy, and it definitely wasn’t comfortable or convenient. It was possibly one of the hardest things I have ever done. I was also dealing with other traumatic events in my life around this same time. All of it, was almost more than I could bear.

In fact, during one of my darkest moments, I started to numb my pain by drinking a glass of wine to help me fall at night. I just wanted to forget what I didn’t want to remember. One glass turned into two, two glasses turned into three and three glasses turned into an entire bottle. I began to use alcohol a few times a week, every week, as a way to escape. It became a habit that I knew would lead me down the road to nowhere, fast. It would only create more problems than it would solve.

I remember one night in particular as I was ruminating over everything in my life. From wounds from my childhood, to how my life ended up becoming completely out of control, I was at a crossroad in my life. I only had one of two choices that I could make. That choice would either make me or break me.

I asked myself two very simple questions that night, that would determine my future from that point moving forward. Only I could determine the outcome of own life, so I had to choose wisely. My life depended upon it. Those two questions required a simple yes or no, with no further dialogue needed.

Those following two questions were:

1. Without anything changing, the way you feel right now, are you okay feeling this kind of pain for the rest of your life?
2. Are you ready to give up on yourself?

If the answers to those simple two questions would have been yes, there would have been nothing else left for me to do; However, for me the answer yes wasn’t an option I was willing to accept. I wasn’t ready to give up on myself and I wasn’t okay feeling this type of pain for the rest of my life.

I knew I had no other choice than to fight to see myself beyond my current trauma and the trauma of my past. It was a fight I was willing to take on. There was no other place I was willing to go. The fight hasn’t been pretty, and it hasn’t been easy. Moving beyond my trauma and getting to experience post traumatic growth was the rebirth I needed.

Surviving trauma is about never giving up, no matter how bad things may seem right now, even when you stumble along the way. What happened to us, does not define who we are. It is what happens after the trauma that defines who we are and what we’re really made of.

It takes resilience and never giving up, in order to experience post traumatic growth. We can never see ourselves beyond our trauma or make life beautiful again unless we push through the hardest of times and just keep going.  We can never reach our destination, if we simply stop traveling . Post traumatic growth is the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. It’s worth fighting for. It is what living life on purpose really looks like.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://finallysetfree.org
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/finallysetfree20
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tracybrack
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/finallysetfree2