Sara Schulting Kranz - Walk Through This: Harness the Healing Power of Nature and Travel the Road to Forgiveness

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Sara is a woman of great passion, courage, joy, and adventureand all of those qualities make her the perfect person to share hope with others who have experienced the trauma of great betrayal. She uses her story to help others chart a path for their own journey of healing and growth. If you have been betrayed and wonder if anything can ever feel alive again, Saras story and process not only will lead you to restoration but also will encourage you to become who you were always meant to be!

Dr. Barbara Steffens, LPCC, coauthor of Your Sexually Addicted Spouse and founding/retired president of Association of Partners of Sex Addicts Trauma Specialists (APSATS)

This book is a warm companion on the journey through the wild of forgiveness. Saras words are filled with insight and encouragement, as you walk through this journey called life, breath by breath, step by step.

Morgan Harper Nichols, artist, poet, and bestselling author of All Along You Were Blooming: Thoughts for Boundless Living

Saras story is one of deep trauma and betrayal but also profound healing and releasing. Through her own deep self-healing work, she is able to mirror to us all the beautiful ways we were created to heal.

Ruthie Lindsey, speaker and author of There I Am: The Journey from Hopelessness to Healing

In Walk Through This, Schulting Kranz has written a brave and helpful book about the undersung power of nature, adventure, and forgiveness for healing trauma. I hope it will inspire many people to head outside, together.

Florence Williams, journalist and author of The Nature Fix: Why Nature Makes Us Happier, Healthier, and More Creative

This redefinition of forgiveness is needed now more than ever before. The collapse of spring 2020 has made it clear that trauma is part of being human. Through her remarkable and shocking story, Saras experience and strength illuminate how a forgiveness practice is a beautiful tool for transformation and being truly alive. Since reading this book, Ive seen my life through a new lenspast, present and future. Though Ive lived in the jungle for over a decade, this was a profound reminder of Mother Natures healing power. Saras natural and unconventional, yet practical, approach resonates deeply with me. Walk Through This definitely wont be collecting dust on my shelf! Ill be returning to this resource frequently and passing its wisdom on to my children, as we all learn how to let go of negative feelings, practice kindness to ourselves (and others!), and create a better world.

Tamara Jacobi, author of Wildpreneurs: A Practical Guide to Pursuing Your Passion as a Business

Saras story charts a journey that begins with a shocking revelation, then weathers loss, self-doubt, and despair, to arrive at self-acceptance and the ultimate goal: forgiveness. Her inspiring path provides detailed directions for charting ones own way to salvation. Sara is a beautiful example of how one can truly save herself.

Laura VanZee Taylor, writer/director of the documentary I Am Maris

Copyright 2020 by Sara Schulting Kranz

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, scanning, or otherexcept for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Published by Harper Horizon, an imprint of HarperCollins Focus LLC.

Any internet addresses, phone numbers, or company or product information printed in this book are offered as a resource and are not intended in any way to be or to imply an endorsement by Harper Horizon, nor does Harper Horizon vouch for the existence, content, or services of these sites, phone numbers, companies, or products beyond the life of this book.

ISBN 978-0-7852-3866-9 (eBook)

ISBN 978-0-7852-3865-2 (HC)

Epub Edition SEPTEMBER 2020 9780785238669

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Library of Congress Control Number: 2020938624

Printed in the United States of America

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To my three sons: Jacob, Carson, and Christian.

You are my truth, inspiration, and hope.

You are my heroes.

Speaking My Truth, Honoring My Journey

W hen I was eighteen years old, a loving voice in my head shared a message: Sara, you were handed this life for a reason. No one should go through what you have. Someday you will write a book and give hope to others so they dont feel alone. Stay courageous and strong.

Perhaps it was God, spirit, my inner warrior, or ancestors from long ago seeing my internal struggle during a traumatic timeand what was possible if provided the opportunity to speak my truth. I tucked the message in my heart and silently carried on as a young mom and full-time college student. Soon I became a wife, teacher, and mother to three boys. We moved across the country and experienced big life changes, but every so often I remembered those words and wondered why the time never felt right to pursue what I knew would someday happen. At the age of forty, the delay made sense when so much of what I thought to be true about my life turned out to be a lie. And here we are today.

Letting go of how I thought my life would unfold has been the hardest lesson and biggest struggle for someone who is a former control seeker. As a young girl born into a family that lived a simple, happy life in a Midwest village and farming community, I was led to believe my journey would somehow be perfectly mapped out. I thought Id be married to a man who would love me unconditionally and we would grow old together. Id be a mom to three or four kids, make cookies surrounded by family at the holidays, and have a home where every child on the block would feel welcomed.

Sounds lovely, right?

It does, but thats not at all what happened.

Heres what did. And though its not all pretty, Ill spare the suspense and tell you that Ive never been happier! Ive made a commitment to embrace and learn from every experience in my life: good, difficult, or otherwise. My relationship with my internal self and the universe (to me known as God, spirit, love, nature, ancestors, or higher consciousness) is stronger than everand because of that I wouldnt change one detail of what has led me to where I am today.

At the age of seventeen, a year before receiving the loving message about writing this book, I experienced my first major trauma. It happened at a friends house as we watched Saturday Night Live. He wanted to have sex.

Come on. Its no big deal, he said.

I said no, but he wouldnt listen. He demanded and forced himself on me. I was sexually assaulted by this friend, someone Id thought I could trust.