Demaris Wehr PhD

Author 

Peacebuilder

Speaker and Workshop Leader

Jungian Psychotherapist and Spiritual Counselor

We are happy to announce the publication of Making It Through, by Demaris Wehr PhD

NOVEMBER 2020

Making It Through

Bosnian Survivors Share Stories of Trauma, Transcendence,  and Truth

by Demaris S. Wehr PhD

Susan Gillotti Jungian psychotherapist and author

This beautifully written short book packs more into its pages than any other book I have read on the impact of trauma. While focused on the war in Bosnia in the 1990s, and the trauma of losing one’s home through violence, the book has a wider application. It describes the desire for “home” as universal, and I take from this the need for “home” even in villages and towns where one is not surrounded by war. It is by being part of a community that one gains the ability to thrive. Read the book to learn about Bosnia, but also for the stories told by the survivors, and for the compassion Wehr beings to her writing. Then place it next to Homer’s Odyssey on your bookshelf.

Mpho Tutu van Furth coauthor with Desmond Tutu of The Book of Forgiving

Demaris Wehr offers us insight into forgiveness and reconciliation from the frontlines of anguish. The wisdom of the narrators in this volume is wisdom that seems particularly apt and necessary at this moment in history.

Michael Dowd author of Thank God for Evolution

A book of immeasurable heart and practical wisdom that can help each of us identify our own ‘centerpost’ and ‘way home.’ These inspiring stories will appeal to people of all religious and political persuasions. Making It Through shows how to survive and thrive in an increasingly chaotic and difficult world—a treasure map for our times.

Loralee M. Scott Founder and Director, The Sophia Center for Transformative Learning Designation

When archetypal evil takes on a human face, the challenge is no longer about defeating evil, but holding on to what makes us most human. In this eloquently and insightfully written book, Demaris Wehr, weaves a beautiful tapestry of stories that illustrate the profound difficulty and power of holding on to truth, love, and forgiveness in order to triumph over unimaginable cruelty and injustice. This book and its stories of heroic courage, resilience, and determination are more relevant for our world today than ever before.


(3 minutes, 40 seconds)

“As far as we can discern, the sole purpose of human existence is to kindle a light in the darkness of mere being.”

— Carl Jung

Imagine the most cherished places of your childhood overrun by unspeakable atrocities—villages shelled, snipers killing neighbors in the village square, libraries burning, parents sneaking children through tunnels in the middle of the night, rape, murder, and torture. This was the reality of “ethnic cleansing” in the Balkans in the 1990s. In Demaris Wehr’s riveting new book, eight Bosnian survivors tell in their own words how they “made it through” by holding on to universal values like forgiveness, humility, integrity, and faith.