About this ebook
We associate these words with the challenges of modern life.
Rarely do we consider how these conditions shaped past generations.
Using archival sources, testimonies, and her grandfather Walter Parker’s experiences, the author not only paints a vivid picture of life in an English Victorian village, but she also draws upon psychological theory to explore the lives of her working-class ancestors.
What did your forebears inherit from their parents?
Which psychological characteristics did your ancestors hand down?
A Victorian’s Inheritance can help you find answers.
About the author
Helen, a former counsellor and family historian, has become a 'geneatherapist' whose mission is to use historical and current understanding of mental health, psychology, and neuroscience to deepen our understanding of our ancestors and benefit present and future generations. Helen holds a Diploma in counselling. Fascinated by psychological theory and the stories we develop to make sense of ourselves and our family, her original quest was to understand her Victorian grandfather, Walter Parker, born in 1885 in the English village of Upwell on the Norfolk/Cambridgeshire border. Walter migrated to Canada in 1907. Helen believes family history doesn't survive unless it's in print, so she pondered how to share what she had learnt. Inspired by the few trailblazers, she set out to write an engaging and accessible book that would not only explore working-class life in an English village, but could encourage other family historians to pass on what they have painstakingly discovered. During her research a transgenerational legacy of loss, trauma, anxiety, and depression unravelled. It revealed repeated patterns of behaviour that she too had unwittingly passed on. This discovery helped her understand her work's focus. It is through acknowledging and exploring psychology, neuroscience, and your ancestor's behaviour that you can develop a deeper understanding of those who came before you, and pass on a healthier legacy to your children and grandchildren.
