When full circles intersect

It’s sometimes astonishing how people’s full circle moments intersect in ways that make you wonder who’s up there drawing the Venn Diagram of our lives.

For instance, my sister Jenny has been working on a book with Oprah Winfrey and Dr. Bruce Perry that explores the lasting impact of trauma. The book is called “What Happened to you?” and it came out yesterday. I can’t wait to dig in, both because I know it will be an exceptional read and because I have been a close witness to the impact of trauma on the developing brain for the past few years.

That those tangential experiences intersected at all is somewhat astonishing to both Jenny and me.

Then, in a further intersection (and proud family moment), my son Charlie produced (from his tiny apartment living room) an hour-long interview with Oprah and Dr. Perry that will air tomorrow on Dr. Oz.

He shared his thoughts on the experience yesterday on Facebook and gave me permission to post them here:

“12 years ago I was lucky enough to start my career at the Oprah Winfrey Show. Then last week, in an amazing full circle moment, I got to produce an hour-long interview with Oprah for the Dr. Oz Show. Making this episode was even more special because my aunt Jenna Kostelnik Utley worked on Oprah’s amazing new book. It was pretty surreal to brief the greatest interviewer of all time from my living room, but she and Dr. Oz had an amazing and really poignant conversation. Oprah opened up publicly about some of the most painful parts of her life for the very first time and her co-author Dr. Bruce Perry provided a ton of life-changing information that I think will help a lot of people. I’m really excited for people to see the episode, which airs this Thurs. 4/29, but I’m even more eager for everyone to read “What Happened To You? Conversations on Trauma, Resilience, and Healing.” It’s changed the way I look at so much on the individual and societal level. If more people understood how our brains process trauma and stress, the world would be a much better place. The book is out today, so be sure to get a copy!”

I encourage you all to watch that show and to get your hands on a copy of “What Happened to You.”

I know I can’t wait to do both.