All are invited to join us in the AFFCNY Network for this very important film screening:

 Reckoning with the Primal Wound

“The adoptee was there. The child actually experienced being left alone by the biological mother and being handed over to strangers. That she may have only been a few days or a few minutes old makes no difference.”

                                                                                                                                                                                                                     — Nancy Verrier

Filmmaker and adoptee, Rebecca Autumn Sansom, alongside her biological mother, Jill Hawkins, Ph.D., have produced the first feature-length documentary about author Nancy Verrier’s landmark book, The Primal Wound. It’s also the first film to star Verrier herself. 

The Primal Wound is in it’s 15th printing and has been a bestseller since 1993. The book remains controversial. The film not only deals with relinquishment trauma, but also Verrier’s philosophy that the damage done by the separation of a child and it’s biological mother culminates in a primal wound that must be acknowledged in order to heal.

The film wonderfully weaves how important and revolutionary Verrier’s book was to adoptees through interviews with the author as well as many members of the adoptee community. It is an experience that allows the child welfare worker to see firsthand the complicated feelings behind adoption as well as removals and foster care.

Coming to the AFFCNY Network on November 5th! 

Join us in the AFFCNY.Network on Friday, November 5th as the Adoptive and Foster Family Coalition of New York screens the film in honor of National Adoption Awareness Month. Plan to stay for our discussion panel afterwards with filmmaker and adoptee, Rebecca Autumn Sansom and Nancy Verrier! 
 If you are not a member of the AFFCNY Network, please fill out the RSVP form below for the access link and event reminders. 

About the film: Reckoning with The Primal Wound

Filmmaker and adoptee, Rebecca Autumn Sansom, alongside her biological mother, Jill Hawkins, Ph.D., have produced the first feature-length documentary about author Nancy Verrier’s landmark book, The Primal Wound. It’s also the first film to star Verrier herself.

The Primal Wound is in its 15th printing and has been a bestseller since 1993. The book remains controversial. The film not only deals with relinquishment trauma, but also Verrier’s philosophy that the damage done by the separation of a child and its biological mother culminates in a primal wound that must be acknowledged in order to heal.

For Sansom:

“The Primal Wound was the first time I heard an alternate narrative about adoption. A narrative that resonated with my feelings of loss and grief, one that was never presented to me until I read Verrier’s eerily insightful words.”

The University of Minnesota’s Center for Advanced Studies in Child Welfare named the film their #1 media resource for child welfare workers. Laura LeBrun says of the film,

“Even in a positive reunion, even in a wonderful family life, there can be an immense amount of pain from adoption, because the primal wound is one that comes with identity issues, feelings of rejection, confusion about one’s history, and more. All members of the adoption triad provide emotional labor through this film, sharing their stories in a way that can only increase our understanding of these complicated feelings. The film wonderfully weaves how important and revolutionary Verrier’s book was to adoptees through interviews with the author as well as many members of the adoptee community. It is an experience that allows the child welfare worker to see firsthand the complicated feelings behind adoption as well as removals and foster care.”

The film has received extremely positive reviews from adoptees all over the world during the limited private online screenings through Intercountry Adoptee Voices. Screenings have taken place in Australia, the U.S., the U.K., Belgium, The Netherlands, Germany and Canada during the month of September 2021.
Legacy Entertainment Partners owner and VC, Gena Vazquez, has signed on as Executive Producer, and is currently seeking distribution opportunities for a worldwide release.

Most events, workshops  and trainings are held in the AFFCNY Network; a free support network for New York’s adoptive, foster and kinship communities.  Don’t miss the upcoming opportunities to engage!