Breaking Generational Trauma: Babs Walters’ Journey to Healing

The average person can keep a secret for forty-seven hours.
Babs Walters carried the heaviest kind of secret for nearly seventy years.

Beginning at just eleven years old, Walters endured childhood sexual abuse at the hands of her father. His command—“Children should be seen and not heard”—defined her childhood and groomed her into silence. Like so many victims of generational trauma, she was conditioned to believe that her voice did not matter.

But despite the cycle of abuse and inherited trauma that shaped her early life, Babs Walters reached a life-altering realization:

From Trauma to Transformation

As a sexual abuse survivor and domestic violence survivor, Babs has devoted her adult life to raising awareness about the long-term effects of trauma, advocating for healing, and helping others break the chain of generational abuse.

She holds a master’s degree in counseling human relations and spent thirteen years serving on a Harassment Investigation Committee. Her voice has reached national platforms, including a recent interview with Brave Voices® at the U.S. Library of Congress—amplifying critical conversations around trauma recovery, survivor resilience, and healing from abuse.

Her journey was not linear. It took becoming a self-help seeker, forty-five years of therapy, three marriages, and many painful lessons to arrive at healing. But through it all, Babs transformed her pain into purpose.

Her story now stands as a beacon of hope, resilience, and restoration for anyone struggling with abuse, silence, shame, or hopelessness.

Listen to her interview here:

Shining Light to the Dark Places We Avoid

Babs Walters discovered that there are dark realities many “civilized” societies refuse to acknowledge. Many people believe childhood sexual abuse is rare, happens only in “other families,” or is simply too uncomfortable to confront.

But the truth is unavoidable.

Child sexual assault statistics remain alarmingly high, and most cases are never reported. Silence protects abusers. Denial sustains generational trauma. Avoidance allows the cycle to continue.

Through education, advocacy, awareness, and healing, she now works to help others do the same. Her story is not only about survival—it is about transformation, resilience, and the power of healing.

For readers who connected with The Glass Castle and Educated, her story offers a deeply moving exploration of:

• childhood sexual abuse

• generational trauma

• emotional healing

• resilience after trauma

• breaking the cycle of abuse

• reclaiming identity and purpose

This is more than a survivor story.
It is a testimony of healing, courage, and restoration.