Perseverance Through Severe Dysfunction

Breaking the Curse of Intergenerational Trauma as a Black Man in America

By: Reggie D. Ford

Narrated by: Reggie D. Ford

In Reggie Ford's bold reassessment of the Black experience in America, he demonstrates that a new understanding of PTSD is required. PTSD, or Perseverance Through Severe Dysfunction, as Ford defines it, underlines the darkness of mental illnesses and behaviors that impact young Black men and have plagued Black Americans for generations. But his reassessment is not doom and gloom. Instead, Ford implores that we turn pain into peace. His uplifting message shows that by realizing, accepting, and treating mental health with grace, kindness, and appreciation of the backgrounds of those needing support, we can reduce the significant impact of PTSD and other mental conditions on not just Black people, but all people.

Ford uses his own traumatic experiences to inform his call to action. He takes his impoverished and scarred childhood and turns it into a life of promise and abundance. His memoir shines a light on the intergenerational impact of unaddressed mental health issues, showing how the power of a familial network can help or severely harm an individual's battle with mental health illnesses. He writes searingly of the overwhelming odds and systemic racism that must be overcome by Black Americans in order to reach the heights he has scaled. Ford's own heartbreaking story is yet an optimistic one, intended to show that mental health has a real and demonstrable effect on Black Americans, but that it can be overcome.

Perseverance Through Severe Dysfunction places one man's experiences in the realm of the broad sociopolitical issues that affect so many Americans. Ford emphasizes that the trauma of society creates situations of mental health issues and behaviors that hold back so many. But he also believes there is room for hope, that his own experiences of overcoming so many hardships and difficulties offer a path for others to follow. Immense suffering, Ford believes, can lead to improbable success.

©2021 Reginald Ford (P)2022 Reginald Ford

Critic reviews

"Reggie Ford has written a brilliant account of his personal journey from pain to peace. But more than just the fascinating story of one young man's battles with the generational traumas associated with racism and poverty in America, PTSD is a primer on just how deeply embedded those traumas are in our society and the factors that perpetuate them. Reggie writes with equal honesty and introspection when recounting his family's encounters with addiction, abuse, teen pregnancy, gun violence and homelessness as he does when exposing prejudice, tokenism, and white privilege. At one level, this is an important book about persevering through dysfunction. At another, it is a well-sourced call to understand and solve the larger mental health, criminal justice, educational, and wealth inequalities facing the country." (Andrew Maraniss, New York Times best-selling author of Strong Inside)