Your Number Story

SPOTLIGHT

Oprah Winfrey and Dr. Nadine Burke Harris talk ACEs.

LeVar Burton + Sarah Marikos Talk About Becoming Aware of Our Stories

ACE Resource Network executive director, Sarah Marikos, recently had a chance to chat with actor and author, LeVar Burton, at our Don’t Judge a Book By Its Number event in Compton. Inspired by his mentor and friend Fred “Mr.” Rogers, LeVar wrote his book The Rhino Who Swallowed a Storm as a message to children that even though bad things sometimes happen, the world is full of people who care. 

Watch this inspiring interview to hear LeVar talk about the power of becoming aware of our own number stories.

Here are some highlights:

 

“We never think about, as adults, the impact that experiences in our childhood have on who we become. But these Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) are really powerful, and not to be aware of them is not OK.”

 

“Everyone should know what their ACE score is … I’m a 6. What that means to me is that there are experiences in my past that impact this now moment … I need to be aware of how these adverse experiences in my childhood have impacted the man I’ve become.”

 

(Knowing your ACEs score is) “a snapshot — an evaluation of where we’ve been to set the table for where we want to go in our lives.”

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