Wired for Connection is the opportunity to learn the lessons of shame, vulnerability, authenticity, kindness and self compassion-–through stories, with snippets of science and wisdom. Therapists learn and grow from therapy with clients--and now you can too! Now, you can learn the lessons clients taught a therapist about conflict, self-compassion, courage, vulnerability, guilt and shame. Carolyn graduated from counselling school with a ton of head knowledge. She read 1000’s of pages and learned the models and the approaches in the books. Did this therapist know enough to actually help people? Turns out she didn’t. That’s where her clients come in. They taught her much about life, about therapy, and about relationships. They may never know that as she was working to help them heal, they were helping her grow and heal too! So much of what clients taught her was paradoxical. Actually, they didn’t teach her—the most important lessons in life are better caught than taught . It was counterintuitive to conventional relationship wisdom. Together they learned the way to real relationships was messiness, mistakes and discomfort. They noticed the route to acceptance was authenticity, that tears make life better, that self compassion makes a person kinder to others, and that raw courage is often about tender things like saying, “I’m sorry” and “I love you”. And so much more. Relationships are hard—but we are wired for them. We are wired for struggle and growth. Watching people struggle with their own lives has inspired her to struggle and grow in hers. Relationships are hard for us all. But if we show up to connect, and we do it anything like right, we learn from each other. We learn from each other in ways that surprise and delight us. When Carolyn Klassen began her practice she wasn't sure that the books and essays from counselling school were enough to equip her for being a therapist. Spoiler alert: they weren't. While they were a solid foundation, turns out the real teachers weren't the professors but her clients. They taught her about life, therapy and relationships. So much of what clients taught her was paradoxical. Together she and her clients learned the way to real relationships was messiness, mistakes and discomfort. They noticed the route to acceptance was authenticity, that tears make life better, and that raw courage is often about tender things like saying, "I'm sorry" and "I love you". And so much more. Now, in this book, you can learn the lessons Carolyn learned about conflict, self-compassion, courage and shame. Relationships are hard—but we are wired for them. We are wired for struggle and growth. Watching people struggle with their own lives has inspired Carolyn to struggle and grow in hers. Now you too can read and learn these lessons. Relationships are hard for us all. But if we show up to connect, and we do it anything like right, we learn from each other. We learn from each other in ways that surprise and delight us. We are wired for connection. Carolyn Klassen has completed a Master of Arts degree in Marriage, Family, and Child Counselling in Fresno, California.  She also has a degree in Occupational Therapy from the University of Manitoba and then taught for many years in this program..  Carolyn Klassen is a therapist in Winnipeg, and speaker at Wired for Connection. A Certified Daring Way Facilitator, she believes that fundamentally, all of us are wired for connection, and that meaningful relationships have tremendous healing power. Her many years of providing therapy provide her with a wealth of knowledge about people—including topics like grief, pain, anxiety, depression, joy and grace that are not easily or often spoken about in polite company. Her presentations and writing are interesting, laced with story, rooted in scientific research while being real and profoundly human. Carolyn is an author, is a regular contributor to 680 CJOB "Connecting Winnipeg" show with Hal Anderson and frequently appears on news programs as an expert on relationships and mental health. She loves lattés, family suppers, busy bird feeders, sun porches, and reading books endlessly to her grandchildren.