The story of Mabel and the author’s brother, Robert, explains his passion for issues of social justice and his vigorous advocacy for humanistic care of children and families throughout his career. Nikki and her young children represent his most recent foray into the criminal justice system to counter the insidious impact of systemic trauma and its devastating impact on this young family of survivors of domestic violence. Remarkably, the artistically talented survivor of domestic violence, Nikki, illustrates this book with beautiful artwork that she made while incarcerated. Crenshaw is perhaps best known for the work that he and his colleagues have done in New York State with Facility Dogs to accompany and comfort children on the witness stand as they give testimony in the presence of the alleged abuser in both criminal court and family court. The case law in NY is so strong at this point, that defense attorneys rarely object to the Facility Dog’s role in comforting a child witness when requested by the prosecutor. While the challenges of the child/play therapy field are enormous, this is a book to inspire hope and confidence in the therapy process. As the acclaimed child psychiatrist, Bruce Perry, MD, PhD. states, “Just as a traumatic encounter can alter a life in an instant, so too can a therapeutic encounter.”