Rich Dunning

ABOUT THE BOOK

This is the story of what happens when childhood trauma is left unspoken and what becomes possible when silence is finally broken.

Rich Dunning was three years old when his father walked away. Soon after, his mother married Hector, a man whose alcoholism, violence, and cruelty transformed their Bronx basement into a place where fear dictated every decision and survival depended on becoming invisible. Violence became ordinary. Poverty was relentless. Childhood became an exercise in survival. Rich learned to recognize drunken footsteps before a key ever reached the lock. He learned where to hide when the shouting began. At night, he wrapped blankets tightly around his body because rats bit exposed skin while he slept and roaches crawled across the floor and walls. Silence was not a choice. It was survival.

Children raised in violent homes learn to read faces before words are spoken, anticipate danger before it arrives, and disappear before becoming the next target. Those instincts can save a child.

They can also imprison an adult. Long after escaping the Bronx, Rich carried those lessons into every corner of his life. They shaped his relationships, fueled alcoholism, reinforced shame, and convinced him that achievement could bury a past no one else could see. From the outside, he built an extraordinary career. On the inside, he remained the frightened little boy who believed survival meant never letting anyone know the truth.

With extraordinary honesty, Dunning confronts domestic violence, child abuse, abandonment, addiction, homelessness, recovery, forgiveness, and the lifelong psychological impact of growing up in fear. He does not search for villains or offer easy answers. He simply tells the truth, allowing readers to witness both the devastating cost of trauma and the remarkable resilience of the human spirit.

This memoir speaks to survivors of abuse, families affected by addiction, children who grew up too quickly, and anyone who has spent years believing the past could never loosen its grip. It is a story of survival, but more importantly, it is a story of hope. It reminds us that while trauma may shape a life, it does not have to define one. He offers a different kind of courage, not measured by physical endurance, but by the willingness to confront the memories most people spend a lifetime trying to outrun.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Rich Dunning is a senior executive in the medical device industry with more than two decades of experience leading in high-stakes environments; a professional career built on navigating complex systems, managing risk, and operating under sustained pressure. Raised in the Bronx in an environment defined by instability, exposure, and the absence of protection, he developed, from an early age, a level of awareness and control that shaped how he moved through the world. Those conditions did not remain confined to childhood—they inform his approach to leadership, decision-making, and, ultimately, his writing.

He began writing Silence Was My First Language more than 15 years ago, presenting the material as it was lived. Rich has also completed two novels, The Jaguar and Selling Arteries to the Devil, both grounded in real-world experience. He is currently working on additional manuscripts, including The Executive and the Escort and When in Puglia.

Dunning established the The First Language Foundation, a long-term commitment to direct one dollar from every copy sold to organizations supporting children facing abuse, hunger, and homelessness. He maintains dual residence in Lexington, South Carolina (outside of Columbia) and Brickell, Florida, (near Miami).