Wisconsin Rapids native sheds light on PTSD in film set to premiere Wednesday at Meyer Theatre

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By Benita Mathew

GREEN BAY - From what began as just an "aha moment", Kimberly Resch is anticipating the premiere in Green Bay Wednesday of "Light in the Darkness: Living Well After Trauma," the first of five films she produced through her company, Conscious Content.

Highlighting stories from survivors who experienced trauma and PTSD, the film has already won several awards and international recognition. 

The film has been receiving international praise, but Resch didn't always expect she would be a founder of a Florida film production company that bills itself as "humanity's media company."

A little more than two years ago, Resch was living in Larsen and making six figures at a corporate job. She says she had great friends, but didn’t feel fulfilled at work. So she decided to quit.

“I had gone to bed — I still remember the date April 6, 2017 — and prayed that night, literally. What was I leaving now that I made the decision to step away from corporate existence? Show me. And I woke up at 6 o’clock bright-eyed and bushy-tailed with an entire road map for 24 months. I spent 2 hours on the phone nonstop finding the different pieces from what I thought was going to be my plan,” Resch said.

She knew she wanted to share stories that affected everyone and, with co-founder Brian Ross, created Conscious Content. But it was her own struggles with trauma and mental illness that made Light in the Darkness come to fruition.

Resch's interest in post traumatic stress disorder stems from her own experience with trauma.

She was 8 years old when her family moved from Wisconsin Rapids to Milwaukee’s north side. When she was 10, Resch and a friend witnessed a double murder at a home. For the next 35 years, they kept it quiet and never told anyone they were there or what they saw.

“We filed it away and went to school the next day like nothing happened,” Resch said.

But the trauma from that day developed into anger issues when Resch was 16, and she continued to struggle with the trauma throughout her life.

“I'm pregnant, I'm supposed to be on bed rest and I'm installing electrical outlets and hanging drywall in the house because I can't stop moving. It manifests in different ways, in erratic behavior,” Resch said. 

When she was living in Larsen and struggling at work, she thought "maybe it's just the Wisconsin winter."

Through her own journey of learning about PTSD and healing, Resch came up with the idea to shed light on the illness that affects about 8 in every 100 people.

The film was produced in collaboration with Madison-based Shaman Motion Pictures and KI. It shares stories of survival and expert research from several Wisconsin residents, including Cherie Lindberg, the owner of Get Connected Counseling and Consulting in Appleton.

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