Exposing a Global Health Crisis: Engineer Explains How Childhood Trauma Is Shaping the Fate of Billions
Michael Menard's new book translates decades of data into an undeniable truth: trauma isn’t only tragic — it’s deadly.
Michael Menard’s journey from trauma survivor to the man who exposed the leading cause of death in the U.S. marks one of the most significant discoveries in modern public health.
Engineer and survivor Michael Menard exposes the hidden worldwide epidemic fueling countless deaths
NASHVILLE, TN, UNITED STATES, February 27, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Childhood trauma is more than a personal tragedy. It is a global public health emergency. Research shows that approximately 1 billion children ages 2-17 worldwide experienced trauma in the past year, and nearly 65% of all living adults — roughly 3.5 billion people — carry the effects of unresolved childhood trauma.
In his new book, Greater Than Gravity: How Childhood Trauma Is Pulling Down Humanity, engineer and inventor Michael Menard applies a systems-thinking lens to decades of worldwide public health data. What he discovered is alarming yet undeniable: childhood trauma is a root cause behind addiction, suicide, incarceration and countless preventable deaths around the globe.
“We’ve been looking at mortality the wrong way,” Menard said. “Death certificates record what people die from — heart attacks, overdoses, cancer. They don't record what people die because of. When you trace these deaths back to their root cause, childhood trauma is number one.”
Menard isn't just a researcher. He's a survivor.
One of 14 children raised in poverty in Kankakee, Illinois, Menard lost two brothers to addiction, which he now understands was rooted in their shared childhood trauma. He went on to become a global VP of Engineering at Johnson & Johnson, an inventor with 14 patents, and an advisor to NASA and the United Nations.
“I spent my career solving complex problems,” Menard said. “This is the most important one I've ever worked on.”
Dr. Glenn Schiraldi, author of The Adverse Childhood Experiences Recovery Workbook and faculty member at the Pentagon and University of Maryland, wrote the book's foreword. He calls childhood trauma “the largest threat to the well-being of humanity known today.”
Greater Than Gravity goes beyond diagnosis to deliver hope. Menard outlines concrete solutions and introduces readers to the emerging field of trauma-responsive care. The book validates the 180 million American adults carrying unresolved trauma while sounding an urgent alarm for the 50 million children (in the U.S. alone) being traumatized right now. Menard founded United Against Childhood Trauma (UACT), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, to turn awareness into action.
“Today, 1,401 Americans will die from the effects of childhood trauma,” Menard said. “This book is my refusal to let them die in silence.”
Greater Than Gravity: How Childhood Trauma Is Pulling Down Humanity releases March 19, 2026.
About the Author
Michael Menard’s journey from trauma survivor to the man who exposed the United States’ leading cause of death marks one of the most significant discoveries in modern public health. Born into a family of 14 children in Kankakee, Illinois, Menard learned early that survival required both resilience and innovation.
As Vice President of Engineering at Johnson & Johnson, his 14 patents transformed global manufacturing. His problem-solving expertise has been sought by the United Nations, NASA and Fortune 100 companies, including Coca-Cola and Pfizer.
He is the founder of United Against Childhood Trauma (www.uactnow.com) and the bestselling author of four books.
For more information, please visit www.Michaeljmenard.com, or find him on Facebook (Michael.Menard.1690); Instagram (michaeljmenard), TikTok (thekitethatcouldntfly) and LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikemenard/).
Greater Than Gravity: How Childhood Trauma Is Pulling Down Humanity
Publisher: UACT Press
Release Date: March 19, 2026
ISBN-13: 978-1968559007
Available from: https://www.amazon.com/Greater-Than-Gravity-Childhood-Humanity/dp/1968559019
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