A powerful new documentary, This Hits Home, tells intentional parts of Dr. Garay-Serratos’ domestic violence – related traumatic brain injury healing journey in the wake of learning that her mother’s repeated blows to the head from María’s father caused chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) and possibly early-onset Alzheimer’s disease (AD). These progressive neurodegenerative disorders led to her mother’s premature death. Her resolve that all who are affected by DV must be heard and helped stems from the awareness that her father’s uncontrollable rages, impulses, irritability, etc. were also the result of the DV-TBI he suffered throughout his childhood at the hands of his father. The Cycle of DV as described in the US, simply does not apply to María’s family. No, for her family, it is the Cycle of DV-TBI.

This Hits Home is a new feature length documentary that reveals the invisible and silent epidemic of permanent TBI in women devastated by DV in the US. The intimate and compelling stories of courageous women, insights from lawmakers and DV authorities, and the shocking revelations from world renowned experts at the Mayo Clinic, Harvard University, Boston University, and the University of Pennsylvania, combine to paint a chilling portrait of brain injury that forever changes the lives of DV victims. Supported by the National Football League Players Association (NFLPA) and the American Brain Foundation (ABF), this feature will unearth a distressing truth, begin a global discussion, and sound the alarm for a call to action.

Dr. Garay-Serratos is the Protagonist, Associate Producer, and Domestic Violence Expert Consultant for This Hits Home.