cln1812, you and your family certainly do have a traumatic past. I hope you can continue to heal from those tragedies. It certainly sounds to me that bipolar disorder (or other mental illnesses) played a big part in some of the tragedies, but others sound like ones that were just terrible circumstances.

I do not have PTSD, but have also been deeply affected by past traumas that very much had to do with my bipolar disorder. I was in ways affected in my ability to handle certain social relationships (from an early traumatic situation) and after four years of hellish manias (most with mixed features and psychosis) that followed severe stressors, I experienced additional challenges ranging from musical hallucinations, maladaptive daydreaming, dissociative events, migraines, a couple phobias, panic attacks, and a period of agoraphobia. Luckily with therapy and time, many of these things have passed or significantly eased.

Czech Republic has lots of fruit, and they do love cherries. A popular cake called bublanina traditionally is made with cherries and cherries are used in other things, including liquor. In Czech, the word for cherries is třešně. If of interest, my mother-in-law's bublanina recipe is posted at Cherry (or other fruit) Sponge Cake (Bublanina) Recipe | Taste of Home

My husband was born and raised in Prague, Czech Republic (Czechoslovakia at the time). He told me that his grandmother (babička) loved cherries so much that she would eat so many until her stomach hurt. Hubby never knew his grandfathers (dědové). Do you remember any Czech? Dobré ráno (Good morning!) or Dobré den! (if reading this in the later morning to early evening).