In Greater Than Gravity, engineer and inventor Michael Menard applies systems thinking to decades of public health data, revealing how early adversity is driving burnout, attrition, healthcare costs, and lost productivity on a trillion-dollar scale.
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.
Former J&J VP used four independent methodologies to prove childhood trauma is the largest unmeasured corporate cost center.
NASHVILLE, TN, UNITED STATES, March 27, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — For decades, corporations all over the world have poured billions into wellness programs, employee assistance programs, engagement initiatives, and retention strategies. The needle barely moves. The reason: they’ve been treating symptoms of a disease they’ve never diagnosed.
The disease is childhood trauma. And according to a new analysis by Michael Menard — former Vice President of Worldwide Engineering at Johnson & Johnson — the global corporate total cost lands between $8 and $10 trillion annually.
“Every wellness program, every EAP, every engagement initiative you’ve funded for the last 20 years has been mopping the floor while the pipe is still broken,” Menard said. “The pipe is childhood trauma. And until you fix it, you’re just managing an endless flood.”
The financial toll is staggering. The human toll is worse.
In his new book, Greater Than Gravity: How Childhood Trauma Is Pulling Down Humanity, Menard applies a systems-thinking lens to decades of worldwide public health data. What he discovered is that the same root cause draining productivity and profits is also fueling the leading causes of death and human suffering across 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.”
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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