My therapy history spans half a dozen therapists over forty years, while my education in neuroscience gives me a deeper understanding of how our brains work. I recently suffered a retraumatization, an awakening of deeply buried memories of sexual abuse. I immediately sought a new therapist with the intention of rebooting my brain. Through a strong one-on-one connection with my therapist and a lot of hard work, we eventually managed the re-boot. Additionally, resolving to bring my story into the light was a major game changer. Louis Brandeis said, “Sunlight is said to be the best of disinfectants.” These authors helped me to let the sunshine in.
I really loved how Dr. McDonald takes her excellent book on therapy and recovery from trauma a step further than most clinicians do by sharing personal experiences. To me, this makes her and the stories she shares come across as both more empathetic and believable but also vulnerable.
It places her in a different category than others in terms of authority and expertise. Plus, I found the suggestions she offers and the way she structures those sections very accessible.
While trauma awareness has grown exponentially in recent years, we still tend to treat our response to trauma as a disorder or sign of malfunction. With Unbroken, Dr. MaryCatherine McDonald offers an empowering alternative: What if instead of seeing traumatic experience as that which breaks our spirit, we see it as that which proves our spirit cannot be broken?
Here, McDonald offers a radical reframing of how we understand trauma-and a profound new approach for healing. According to McDonald, trauma occurs whenever we experience something that shatters our structures of belief about the world and our place within it. When…
I wish every author gave their readers as many insightful and hopeful gifts as Foo does in her memoir. I felt her talent as a journalist shine through in the clarity of her examinations and explanations of her traumatic experiences and C-PTSD diagnosis. She brought the human interest side of journalism to her own story.
I thought she struck the perfect balance of fact and emotion in retelling but also reliving the trauma and abandonment she endured. Her skill as a writer allowed me to walk with her through her history without becoming overwhelmed by it.
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A searing memoir of reckoning and healing by acclaimed journalist Stephanie Foo, investigating the little-understood science behind complex PTSD and how it has shaped her life
“Achingly exquisite . . . providing real hope for those who long to heal.”—Lori Gottlieb, New York Times bestselling author of Maybe You Should Talk to Someone
ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: The Washington Post, Cosmopolitan, NPR, Mashable, She Reads, Publishers Weekly
By age thirty, Stephanie Foo was successful on paper: She had her dream job as an award-winning radio producer at This American Life and…
Many people from all walks of life, even after many accomplishments and experiences, are often plagued by dissatisfaction, pervasive longing, and deep questioning. These feelings may make them wonder if they are living the life they were meant to lead.
Living on Purpose is the guidebook these people have been…
Just when I thought I could not love Oprah more, she generously shares personal stories that show us the intense effort and vulnerability of facing trauma and adversity. Throughout the book, I felt like I was sitting across the table from her and Dr. Perry.
Their focus on understanding people, behavior, and ourselves flips the script on how scientists usually discuss their research findings. I loved the format and how it made me feel included in the conversation. For me, this reads like an interview with extended snapshots highlighting the trials and triumphs of facing trauma head-on.
Our earliest experiences shape our lives far down the road, and What Happened to You? provides powerful scientific and emotional insights into the behavioral patterns so many of us struggle to understand.
“Through this lens we can build a renewed sense of personal self-worth and ultimately recalibrate our responses to circumstances, situations, and relationships. It is, in other words, the key to reshaping our very lives.”―Oprah Winfrey
This book is going to change the way you see your life.
Have you ever wondered "Why did I do that?" or "Why can't I just control my…
I found Christie Tate’s memoir alive with the honest frustration that she felt about how she was feeling despite her success. It made her so relatable, knowing I’ve been in similar mental spaces many times. It was reassuring to be reminded that I am not alone.
When Christie realized she was using her seemingly successful life to cover up and avoid fantasies about dying, I wanted to tell her me too, friend me too. While the group therapy sessions Christie invites us into are unorthodox, she crafts a convincing narrative about their value. One that made space for me to examine my own experiences in therapy with similar honesty.
'Every page of this incredible memoir by Christie Tate had me thinking, "I wish I had read this book when I was 25. It would have helped me so much!"' Reese Witherspoon
'This unrestrained memoir is a transporting experience and one of the most startlingly hopeful books I have ever read. It will make you want to get better, whatever better means for you.' Lisa Taddeo, New York Times bestselling author of Three Women
For fans of Three Women and Everything I Know About Love comes a refreshingly original memoir about self-discovery, loneliness and love.…
Gifts from a Challenging Childhood
by
Jan Bergstrom,
Learn to understand and work with your childhood wounds. Do you feel like old wounds or trauma from your childhood keep showing up today? Do you sometimes feel overwhelmed with what to do about it and where to start? If so, this book will help you travel down a path…
I feel less like the hard parts of my life and my story are too horrible to share, thanks to Catherine Gildiner’s powerful stories of her clients’ intense traumas. If therapists can help clients like Gildiner’s recover then there is hope for me too.
I love that she offers readers a “fly on the wall” perspective into the revelations and insights that come to light in a therapist’s office. In doing so, she opened a space for me to consider the ways I may relate to some of the clients’ experiences but, more importantly, the therapeutic advice Gildiner provides.
As seen on Good Morning America's SEPTEMBER 2020 READING LIST and FAVORITE BOOKS OF 2020!
"We need to read stories about folks who have been through hell and kept going... Fascinating." ―Glennon Doyle, A Favorite Book of 2020 on Good Morning America
"Gildiner is nothing short of masterful―as both a therapist and writer. In these pages, she has gorgeously captured both the privilege of being given access to the inner chambers of people's lives, and the meaning that comes from watching them grow into the selves they were meant to be." ―Lori Gottlieb, New York Times bestselling author of Maybe…
After years of therapy, Stacey finally believes she’s built the perfect life. That is until she slips on the psychological equivalent of black ice. An emotionally charged forum on sexual violence unexpectedly sends Stacey tumbling back into her fractured childhood, submerging her in the sights, sounds, and smells of her memories of Mr. Jay, a Pentecostal church deacon, and her kindergarten self.
With exceptional candor, this book invites readers to take a seat with author Stacey Hettes in the office of her new therapist while they struggle through the laborious–though often promising–work of revisiting the past in order to extract its haunting remnants from the present.
