Reviews tagging 'Medical trauma'

What My Bones Know: A Memoir of Healing from Complex Trauma by Stephanie Foo

24 reviews

provo's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

Luckily, Stephanie Foo did not just write a memoir - as a journalist, she researches very well and takes the reader on a journey from her childhood to the first real results of her recovery. 
By doing so, she doesn’t try to paint a picture of a miracle healing, but shows, how hard it is to find individual solutions in a dysfunctional medical system where not enough professionals are familiar with this young diagnosis. She elaborates how racism and sexism play a part in c-ptsd and does not shy away from talking about genetics and intergenerational trauma.

At some points in the early chapters the abuse is written quite graphic, so be aware of that, otherwise I’d say it is the perfect book for someone recently diagnosed with c-ptsd or people who are close to someone with this diagnosis. It also has a lot of quotes for follow-up-literature.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Emotional abuse, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Abandonment, Child abuse, and Chronic illness

Moderate: Self harm, Eating disorder, Misogyny, Ableism, Panic attacks/disorders, Classism, Colonisation, Domestic abuse, and Racism

kayfab's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia, Toxic relationship, Racism, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Dysphoria, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, Body shaming, Bullying, Gore, Suicidal thoughts, Cultural appropriation, Mental illness, and Emotional abuse

allthingsnerdy's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective fast-paced

5.0

This is one of those books that I think everyone should read, because even though it's about one person's experience with having complex PTSD, it's so much more than that. It really made me reflect on my relationships with my friends and family, how I treat people, and how I treat myself.  I definitely want to reread it because it was filled with so much information and thought, it seems like one of those books that you have to read multiple times to get everything out of it. It's definitely a tough read at times, but very worth it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Child abuse, Mental illness, Abandonment, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Medical trauma, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt

jessdekkerreads's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Violence, Mental illness, Medical content, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Medical trauma, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Physical abuse, and Pandemic/Epidemic

beccarwolf's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Violence, Emotional abuse, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Racism, Suicidal thoughts, and Sexism

Minor: Self harm

clemclems's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring sad medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Abandonment, Child abuse, Medical trauma, Panic attacks/disorders, and Racism

starlit_pathways's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Chronic illness, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Abandonment, Colonisation, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Mental illness, Torture, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, and Drug use

Moderate: Racism, War, Hate crime, Car accident, Xenophobia, and Death

Minor: Sexual violence and Sexual assault

wetdirtreads's review against another edition

challenging informative reflective medium-paced

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Child abuse, Mental illness, Abandonment, Suicide attempt, Racism, Medical trauma, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Addiction, Body shaming, Hate crime, and War

devyleelee's review against another edition

emotional funny informative reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse and Child abuse

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Racism, Suicide, and Mental illness

Minor: Medical trauma and Chronic illness

careinthelibrary's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

4.0

This was really good. It struck me how candid Stephanie was being about her childhood traumas, how those experiences affected her and as a result rippled down to all of Foo's relationships and aspirations.
The descriptions of the childhood abuse was palpable, sickening, and incredibly sad. Major content warnings for these scenes, please take care while reading.

The relationships with her parents in her adulthood was also fascinating. How she manages to maintain some contact with her father despite how much he hurt her. We do what we must to find mental and physical safety but how much we can crave love from our parents even if we fear them. It's a constant balancing act and so emotionally exhausting.

I don't know very much about psychiatry and psychology so this aspect of the memoir was a bit over my head but I still followed along. She made it pretty easy for non-experts to understand the different kinds of treatment she sought. This memoir is so sad, reading about Foo encountering so many hurdles and struggling to find the light at the end of the tunnel. Knowing that she was well enough to write this memoir, reflecting on her life does little to lessen the second-hand blow of her life story to the reader. It's heavy heavy heavy.

I wish her the best in continuing to heal and understand herself before and after the trauma.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Medical content, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Abandonment, Bullying, Medical trauma, Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Cursing, Grief, Self harm, Hate crime, Ableism, Alcohol, Suicide attempt, and Alcoholism

Minor: Body shaming, War, Incest, and Infertility

negative self-talk, bad therapy experiences, victim blaming.