Reviews

Trauma and Recovery by Judith Lewis Herman

hadasabargil's review against another edition

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informative fast-paced

5.0

changruwen's review against another edition

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challenging dark hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

jmnicolini's review against another edition

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5.0

Should be required reading for all.

natashazaleski's review against another edition

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challenging dark informative inspiring sad medium-paced

4.0

yasemin2's review against another edition

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challenging informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

yousrabushehri's review against another edition

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3.0

very interesting. I think I need to reread it though to reinforce everything I just read. But the best thing about it is that it's written in plain language (meaning, I didn't need a dictionary for every other word). It certainly did get me to analyze characters in a different light.

evelynbostany's review against another edition

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4.0

I read this book for my trauma class. It had lots of information and gave good examples in layman’s terms. I got more out of this book pairing it with the class discussion because some of the content is very dense and what stood out for me as important was different than someone else’s view. For class, we had to write down homework assignments, assessments, and interventions we could implement through phase 1, 2, and 3 of treatment and this book was helpful in providing information.

moreyceyer's review against another edition

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informative slow-paced

5.0

pineconek's review against another edition

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5.0

So it took me about a year and a half to read this book. Not because it's bad - it's excellent. Not because it's technical - it's extremely accessible. But this book is immensely painful and I sometimes needed several days to recover from 3 pages.

This is an incredibly detailed, compassionate, and raw deep-dive into trauma. Dr Herman was the first to propose the existence of complex ptsd as separate from "regular" ptsd, and in the book narrows in particularly on the vulnerability of children and women to violence and its enduring effects.

This book has two sections, as the title indicates: trauma and recovery. Both are harrowing in their own way. Dr Herman doesn't shy away from using the big words or from quoting honest patient testimonies. There's a sorrow that reverberates in each page of this book along with a defiant hope.

Ultimately, this is an emotionally taxing comprehensive book on the enduring effects of chronic and/or interpersonal trauma, be it childhood abuse, sexual violence, intimate partner violence, political terrorism, long term captivity, etc... it reminds the reader continuously of how devastating the aftermath of these crimes are and how much work remains to be done in supporting survivors. But the take-home message is one of hope: not hope of a quick fix all erasing cure, but hope of a rewarding journey of recovery.