Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

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

260 reviews

codemasterpi's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Self harm, Pandemic/Epidemic, Murder, Racism, Colonisation, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical trauma, War, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Suicide attempt

burnedoutbookdragon's review

emotional hopeful reflective tense medium-paced

5.0

Rating: 5⭐
Diversity: Asian-American, immigrant life
Method: audiobook

This book talks about generational trauma and complex PTSD. Please check your trigger warnings before proceeding.

WHAT I LIKED & DISLIKED ABOUT IT:
WHHEEEW! This book is heartbreaking, poignant, and UTTERLY GUTTED ME! In the first few chapters, Foo shares her experience with childhood trauma (Although they are not graphic, there is mention of verbal and physical abuse, please check yourself if these are not what you're ready for.) and I was triggered. Although my personal experiences were not as extreme as Foo's, the gaslighting, the name-calling, and her mother's general frustration with life being taken out on her is something I unfortunately can relate to.

We follow Foo, a successful adult who cannot manage her emotions or keep close relationships. She goes through the journey of investigating her childhood, challenging what she remembers, learning about C-PTSD (Complex Post Traumatic Disorder), and sharing some of her lessons from therapy.

This book is heavy and I had to take it in sections and sit with it. I'm glad I read it. It helped me understand my childhood trauma, why therapy has only helped me so much, and help me not feel alone. I loved how the author shares how immigrant parents from war-torn or unstable governments harbor their trauma and if left unhealed can trickle down, not just through the relationship but through the DNA also. She humanizes her parents without the need (or excuse) to forgive them or excuse their actions. She's decided to take the steps to heal herself and give herself what she needs.

RECOMMENDATION:
There's a lot to learn from this book and the author's experiences. If love personal stories of resilience and the healing journey, and want to understand C-PSTD more, then this book is for you. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, and Adult/minor relationship

hanlhs's review

challenging emotional hopeful informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

best book i’ve read in a while. would recommend to anyone, whether they have c-ptsd or not! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, and Abandonment

thoughtsfromtheafro's review

dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

3.75

This was a fascinating read as it relates to CPTSD; there aren’t always many books about it out there. The narrative of the author’s experience(s) with her parents needs countless content warnings. The latter part of the book where she details her therapy modalities and audio clips are included is quite helpful for one’s own reflection and consideration in types of healing. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Physical abuse, Abandonment, Domestic abuse, Suicide attempt, and Emotional abuse

erinmcav's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts

kerileilareads's review

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Child abuse and Abandonment

emlev1995's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative reflective sad tense

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Emotional abuse, Abandonment, Suicidal thoughts, Panic attacks/disorders, Domestic abuse, and Child abuse

meganbrinson's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

So so so important. Really helped me understand my intellectualizing tendencies. Foo also does a great job situating trauma in a larger context. “Love begets love” really did it for me <3

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, and Child abuse

bchochst's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Mental illness, and Emotional abuse

salemrose's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

Probably the best book I've ever read about trauma and healing (and I have read a lot of them lol). I don't relate to a lot of the trauma that Foo experienced but the way it affects her and the way she dealt with it and tried to cope were so deeply relatable and personal to me. I saw myself reflected in so much of what she said and I genuinely learned a lot about myself in the process of reading this. It is a testament to her skill as a writer and storyteller that I could take so much away from a retelling of experiences so different from my own. If you've experienced complex trauma in your life there is definitely healing to be found in this book. However, the warning at the beginning of the book is no joke — her descriptions of her abuse were extremely viceral and often not easy to read. But knowing what she went through makes seeing where she ends up so inspiring and hopeful. This is a deeply important and foundational addition to the literature currently available on C-PTSD. It's personal, moving, and emotional, but also incredibly well researched and informative. Highly, highly recommend! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Child abuse, and Physical abuse