Reviews with content warning for Gaslighting - What My Bones Know: A Memoir of Healing from Complex Trauma

Reviews tagging 'Gaslighting'

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

69 reviews

avoticat's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring sad medium-paced

5.0

Such a fantastic read. I feel like this is a must-read for anyone who wants to understand more about cPTSD. It is a personal experience mixed in with academic evidence. It can be a tough, emotional read but it's well worth it. Highly recommend!

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burnedoutbookdragon's review

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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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andalucia's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful informative fast-paced

5.0

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cgreenstein's review

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challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring medium-paced

4.75

This was incredibly powerful and hopeful and honest. I listened to it as an audiobook, which meant I got to hear excerpts from the actual therapy session recordings in the final third of the book, and I thought that was something that really enhanced the book-- you could hear her old self and contrast that with the current self who is now writing about the old self. At any rate, this book is evidence that the author is incredibly strong and incredibly compassionate, and I can see why the buzz around this book was so fervent. It's deserved.

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eliya's review

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challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.5

heartbreakingly raw and hard to listen to at points. stephanie foo shares some truly horrifying memories.

fascinating approaches to CPTSD

some approaches i’m familiar with, some i’ve only day-dreamed about haha.
would love to approach conversation in a Nathan Fielder’s “the rehearsal” way lol. gave me some sold things to bring to my therapist when i have one. made me reconsider the way i interact in conversations.

very informative, kept coming back to the body and physiological responses to trauma, as the title suggests.

lots of information regarding generational trauma and how it effects people of color.
i was particularly intrigued by the
rat study about generational trauma

cringy / cheesy at some points, as is the nature with healing books. some eyeroll moments where the author acknowledges very briefly but very obviously obligatorily her class privileges to be able to access this type of care. ultimately helpful for me as a reader, though, to see what type of healing is possible (?) even though it definitely feels out of reach rn.

truly moving and hopeful.

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