Reviews tagging 'Physical abuse'

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

287 reviews

khaben31's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Gaslighting, and Abandonment

Moderate: Colonisation

Minor: Drug use and Pandemic/Epidemic

aurora_is_reading's review

challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

4.5

This was such an emotional rollercoaster for me. At first I was a little unsure about the way the subject matter would be treated, but Stephanie Foo is amazing at showing her vulnerability and thought process. I throughly enjoyed the discussion about pathologising mental illness and its potential advantages/disadvantages. We need more of this conversation going on! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, and Violence

prrrrrsh's review

emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective

5.0

Incredible book. Affirming and relatable and agonizing all at once for those of us with cptsd. One of my favourite books I’ve read on the subject. Foo did a really great job of bringing facts + research together with her personal narrative in a way that wasn’t clunky. Hard to read at times. I especially loved the last few chapters, the conversations with Dr Ham in particular. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, and Abandonment

failedimitator's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring sad tense fast-paced

5.0

I know she wrote, in the intro, that this book has a happy ending. But honestly, I'm not sure that's true. 

I mean -- yes -- for her, absolutely. Her journey from where she started to where she ended up -- incredible. But also, I don't think anyone in the history of the world has ever worked as hard as Stephanie Foo has to heal. And very very few people have the contacts and resources that she does.

This is not a dig against the book, of course. The writing was phenomenal. And even though it was very heavy, it was still compulsively readable. 

But also, the feeling it left me with was -- Is this really what it takes to heal? This? ALL THIS???

It left me, quite frankly, demoralized. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Suicide, and Violence

wildwinger's review

challenging dark hopeful informative reflective slow-paced

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders and Abandonment

Minor: Racism, Suicidal thoughts, War, and Pandemic/Epidemic

kiana_reads's review

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring sad tense medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, and Abandonment

Moderate: Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, and Medical trauma

entropyseeker's review

challenging emotional reflective slow-paced

5.0

I've read a number of memoirs this past year. Memoirs and reflection pieces on depression, bi-polar disorder, domestic abuse, and being Asian in America. But What My Bones Know has hit the hardest. Even though I say that about every Asian authored memoir, this one feels more so. After my own diagnosis with cptsd a few months ago, I never really looked too much in to it, but Stephanie's story made me realize that there's still so much work to do and more to learn. Great book, read in one sitting, would read again. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

flowchelle's review

challenging emotional informative fast-paced

4.5

Didn’t know how much I would personally grow from listening to this book! Stephanie’s vulnerability really makes this more than a story and more like a podcast by including all she has learned through her journey! I related a lot to the portions that pertain to generational trauma and having ancestors who had to really fight to be where they ended up and learning that those are inherited made a lot of sense. An incredible difference between the description of her childhood and the last sessions with her therapist! I enjoyed hearing those ‘live’ and how they worked through her trauma. The book never slowed down and was never boring to me. I liked how the flow worked and was happy that it ended on a positive note of hope!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Abandonment

faithaforman's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

5.0

Powerful and moving, the author's delving into her own trauma responses were eye-opening. Her exploration of self and path to self-love and self-acceptance gave me hope.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Violence, Grief, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Abandonment

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Death, Drug use, Eating disorder, Suicidal thoughts, Alcohol, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Minor: Cancer, Cursing, Racism, Police brutality, and Classism

sarahelizabeth856's review

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring sad medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, and Abandonment