Reviews tagging 'Self harm'

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

67 reviews

ohmyhazz's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring

5.0

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Drug use, Racism, Self harm, and Suicidal thoughts

beccarwolf's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Racism, Sexism, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Self harm

keelyellenmarie's review

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Violence, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Racism, Xenophobia, and War

Author includes details of her own abuse that could be triggering, as well as details of her mental illness that are intense. However, the overall arc of the book is hopeful and focuses on the author’s growth and healing from intense trauma.

hannahreadslotsofbooks's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

Wow. All I can say is wow. This book made me want to cry, find the author and give her a hug, and cheer at the very end. Stephanie Foo starts the novel off saying that a lot of the book may be triggering, but it does have a happy ending. I was a bit nervous when I heard that because I was worried that it would be too much for me to handle, but while there were times that it was a lot and I had to take a break, it was very moving and inspirational. I think the most meaningful chapters were towards the end where she analyzed her therapy sessions. I listened to the audiobook and I actually got to hear the sessions and it added to the story. Stephanie was also the narrator for the novel and I always like listening when the author is the one narrating it. There is more depth and emotional added to the story, which makes it more meaningful. I really think everyone should read this book. It’s amazingly powerful.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Gaslighting

zombiezami's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Grief, Suicide attempt, Gaslighting, and Abandonment

Moderate: Addiction, Bullying, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Hate crime, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Police brutality, Medical content, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Cancer, Child death, Gun violence, Infidelity, Excrement, Kidnapping, Murder, and War

asha_m's review

emotional hopeful reflective slow-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Eating disorder and Self harm

Minor: Panic attacks/disorders

margaretrose's review

dark emotional informative inspiring sad tense medium-paced

5.0

This book was absolutely amazing. Foo does something I haven't come across in a memoir about childhood trauma; the majority is about her navigating her adulthood. There's much more closure for the author AND the reader at the end. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, and Abandonment

gay's review

emotional reflective medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Self harm

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

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

Minor: Body shaming, Incest, Infertility, and War

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

stephalopuff's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

As someone with CPTSD and dealt with my own awful mix of emotional/psychological/mental abuse with some physical sprinked in and a lack of empathetic, emotionally intelligent nurturing (phew!), this book felt particularly important for me to read. I appreciate Foo's viewpoint and journey as she navigates her diagnosis. I completely relate to feeling unlovable, unworthy of love and the really awful cycle of negative self-talk, guilt and shame. Her story isn't necessarily an easy one to listen to and I definitely had moments of sadness or anxiety as I could relate or grieved what could've been too, but it brings me comfort knowing there are people who understand how it feels moving through the world as an adult with C-PTSD. 

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Content Warnings

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

Minor: Panic attacks/disorders and Self harm