Reviews tagging 'Abandonment'

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

274 reviews

mia_ann's review

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

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

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

mswarbrick's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

A beautiful reflection on complex trauma in all it's messy glory. Stephanie Foo does a stunning job articulating the experience of living CPTSD and gives amazing glimpses into her own journey to getting help. Also gives a lovely overview of many of the currently accepted treatments for trauma but acknowledges their shortcomings and the lack of knowledge that still exists surrounding CPTSD. If you'd like to better understand a survivor, or if you are the survivor seeking to better understand yourself, this book is for you! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Colonisation

lucakocsis's review

challenging emotional informative inspiring reflective slow-paced

5.0

I don't usually read non-fiction but this book has been well worth the read. It is honest and quite brutal at times but written so well you want to continue. Very informative, refers to a lot of sources used for gathering data (as expected from a journalist) but it is explained in such a thorough and digestible manner that I never had a hard time understanding. 

It is an eye opening piece of literature, gives you much to think about but keeping a hopeful tone throughout the entire book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, and Abandonment

ewilsonn's review

dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

Growing up with parents who don't love you and who actively try to kill you makes for a very harrowing life, especially if you have trouble identifying the root of your issues. I grew up in a similar situation as Stephanie Foo, and all my life people have told me "oh your mom really does love you in her own way, she's your mom!" Thank you, Stephanie, for writing a book that doesn't sugarcoat reality: they don't fucking love you, because that's not what love is. A parent that loves you would not try to kill you.

This is probably the best memoir I've ever read, definitely because I related to it so much. I have come to many of the same conclusions as Foo throughout my life, but I ended up finding some new perspectives on issues that have plagued me since childhood. Overall, I would recommend this book to everyone, whether or not you have CPTSD, because it is so thorough and honest in its delivery. I think this book has something for anyone who has suffered from mental illness, and for those that haven't, it's a great insight into the complex emotions that come from trauma and a mental health diagnosis.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Mental illness, and Abandonment

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

discodetective's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense fast-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Suicidal thoughts, and Abandonment

Minor: Addiction, Cancer, Cursing, and Pandemic/Epidemic

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