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A review by honorablemmmention
What My Bones Know: A Memoir of Healing from Complex Trauma by Stephanie Foo
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
5.0
I picked up this book because of withcindy's review, and how passionately she was about it. She claimed it made her cry in the subway, not because of its sadness, but its joy.
I too found myself absolutely bawling in inappropriate places (for me it was while walking the dogs). Stephanie so casually talks about the abuse she suffered as a child. And it aches to hear. Truly horrific. But it's the moments of healing, of brevity and realization that she might be okay, that make you sob. I will also follow cindy in talking about this in therapy.
I have NEVER written down so many notes on a book. Here are some of the general themes that touched me deeply: (I've put a spoiler warning just in case you want to go into it blind)
Dissociation, self love, the realities of what it means to "heal", the power of gratitude, truth and its ugliness, untreated generational trauma, abandonment/estrangement/loss, the universal need for comfort and reliability, apologies, the differences between suffering and pain.
If you love autobiographies, or even think they're a little stuffy and way too many people write them (or if you're in/have been in therapy) I recommend this book to the point that I wanna shove it in your hands. Also if you, or someone in your family, has had to break the chain of abuse.
I too found myself absolutely bawling in inappropriate places (for me it was while walking the dogs). Stephanie so casually talks about the abuse she suffered as a child. And it aches to hear. Truly horrific. But it's the moments of healing, of brevity and realization that she might be okay, that make you sob. I will also follow cindy in talking about this in therapy.
I have NEVER written down so many notes on a book. Here are some of the general themes that touched me deeply: (I've put a spoiler warning just in case you want to go into it blind)
If you love autobiographies, or even think they're a little stuffy and way too many people write them (or if you're in/have been in therapy) I recommend this book to the point that I wanna shove it in your hands. Also if you, or someone in your family, has had to break the chain of abuse.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Mental illness, Grief, and Abandonment