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A review by christinecc
The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma by Bessel van der Kolk
challenging
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
3.0
So. I don't know how to talk about this book. I also don't know if I would recommend it.
Here are some things for this review:
-The first half of this book is (in my opinion) better than the second, probably because the first part seemed to focus on describing the impact of trauma rather than the treatment. There was a quote in this part that I kept for later. It's not groundbreaking or anything, but it's true. "After trauma the world becomes sharply divided between those who know and those who don't." And that was really sad. It's strange how powerful it can be to read something like that. The context wasn't anything I've experienced, obviously, because the specific example was about a former military unit.
-This book has some very graphic (often triggering) content, and not all of it is necessarily helpful. Sometimes trauma was glossed over, other times it was described in minute detail. I couldn't tell which approach the author would take every time he brought another patient up.
-About the author: Well, on the one hand, he certainly has a lot of experience in trauma treatment. On the other hand, he's... not a perfect person, which is maybe an understatement. A few years ago he was fired from his Trauma Center following allegations of employee mistreatment. As far as I can tell, the details of this are not available. It's a disquieting thing to learn about someone who is supposed to help people.
All in all, it's a really interesting read, but maybe not everyone's best choice of book. I don't know how to review it on its merits, unfortunately, but there are some much better reviews than mine available on GR.
Recommended? Maybe, but I'd check some other, more qualified reviewers' opinions first.
Here are some things for this review:
-The first half of this book is (in my opinion) better than the second, probably because the first part seemed to focus on describing the impact of trauma rather than the treatment. There was a quote in this part that I kept for later. It's not groundbreaking or anything, but it's true. "After trauma the world becomes sharply divided between those who know and those who don't." And that was really sad. It's strange how powerful it can be to read something like that. The context wasn't anything I've experienced, obviously, because the specific example was about a former military unit.
-This book has some very graphic (often triggering) content, and not all of it is necessarily helpful. Sometimes trauma was glossed over, other times it was described in minute detail. I couldn't tell which approach the author would take every time he brought another patient up.
-About the author: Well, on the one hand, he certainly has a lot of experience in trauma treatment. On the other hand, he's... not a perfect person, which is maybe an understatement. A few years ago he was fired from his Trauma Center following allegations of employee mistreatment. As far as I can tell, the details of this are not available. It's a disquieting thing to learn about someone who is supposed to help people.
All in all, it's a really interesting read, but maybe not everyone's best choice of book. I don't know how to review it on its merits, unfortunately, but there are some much better reviews than mine available on GR.
Recommended? Maybe, but I'd check some other, more qualified reviewers' opinions first.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Rape, and Murder