A review by izzylashley
What Happened To You?: Conversations on Trauma, Resilience, and Healing by Bruce D. Perry, Oprah Winfrey

5.0

I really enjoyed this novel. I always knew that trauma that occurs in the first few years of childhood will have an impact on the rest of one's life, but I honestly didn't understand the extent to which it did. Dr. Perry's stories of those he has encountered throughout his work demonstrate that no matter what life path you have had, it is always important to ask "What happened to you?" before "What's wrong with you?". It really gave a good pathway on how to heal yourself from things like grief, abuse, and other kinds of trauma whether it is intense or not, really emphasizing that everyone's brain processes things differently and acts differently. It also highlights the importance of changing the way our system works. Both education and the healthcare system are deeply underfunded and undersupplied. If given the proper training and time they are able to change not only just the child's life but the life of their parents too. It really shows how everything that happens to us and both our mental state as well as physical state are so deeply intertwined. Probably one of my favorite books of this narrative style that I have read so far.