Scan barcode
A review by sweettartdemon
The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma by Bessel van der Kolk
challenging
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
2.75
I didn’t actually finish the book. I only had about 20-30 pages left before I had to give it to my friend since it was supposed to be their birthday present and I wanted to read it before gifting it to them. So I had to return it before I was able to finish it.
The first half of the book talks about the multiple ways trauma is stored in the body and how it manifests in traumatized individuals, while the remainder of the book discusses treatments. The trigger warnings are very important to read before starting it because although some of the mentions are brief, they can be very detailed so please read with caution and take breaks if you need to. The reason I said it was fast-paced was because the book is divided into parts, chapters and sections. Each chapter has multiple sections that are between a page and three pages long at the most. Most sections are a little over a page maybe a page. This made it really easy to zoom through the book.
I did have some issues with some of the stories the author chose to write about. One of the reasons I avoided the book at first was because I didn’t want to read about the war crimes of a vietnam veteran and to see how poor poor war criminal is traumatized from raping and murdering innocent women and children! While I think it’s important to learn about trauma and how much it can help people process their trauma I would highly avoid this book as a start. It is WAYY too detailed in a way that can re traumatize its readers. Especially if they are SA survivors.
The first half of the book talks about the multiple ways trauma is stored in the body and how it manifests in traumatized individuals, while the remainder of the book discusses treatments. The trigger warnings are very important to read before starting it because although some of the mentions are brief, they can be very detailed so please read with caution and take breaks if you need to. The reason I said it was fast-paced was because the book is divided into parts, chapters and sections. Each chapter has multiple sections that are between a page and three pages long at the most. Most sections are a little over a page maybe a page. This made it really easy to zoom through the book.
I did have some issues with some of the stories the author chose to write about. One of the reasons I avoided the book at first was because I didn’t want to read about the war crimes of a vietnam veteran and to see how poor poor war criminal is traumatized from raping and murdering innocent women and children! While I think it’s important to learn about trauma and how much it can help people process their trauma I would highly avoid this book as a start. It is WAYY too detailed in a way that can re traumatize its readers. Especially if they are SA survivors.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual violence, and Medical content
Minor: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Infidelity, Self harm, and War