harmsie's review against another edition
5.0
5 ⭐️ WOW! First off all as a person diagnosed with CPTSD this was a emotional and beautiful read for me. I’ve never had anyone put into works my pain and worries like Stephanie Foo. Every chapter made me laugh and cry and created hope for my future. You’re right, We are not broken Stephanie, we are human. Searching for love and bathing in others light.
alishamegan's review
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
andthenweread's review
5.0
this book was so, so powerful and eye-opening. i'm so glad i pushed through the gut-wrenching first section describing foo's childhood trauma, as bleak as it seemed, because the rest of the book delved so deeply into her research and journey towards healing. i feel like i learned so much about complex ptsd, a topic i had no knowledge of beforehand. the writing style was so approachable and compelling, and the subject matter so interesting, that i couldn't put this book down. highly recommend.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, and Child abuse
crandsberry's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0
cooliuscaesar451's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
4.5
This is beautifully written and absolutely heartbreaking if you haven't experienced the kind of abuse she describes. For those that have experienced it, it is gut-wrenching and brilliantly vivid.
As someone who is healing from complex trauma, I'm glad I read this book; her journey resonated with me so deeply that I completely shut down, and I wish I'd sat aside the space for how debilitating this would be. Even with my array of coping skills I was disregulated for about 5 days. All that said, I would 100% recommend the book, but I caution you to take care of yourself while you do so.
As someone who is healing from complex trauma, I'm glad I read this book; her journey resonated with me so deeply that I completely shut down, and I wish I'd sat aside the space for how debilitating this would be. Even with my array of coping skills I was disregulated for about 5 days. All that said, I would 100% recommend the book, but I caution you to take care of yourself while you do so.
jankyjax's review
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
I had such a hard time with this book but I truly loved it.
As someone who has also been diagnosed with c-ptsd, it can be very frustrating reading books about it from a clinical point of view because you don’t always feel truly understood.
Hearing Stephanie discuss how challenging it is to realize so many of your mannerisms, behaviors and quirks are related to the abuse she endured was so reassuring for me. I felt the same things and had the same struggles learning to cope with my new diagnosis and realization that I do the things I do because I can’t always control things.
I felt so HEARD knowing that someone else understood the things I was feeling and experiencing first hand rather than a professional telling me xyz.
This book is so beautifully written and I’m so grateful to Stephanie for voicing the things that so many of us feel.
When she was talking about her new family - her husband and his family- it hit me so hard when you talked about how people chose to not leave her. Loneliness and abandonment are something I struggle with so bad and the way she talked about it was as if I was writing it myself.
As someone who has also been diagnosed with c-ptsd, it can be very frustrating reading books about it from a clinical point of view because you don’t always feel truly understood.
Hearing Stephanie discuss how challenging it is to realize so many of your mannerisms, behaviors and quirks are related to the abuse she endured was so reassuring for me. I felt the same things and had the same struggles learning to cope with my new diagnosis and realization that I do the things I do because I can’t always control things.
I felt so HEARD knowing that someone else understood the things I was feeling and experiencing first hand rather than a professional telling me xyz.
This book is so beautifully written and I’m so grateful to Stephanie for voicing the things that so many of us feel.
When she was talking about her new family - her husband and his family- it hit me so hard when you talked about how people chose to not leave her. Loneliness and abandonment are something I struggle with so bad and the way she talked about it was as if I was writing it myself.
bjensen's review
challenging
informative
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.0
Lots of trigger warnings. She’s an excellent writer but very difficult to read at some times
moss's review
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
It starts off with Stephanie Foo's devastating childhood, the abuse, abandonment, and aftermath. It then follows her through her diagnosis of C-PTSD, trying to parse what it means and its outlook. I appreciated how healing was shown to be a continuous effort. When she was able to address something, she would find that there was another level to delve into, maintenance to do. It could be gruelling at times, but uncovered previously obscured perspectives and ways of addressing different situations. Her sessions with Dr. Ham were especially insightful.
The memoir was also supported with some brief explorations of the scientific literature on the mind-body connection, how intergenerational trauma is literally inherited through genes and health outcomes of those with trauma. In spite of how damn difficult it was to heal (navigating through psychologists is a nightmare) she persisted. And in turn, she found love, from her friends, her family, her partner and herself. The growth she went through by the end left me teary. She took the narrative built around people with C-PTSD and challenged it head on, their strengths can come from their C-PTSD rather than in spite of it.
The memoir was also supported with some brief explorations of the scientific literature on the mind-body connection, how intergenerational trauma is literally inherited through genes and health outcomes of those with trauma. In spite of how damn difficult it was to heal (navigating through psychologists is a nightmare) she persisted. And in turn, she found love, from her friends, her family, her partner and herself. The growth she went through by the end left me teary. She took the narrative built around people with C-PTSD and challenged it head on, their strengths can come from their C-PTSD rather than in spite of it.