A review by provo
What My Bones Know: A Memoir of Healing from Complex Trauma by Stephanie Foo
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
Luckily, Stephanie Foo did not just write a memoir - as a journalist, she researches very well and takes the reader on a journey from her childhood to the first real results of her recovery.
By doing so, she doesn’t try to paint a picture of a miracle healing, but shows, how hard it is to find individual solutions in a dysfunctional medical system where not enough professionals are familiar with this young diagnosis. She elaborates how racism and sexism play a part in c-ptsd and does not shy away from talking about genetics and intergenerational trauma.
At some points in the early chapters the abuse is written quite graphic, so be aware of that, otherwise I’d say it is the perfect book for someone recently diagnosed with c-ptsd or people who are close to someone with this diagnosis. It also has a lot of quotes for follow-up-literature.
By doing so, she doesn’t try to paint a picture of a miracle healing, but shows, how hard it is to find individual solutions in a dysfunctional medical system where not enough professionals are familiar with this young diagnosis. She elaborates how racism and sexism play a part in c-ptsd and does not shy away from talking about genetics and intergenerational trauma.
At some points in the early chapters the abuse is written quite graphic, so be aware of that, otherwise I’d say it is the perfect book for someone recently diagnosed with c-ptsd or people who are close to someone with this diagnosis. It also has a lot of quotes for follow-up-literature.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Emotional abuse, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Abandonment, Child abuse, and Chronic illness
Moderate: Self harm, Eating disorder, Misogyny, Ableism, Panic attacks/disorders, Classism, Colonisation, Domestic abuse, and Racism