A review by beesreadingshelf
What My Bones Know: A Memoir of Healing from Complex Trauma by Stephanie Foo

challenging emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

It’s very difficult to write reviews on memoirs because this isn’t a book of fiction but a book that carries the story of someone’s life but I am going to try my hardest to put my thoughts into words.

What My Bones Know follows Stephanie and her journey of healing and coming to terms with her diagnosis of Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or C-PTSD for short. The memoir begins with her talking about her diagnosis before it travels to her childhood, the abuse and neglect that she suffered from her parents that led up to her diagnosis.

As someone who suffered from abuse and was diagnosed with C-PTSD myself, this was a book that hit hard for me. There were times when I had to press pause on the audiobook because it felt too close to home and I needed a moment to breathe. I think that’s a testament to how well this book was written and how beautifully Stephanie did the audiobook.

I learnt a lot about myself and the way I handle and cope with things due to my triggers, my traumas and my diagnosis while reading and listening to her journey. I appreciated that she didn’t erase the ugly parts of mental illness. It’s not something that many touch on or speak about.

The audiobook is something I deeply recommend listening to. Stephanie narrates it herself and it makes the audio clips of her sessions with her therapist hit so much harder when you get to hear the real clips first-hand. 

This was eye-opening. It was devastating. It was healing.

I am so proud of Stephanie and how far she’s come. This is a book that I will be carrying with me for the rest of my life.