What My Bones Know: A Memoir of Healing from Complex Trauma (Unabridged)
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4.5 • 313 Ratings
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A searing memoir of reckoning and healing by acclaimed journalist Stephanie Foo, investigating the little-understood science behind complex PTSD and how it has shaped her life
“Achingly exquisite . . . providing real hope for those who long to heal.”—Lori Gottlieb, New York Times bestselling author of Maybe You Should Talk to Someone
ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: The Washington Post, Cosmopolitan, NPR, Mashable, She Reads, Publishers Weekly
By age thirty, Stephanie Foo was successful on paper: She had her dream job as an award-winning radio producer at This American Life and a loving boyfriend. But behind her office door, she was having panic attacks and sobbing at her desk every morning. After years of questioning what was wrong with herself, she was diagnosed with complex PTSD—a condition that occurs when trauma happens continuously, over the course of years.
Both of Foo’s parents abandoned her when she was a teenager, after years of physical and verbal abuse and neglect. She thought she’d moved on, but her new diagnosis illuminated the way her past continued to threaten her health, relationships, and career. She found limited resources to help her, so Foo set out to heal herself, and to map her experiences onto the scarce literature about C-PTSD.
In this deeply personal and thoroughly researched account, Foo interviews scientists and psychologists and tries a variety of innovative therapies. She returns to her hometown of San Jose, California, to investigate the effects of immigrant trauma on the community, and she uncovers family secrets in the country of her birth, Malaysia, to learn how trauma can be inherited through generations. Ultimately, she discovers that you don’t move on from trauma—but you can learn to move with it.
Powerful, enlightening, and hopeful, What My Bones Know is a brave narrative that reckons with the hold of the past over the present, the mind over the body—and examines one woman’s ability to reclaim agency from her trauma.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Both harrowing and inspirational, this memoir from journalist Stephanie Foo is packed with invaluable insight into trauma and the healing process. Foo had just turned 30 when she began learning how her self-hatred, depression, anxiety, and even problems with her physical health could all be traced to both personal and inherited trauma. She takes us with her on her deeply moving journey to understand her complex PTSD diagnosis, delving into her own abusive childhood as well as the generational trauma her family suffered long before they immigrated from Malaysia to San Jose. We were touched by Foo’s candidness and fascinated by the personal and political struggles that reached her via her family tree. Foo’s narration maximizes her skills as a podcaster and radio journalist, as she hits the perfect balance between emotional engagement and journalistic precision. What My Bones Know will change your outlook on how your personal history impacts your present happiness.
Customer Reviews
See AllGreat read for those with CPTSD
I liked her honest story sharing the parts she didn’t like while learning how to live herself. I felt seen as even if done part were different so much of her story echoed my own . I laughed cried and had a few lightbulb moments. I was given the book when my mom was alive but just dealing with my issues with her , i started it then that was 2022 , then she died from a accidental overdose a year ago and i picked the book back up , then the audio on the end because i was multitasking and wanted to finish, I loved the taped therapy , i heard be in them …. Great book, grateful she shared her story it was relatable for me .
CPTSD survivor
I absolutely loved this book. As someone who also when through CA and other traumas, this book brought me a lot of hope. I loved her perspective of having experience in journalism. It was helpful to hear her internal experiences and how she was trying to make sense of her experience. I really related to her thoughts. I also appreciated hearing what was helpful for her and the limitations of interventions. Overall I HIGHLY recommend this book to individuals who work with people with CPTSD. This book could be triggering for some people depending on their trauma but if you’re also a CPTSD survivor and feel up to reading this book, I found it very healing. I will be recommending this book to others. I’m training to be a therapist and think it would be a good book for other therapist to read.
This book will heal you
While I did not directly relate to every story in this book, I related profoundly to the underlying message. I would encourage everyone to listen to the audiobook as it’s narrated by the author herself and includes real recordings from her therapy sessions. Beautifully written!