I wish I'd had this book 15 years ago. Gabby Bernstein has provided a road map to trauma recovery, hitting all the major points. The concepts and techniques she introduces are things that I found through many years of personal healing work, diligent research online and at my public library, breadcrumbs from therapists, raw intuition, and happy accidents. Its good then, to see a book like this, with a lot of information and tools in one place. I've read a lot of books about trauma, many of them by clinicians mentioned in this book - if you're new to trauma-informed approaches, I'd recommend this book as a good place to start.
If you are newly on the path of trauma recovery, this book is a gentle introduction to trauma-informed therapeutic and somatic healing approaches. If you have been on the trauma healing journey for a long time, the topics presented in this book may not be new to you - but it's a gift to have them all in one place. This book is meant to be a jumping off point, not a deep dive as Gabby is not a medical doctor, therapist, counselor, psychologist, psychotherapist, or psychiatrist. She is someone sharing her own experiences and healing journey. And I appreciate how her spiritual framework ties everything together.
Gabby introduces the reader to cutting edge concepts and clinicians in the field of trauma recovery: the neurobiology of trauma (Bessel van der Kolk), the mind-body connection between trauma and chronic pain/illness (Dr. John Sarno), Internal Family Systems (Richard C. Schwartz, Ph.D.), Somatic Experiencing (Peter Levine), attachment theory, polyvagal theory, EFT (emotional freedom technique, or "tapping"), and EMDR (eye movement desensitization and reprocessing). I have personally experienced great shifts and release from resistant triggers using EFT, EMDR, TRE (Tension & Trauma Releasing Exercises or "shaking" therapy) and trauma-informed yoga therapy, so I'm glad she shares information about somatic approaches.
I tried reading one of this author's other books a few years ago but didn't connect with it. In this book she is much more mature, authentic, and vulnerable. I probably wouldn't have picked it up, except for the subject matter. I'm glad I did. Maybe I'll revisit the idea of reading some of her other work. In the meantime, this was a great read - she offered tools and approaches I could use in my every day life, and she points the reader to a variety of resources to help with trauma recovery.