Mending Broken

by Teresa Mateus

After four years in the darkness of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Teresa woke up--in slow and painful fits and starts. Like a process of birthing and with the sensation of tearing wide open, she was given life again.

The essays and reflections in Mending Broken form a brief composite; with the eye of a therapist who has studied the academics and mechanics of trauma for years, and with the personal experience of a survivor, like any ohter, Teresa takes you on a jounry of one woman trying to find her way out of painful darkness, and into the light of healing and recovery.

This journey includes yoga, meditation, finding faith, and reclaiming love. It is a mental, emotional, and spiritual journey from broken back to wholeness.

166 pages, Paperback

First published December 2, 2012

About the author

Teresa Mateus, LCSW, E-RYT 200 (she/her/hers) is a trauma therapist, meditation & yoga teacher, author and speaker. She is the co-founder and ED of The Mystic Soul Project & co-founder of TRACC4Movements (trauma response and crisis care for movements). Her previous books are Mending Broken: A Journey Through the Stages of Trauma + Recovery & Sacred Wounds: A Path to Healing from Spiritual Trauma.

Her current book coming out through Mystic Soul Press is Going Naked: The Camino de Santiago & Life as Pilgrimage set for release in October 15, 2019.

She also has a work in progress titled Micro-Aggressions of My Youth: Life at the Intersection of Ethnic & Cultural Identities as an Indo-Latinx Adoptee (forthcoming 2020/21).

Reviews

[Luke Hillier · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a pretty short book and definitely a lot more accessible and easy to read than anything else I've read about trauma, but I still found myself needing to read it slowly. Teresa mentions this herself, but there's an unavoidable resonance when hearing other people's PTSD stories that is both powerfully affirming and uncomfortably triggering. Although this was definitely lessened by the differences in our experiences (sexual assault versus armed robbery), there was still enough that I couldn't take much of this at a time.

I've read a number of works on the intersection between trauma and Christianity at this point (and highly recommend Trauma and Grace: Theology in a Ruptured World and Spirit and Trauma: A Theology of Remaining) and I expected this to be more academic and dense, similar to those. Instead, it reminded me much more so of Bipolar Faith: A Black Woman's Journey with Depression and Faith and I think works best as a memoir with some universal applications. The way that Pasquale offers up her story so transparently in hopes of it abetting in the healing of others is powerful, as is her commitment to doing that with her life. Although I had some qualms with the technicalities of the publishing that made for a slightly clunky reading experience, I definitely appreciated being able to learn about and from Teresa's journey. The recognition of the importance of embodiment in healing from trauma and the exhortation to embrace recovery as a process to be patient rather than perfectionistic with were especially significant to me.

[Teresa Mateus]

As the author I won't comment on the quality--I'll leave that to everyone else. I invite you to read it and let me know what you think. I would love to hear your feedback--either on amazon, in the form of a review or to me, personally via the following email address: tbpasquale (at) gmail (dot) com

It is available at : http:://www.amazon.com/dp/148029274

If you would like a copy for a book review sent to you, please let me know via the email address above. Thanks!

Teresa B Pasquale

[amber · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was recommended to me by my councilor. I was recently diagnosed with PTSD and wanted to get the perspective of a survivor. I found this book incredibly well written and not overly sugar coated. There's a strong message of hope without the overgeneralizing theme of "it will get better". Sometimes I find overly optimistic books to be unrelatable and that was certainly not the case for Mending Broken. In addition there are quite a few helpful resources, quotes, ideas, and terminology sprinkled within the text. It's informative without sounding like a text book and supportive without sounding gushy. I finished this book with more hope for my treatment on the road to recovery. I would recommend this to anyone trying to cope with PTSD or who has a loved one going through the process.