Body-First Healing: Get Unstuck and Recover from Trauma with Somatic Healing

by Brittany Piper

A revolutionary guide to trauma recovery through healing your nervous system from a renowned Somatic Experiencing practitioner

Brittany Piper spent most of her life sitting across from conventional therapists recalling the painful stories of her trauma. But rehashing each harrowing event—being put into foster care as a baby, losing her brother in a car accident, enduring a brutal rape and a very public trial, and more—made her even more stuck. At a crossroads, she took her recovery into her own hands.
    On this journey, Brittany discovered emerging science that explains how and why trauma lives in our bodies, not in the story of what happened to us. Trauma overwhelms our nervous system, which operates through feelings, sensations, and emotions, not through words and thoughts.  Now a Somatic Experiencing practitioner herself, in Body-First Healing Brittany provides a roadmap to recovery, resilience, and nervous system regulation.
    With encouragement, relatability, and compassion, Brittany gently guides you through somatic practices which aim to help you remove the protective armor of the past and rediscover who you were before trauma. With Brittany, you will learn how
Name your trauma and trauma reactions, which can appear in many different formsCreate feelings of safety and regulation with anchoring resources like internal tracking, movement, self-contact, etc.Fully experience an uncomfortable emotion with the Sensation, Image, Behavior, Affect, Meaning frameworkExpress or respond to a feeling of trauma in a way you couldn’t before to complete a somatic experience and discharge emotionEngage somatic tools, like air screaming for anger or limb shaking for anxiety, that help express uncomfortable emotionResource for everyday health issues and triggers beyond trauma, from digestive issues to public speaking and common conditions like OCD.Whether you’re experiencing anxiety, depression, burnout, or the aftermath of trauma, this groundbreaking book will show you how to become your own best healer.

Genres: Self Help, Nonfiction, Psychology, Health, Mental Health, Bodies, Audiobook

320 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 2025

Reviews

[Maggie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A deeply helpful book for both mental health professionals and trauma survivors!

[Glen Schroeder · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ve rated this book as such because the work is important; it is a curious toe in the water, and it allows the reader/somatic practitioner to feel safe, to ease into their healing journey. Albeit narrow in scope, body-first healing is the perfect practice to move through trauma. As a book though, it is syntactically cumbersome and unbelievably repetitive. It could be much more concise, condensed down to half the page count, but I feel that would have made her debut work less marketable.

[Mediaman · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is an okay basic introduction to the concept of somatic healing of trauma, but over two-thirds of it is devoted to trauma basics and only 80 pages to body healing components. The summary of somatic exercises and concepts seemed minimal and simplistic.

The author also includes a lot of her own traumatic journey in the book to the point that she comes across as not even close to being healed.

Piper, whose educational qualifications are not revealed beyond somatic training, insists that body healing is more important than mental therapy. She says the "top down" approach of using your brain to heal trauma through things like exposure therapy or recall therapy actually can do more damage and reinforce the trauma. So, she concludes, it's the "bottom up" body therapy that helps the nervous system make changes.

The problem with that is identified clearly by there simply being the need for this book--you have to use your mind first in order to get to the point of needing somatic therapy. It starts in the brain, not in the body, by your understanding of your past and how the body is impacted by it. To simply proclaim "body first" for healing is ignorant; trauma victims can't just do exercises, they need to start in the mind and come to the conclusion that somatic healing is part of the overall recovery process.

The irony is that for a book whose subtitle mentions getting "unstuck," Piper is incredibly "stuck" in her mistaken body-over-mind conceptualization as well as remaining in a quicksand of her past traumas. She doesn't ever come across as healed or in the middle of profound healing, and I don't think reading this book will do anything more than reinforce the importance of mind-healing first.

[Tony Fahkry · Rating 2 out of 5]

While I appreciated the author's willingness to share her personal journey, I found the extensive autobiographical content detracted from the book's overall effectiveness.

Personal anecdotes appeared in nearly every chapter, and though I understand the value of lived experience, a single dedicated chapter would have been sufficient. The space devoted to these recurring personal narratives could have been better used to deepen the reader's understanding of the core concepts and therapeutic approaches presented in the book.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book came to me at exactly the right time. Burned out, weighed down by the newfound emptiness of my calendar and yearning to feel something, this book treated me with compassion and showed me a different way to think about the fears, panics and sorrow I was experiencing incessantly. It set in motion a process towards recovery, which makes me feel so thankful.

[Molley · Rating 5 out of 5]

INCREDIBLE!!

This book is absolutely incredible!! It’s everything I have been looking for and couldn’t find anywhere else! Brittany Piper has made something that seems so complicated to understand, very simple and actionable! I am forever grateful for this information and can only imagine the impact it’s going to make on my life and those of the lives I share it with! Thank you, Thank you!!

[jessica elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I always approach any type of self help or healing-centered book with a grain on salt and with the mindset of “take what resonates and leave the rest”. I’ve read memoirs, faith-based books, science-centered books (ranging from brene brown to literal scientific journals), and (too many) books written by people who have no business telling anyone how to live, let alone heal.

With that in mind, Britt Piper’s “Body First Healing” is one of the best, if not the best, book I’ve read tackling the idea of healing. I felt that way from the first few pages, but I was cautious; I read the book slowly, over many months, to let it sit and simmer. Still, I feel that way after finishing the book. Here’s why…

1) The author presents a coherent and accessible science-based foundation of what trauma is and how we experience it in the body.

She sites credible sources and gives relatable examples of how these concepts manifest in everyday life (relatable, everyday examples are not something I’ve found elsewhere!!) She hits on topics such as top-down and bottom-up healing approaches, the ins & outs of the nervous system & polyvagal theory, attachment styles, and more. Even if you’re familiar with these concepts, it’s worth reviewing and understanding how she weaves all these topics and theories together.


2) The book naturally lends it self to application. (Again, a rarity!)

The author includes an appendix of practices to help you slowly begin to heal and come back into the body. I’ve used these myself and modified all of them to best work for me. The progress I’ve noticed is real and tangible. Slow, but progress nonetheless. Something I’ve never experienced prior with a book like this.


One of the most important points the author makes that sets this book apart from others is that the somatic approach to healing she lays out is not new. It’s not something she discovered and is selling as a quick fix. Rather, it’s “translation work based on ancient wisdom that Earth-honoring and indigenous cultures have known for millennia.” I felt like this put into words what I’ve know & been searching for for so very long now.

And I’ll leave things there.

**One thing I want to be clear on: I’m not saying this book will heal you or this author is the only one who got it right. Rather, I think Britt is able to pull together the loose strings to create a palpable and rich understanding what healing looks like in a way I personally have not experienced before.

[Lari · Rating 5 out of 5]

Es ist wie ein wundervoller Begleiter. In mir hat es meine eigene Elternfigur bestärkt, die mir hilft, mich unterstützt, mir Geborgenheit und Liebe schenkt. Ich fühle mich geerdeter und mehr bei mir und sehr umsorgt. Es war ganz warm und sehr schön. 🤍

[Steven Holmberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Extremely worthwhile.

[Sonja Gieren · Rating 5 out of 5]

🧘🏼‍♀️🌸Rezensionsexemplar🌸🧘🏼‍♀️
-Bloggerportal Randomhouse-

🌸🧘🏼‍♀️🩷Körperorientierte Traumaheilung🩷🧘🏼‍♀️🌸
-Angst und Panik besiegen durch sanfte Kommunikation mit dem Körpergedächtnis-

AutorIn: Brittany Piper
ÜbersetzerIn: Jochen Lehner
Verlag: Goldmann
Preis: 18€, Taschenbuch
Seiten: 368 Seiten
ISBN: 9783442224012
Erscheinungsdatum: 19. Juni 2025
Leseprobe:
https://www.penguin.de/content/editio...

5 Von 5 Sternen ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
*Absolutes Highlight!*

🌸🧘🏼‍♀️🩷🫶🏻🧠🫂🎭🧩☯️🌸🧘🏼‍♀️🩷🫶🏻🧠🫂🎭🧩☯️
Inhaltsangabe:
Entnommen von: .penguin.de/
Mithilfe von Somatic Experiencing zurück ins Leben finden
🩷
Nach einer Vergewaltigung in ihrer Jugend, dem Tod ihres Bruders und einer Reihe von frustrierenden und erfolglosen Therapien ist Brittany Piper kurz davor, mit ihrem Leben abzuschließen. Den Weg zurück findet sie durch eine einfache Erkenntnis, die ihr gesamten Leben verändern soll: Die meisten traumatischen Ereignisse werden im Körper erlebt und gespeichert – sie sollten also auch hier wieder geheilt werden. So verschreibt sie sich dem Somatic Experiencing, einer besonderen Therapieform der nonverbalen Kommunikation mit dem Körpergedächtnis. Das Nervensystem wird sanft angeleitet, die während eines Traumas entstandenen und blockierten Energien zu entladen. So kehren Befreiung und Lebendigkeit zurück ins Leben und der Körper verspürt wieder ein Gefühl von Sicherheit.
🌸🧘🏼‍♀️🩷🫶🏻🧠🫂🎭🧩☯️🌸🧘🏼‍♀️🩷🫶🏻🧠🫂🎭🧩☯️
Meine Meinung:
Hallo ihr Süßen 💕
Dieses Buch hat mich tief berührt. Brittany hat es geschafft, mich nachhaltig zu berühren und zu beeindrucken. Ich hätte, nun wirklich nicht gedacht, dass ich nach Jahre langen Therapien, noch etwas lernen kann. Doch man lernt ja bekanntlich, niemals aus und manchmal ist es schon bemerkenswert, denn jedes Buch kommt zur richtigen Zeit, so wie dieses, in mein Leben getreten ist. Bei Brittany geht es nicht um komplizierte Fachbegriffe und Fachgesimpel, sondern darum, wie wir wieder in Verbindung mit unserem Körper kommen können und ihm zuhören lernen und das in einer Sprache, die jeder versteht. Sie vermittelt, Sachwissen, kompakt und detailliert zugleich, ohne daß man sich aber überfordert fühlen könnte. Jedoch kann ich da auch nur für mich selbst sprechen, nach etlichen Büchern und Therapien, kenne ich die Fachbegriffe mittlerweile auswendig. Für Neulinge in diesem Gebiet, könnte das Buch dennoch etwas überfordernt sein. Ein Rat, den Brittany gibt, achte auf dich und deinen Körper und nimm dir, die Zeit, die du brauchst! Brittany erklärt einfühlsam, wie Traumatas nicht nur im Kopf, sondern vor allem, im Körper gespeichert werden. In unseren Muskeln, im gesamtem Nervensystem, in kleinen Reaktionen, die wir oft gar nicht bewusst wahrnehmen und noch so vielem mehr. Sie zeigt Wege auf, wie wir ihnen achtsam begegnen können.

Mein absoluter Lieblingssatz aus dem Buch.
„Du musst nicht alles erinnern, um zu heilen. Du darfst deinen Körper fühlen – das genügt.“

Dieses Buch ist kein Ersatz für eine Therapie, aber ein wertvoller Begleiter für den Alltag. Es schenkt Hoffnung auf ein Leben, ohne Qualen. Für mich ein absolutes Highlight! Vielen lieben Dank ❤️
Ganz lieben Gruß
Sonja / Shaaniel

#BloggerPortal #randomHouse #Goldmann #BrittanyPiper #SomaticExperiencing #KörperorientierteTraumaheilung #BODYFIRSTHEALING #Körpergedächtnis
#lesen #buchliebe #bookstagram
#bookstagramgermany #buchliebe #bookBlogger
#Bücherliebe #booklove #booklover #Bücherwurm
#bookworm #Lesen #ichlese #read #reading #currentlyreading #instabooks #Bibliophilie #bookstagramdeutschland #BuchBlogger #bookish
(unbezahlte Werbung)

[Dianna]

Let’s start with a truth: no self-help book in the world will fix your life if you only read it and never practice what it teaches. Body-First Healing makes complete sense—but if you don’t apply it, the lessons stay words on a page.

Healing doesn’t always happen in the retelling—and Brittany Piper knows this better than most. After years of revisiting her trauma in traditional therapy, she found herself stuck in the same cycles. Foster care, the devastating loss of her brother, sexual violence, and a public trial left scars that words alone couldn’t release. Body-First Healing: Get Unstuck and Recover from Trauma with Somatic Healing is her answer to that cycle. Combining her lived experience with her work as a Somatic Experiencing practitioner, Piper delivers a compassionate, science-backed roadmap for nervous system regulation, resilience, and reclaiming the self that trauma silenced.
Part memoir, part guidebook, this is a book with a pulse. Piper makes a strong case that healing doesn’t happen only in the mind—it happens in the body. Talk therapy can only take us so far. True change comes when we listen to our nervous system, process stored survival energy, and regulate through somatic practices.

What I loved most is how approachable the book is. It blends science with practical tools you can actually use: grounding techniques, sensory awareness, even frameworks like SIBAM that help untangle the mess trauma leaves behind. It’s raw, empathetic, and hopeful—without pretending that healing is quick or easy.

And here’s where I get real: doing one exercise for a week won’t undo thirty years of anxiety. Change takes constant practice, maybe years of it. The setbacks are brutal, and the road to healing is messy as hell. But it’s still worth walking. Piper reminds us that the body isn’t the enemy—it’s the way out.

Btw, search by her name on Youtube, she has a platform and talks more about it there, also I think she has a podcast called Body-First Healing Podcast.

[Cristina Quattrone · Rating 4 out of 5]

“I believe that my role isn’t to shield [my kids] from discomfort and adversity, but to stand alongside them and empower them to turn toward it with curiosity, compassion, and courage. My role is to reveal to them that the pain of the past truly never leaves you. But sometimes the pain can cause you to leave yourself. It can separate you from your body, from your life force, from others, and from the world, both the good in it and the bad.

I’ll teach them that avoiding isn’t the same thing as processing. And what isn’t allowed to be safely felt will only fester within the body and mind. So instead of encouraging my children to suppress their suffering, or to seek external quick fixes, I’ll gently lead them back home to themselves. Back to the resilience intricately hardwired into their biology.

I am at the same time comforted in knowing that on the other side of that pain, they will find greater joy and vitality than they’ve ever experienced. Nature’s cycles of expansion and contraction guarantee this simple promise. Darkness follows light. Waves come in and go out. Our breath and heart pulse. This is what healing requires- space and time to be with both suffering and vitality.”

This book helped me better understand myself and my past and was a good introduction to somatic tools. The last two chapters were the most helpful (tools for procrastination, medical anxiety, chronic pain, and ruminating thoughts reframed via stuck survival states) and the section on attachment theory.

Orient to safety, get curious and compassionate, and be in nature. “Healing often involves reconnecting with our childlike wonder and expression, ultimately returning us to our authentic selves. We do this by embracing silence, play, curiosity, and power, and by immersing ourselves in the natural rhythms of the body and world.”

Personal and ecological resilience for the win ✨🌱🐌

[Amy]

No
A book I borrowed from the library to try before I buy (tired buying hundreds books and hating half)

I do not rate these “tested”
books. This is really for me. I will not be buying, reading borrowing this book.

I read first ch or more -first 10-100 pages skim around at times. I read many of my GR friend’s reviews. This is what I did and didn’t like:

Poor reviews from MF on GR
Complaints it’s too basic, repetitive and too much of her own autobiographical content about her trauma in every chapter- too much. I like a little explanation about her life but sum it up in one chapter.

And wtf is her education? A somatic practitioner? Is that some two week certificate program? I’m in the medical field so we should ask. I went to her website. She has no formal college education in medicine, psychology, mental health nothing - they are all certificates. Nope 👎

* please read The Body Keeps the Score

[TheShaylanEdit - Shaylan Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book. Learning how and why we do what we do as humans is always fascinating to me. I’d never considered that things that manifest in our lives (whether that’s through emotions, personality, reactions) are rooted in our bodies NOT our minds. The somatic theory reasons that we won’t ever be able to outthink our body’s natural reactions to stressors and will end up in a constant cycle if we try to tackle things in through the mind only. The tools to use to get out of the mind only cycle weren’t anything you haven’t likely heard before but the idea that you have to also feel things through your body really came full circle for me.

[Aleksandra Kubik · Rating 5 out of 5]

ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS I'VE EVER READ!

If you're the maniacal self-help books consumer, read this one and you'll get a much more broad perspective on what's happening (or happened)

I feel like the single best insight from this book was that self-development, meditation, productivity etc. can be ways of running away from your uncomfortable feelings.

As a full-time PERFECTIONIST, teenage WORKAHOLIC, just read it, because it will really change your way of perceiving yourself and life overall.

[Claire · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really loved this book. It goes very in depth (in my opinion) of the nervous system. I loved learning about attachment and the examples the book gave about somatic practices. I do not own many books, I prefer to borrow, but it is one that I believe is worth purchasing and having on hand to read slowly, mark up and have to reference. I learned a ton, the concept of somatic healing is really beautiful and just really makes sense.

[Avery Rajan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is incredible for someone that needs an intro into somatic healing from trauma. She explains the basics of trauma and polyvagal theory very well! I wish it went into more detail about dissociation/DPDR, but it was an amazing read.

She does have a LOT of personal stories in there that at some points felt like overkill, but overall this book was incredible and she recommends other books in this book too (:

[Katherine Wallace · Rating 5 out of 5]

Do you have trauma? Do you live in a constant state of fight or flight? Or do you feel stuck with talk therapy? If you answered yes to any of those, then I HIGHLY recommend this book. I recommend the physical copy so you can write down your thoughts, answers to the authors questions etc.

[Mira · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pentru mine nu-i chiar “ghid revoluționar” pentru că știam deja câte ceva pe subiect. Înțeleg că prezintă totul de la zero și pentru cei care nu știu. Merită citită ca introducere în terapie somatică. Îmi place că spre final prezintă pași concreți și exerciții care se pot face în anumite situații.

[Katie Romine · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great overview of somatic experiencing therapy, an overview of why bottom-up (body-first) approaches work better for healing trauma, blended with many of the author’s personal experiences and her journey through healing. I enjoyed this book and hope to learn more about somatic experiencing.

[Jennifer Bauer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Liked this a lot! I feel so much more informed, could relate on like 2738 levels, and I’m looking forward to trying the exercises. Defo recommend!

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic information for anyone interested in trying somatic healing.

[Mel · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5⭐️

[Madisyn Maxwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love! Love! Love!

[Cristina · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.9

[scarlett pierson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I def want to get my own copy of this. It’s excellent.

[Kseniya Kosmina · Rating 3 out of 5]

useful for anyone looking to live a better life

[Myra Rashid · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you’ve tried therapy, meditation, or any other practices to help with your healing journey and do not see any changes, this book might just help you.

[Kelsey Williams · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

Useful and interesting. I am a beginner in learning about somatic healing, and I found it accessible.