From Trauma to Healing: How to locate, process and recover from psychological wounds

by The School of Life

A guide to understanding our own trauma and finding ways to recover from it

All of us have – to a greater or lesser extent – suffered from traumas in our lives. The less we address these traumas, the more they have a habit of manifesting as difficulties in the form of broken relationships, anxieties, depression, or even physical symptoms like insomnia and digestive issues.

'From Trauma to Healing' is a practical guide to breaking free of these traumas and finding hope for the future. In four chapters, Causes of Trauma, Symptoms of Trauma, Relocating Trauma, and Processing Trauma, we learn what trauma is, how it can affect us for decades, and how we can liberate ourselves from it in a healthy way. Exercises and question prompts throughout the book, such as word association tests and 'interviewing' the body, demonstrate strategies to recognise trauma and work through them towards healing.

Deeply practical and packed with ideas, this is a humane and wise guide to recovering from the past, and creating the happier future we deserve.

Genres: Self Help, Personal Growth

200 pages, Hardcover

Published July 8, 2025

About the author

The School of Life is a global organisation helping people lead more fulfilled lives.

We believe that the journey to finding fulfilment begins with self-knowledge. It is only when we have a sense of who we really are that we can make reliable decisions, particularly around love and work.

Sadly, tools and techniques for developing self-knowledge and finding fulfilment are hard to find – they’re not taught in schools, in universities, or in workplaces. Too many of us go through life without ever really understanding what’s going on in the recesses of our minds.

That’s why we created The School of Life; a resource for helping us understand ourselves, for improving our relationships, our careers and our social lives - as well as for helping us find calm and get more out of our leisure hours. We do this through films, workshops, books and gifts - as well as through a warm and supportive community.

Reviews

[Sandra S · Rating 5 out of 5]

Insightful!

[Books Before Bs · Rating 1 out of 5]

‘From Trauma to Healing’ provides a superficial overview of the causes and common symptoms of trauma and how such symptoms can be managed. It includes some basic exercises for exploring the mind, including: a list of the 100 words used in Jung’s word association test, examples of sentence starters used in Ebbinghaus’s sentence completion test, questions for self-examination, and prompts for art therapy exercises.

The book is very short, so it makes for a quick read; however, it could have been much shorter still, as at least 75% of it is padding. Anyone with even a rudimentary interest in and awareness of psychology will likely be familiar with all of the content, as the book doesn’t add anything to the vast literature on trauma already available.

The writing style of the book is off-putting, with everything phrased in the first person plural, and no studies are referenced, which makes it sound more like someone’s rambled musings on the subject, rather than a scientific account of the topic. Furthermore, the book devotes a long section to CBT, despite CBT not being an effective treatment for trauma, and it suggests that trauma cannot be overcome but can only have its symptoms managed, which is a somewhat bleak outlook and isn’t supported by current research or assertions made by other texts.

While ‘From Trauma to Healing’ might provide an entry point for someone entirely new to the topic, a much better choice of book would be ‘The Body Keeps the Score’ by Bessel van der Kolk, which is a far more engaging, informative and useful read.

[Faithe · Rating 5 out of 5]

From Trauma to Healing by The School of Life is worth the read! It is hands down the best "self help" books that I have read!

The book is broken into five sections: causes of trauma, symptoms of trauma, relocating trauma, processing trauma and the conclusion.

The book begins with the psychological look as to why trauma happens, and what it is defined as. It then goes on to explore the many symptoms of trauma. It lists and explores: disassociation, catastrophic thinking, shame, suicide, perfectionism, conflict aversion, masochism, paranoia, chronic anxiety, hyper vigilance, intrusive thoughts, unrequited relationships, cynicism, people-pleasing, addiction, bodily symptoms, a feeling of ugliness, insomnia, fame seeking and over achieving.

The book then takes you through some writing/thinking exercises that are designed to help you process and move through trauma at your own pace on your path to healing. It also gives you helpful things to pause and think about when something triggers unpleasant memories.

Thank you to The School for life for working with NetGalley. I received an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion and review.

This book comes out in stores June 5th

[BlueFalkon95 · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a fantastic resource for self Help, self care and healing from trauma. The workbook is self healing and helping therapy which guides you through your journey. Personally for me I found it very hard to focus and follow through the workbook as it is not exactly written for those with Childhood Complex Trauma-PTSD. I have attempted to read but found that it gave me an overwhelming feeling that I first needed to get appropriate support of therapy before embarking on following this journey in the workbook. I highly recommend that if reading this book gives you triggers as it did for me please seek professional guidance and theory then return to this workbook.
#FromTraumaToHealing #NetGalley
I received a complimentary copy of this book From Trauma to Healing from The School of Lifevia NetGalley for my honest review of the book. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own thoughts, feelings and viewpoints of the book.



#FromTraumaToHealing #NetGalley.

[Cherryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

From Trauma to Healing is one of those books that feels like a comforting guide through difficult terrain. The School of Life has a unique way of breaking down complex emotional experiences into thoughtful, accessible insights. The book doesn’t pretend that healing is linear or easy, and I really appreciated how it acknowledges the messy, non-linear path many of us take when processing trauma. It’s a gentle yet honest approach, blending psychology with practical advice that feels grounded and relatable.

What I found most valuable is how the book normalizes the idea that healing takes time and that it’s okay to seek help along the way. It’s less about “fixing” yourself and more about learning to live with and move through your experiences. The tone is compassionate without being overly clinical, making it a great read whether you’re personally dealing with trauma or just looking to better understand the process. Highly recommend for anyone needing a bit of wisdom and reassurance.

[Haxxunne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Broad and generalist
—
Covering a broad spectrum of psychological trauma and its origins, this is a generalist’s introduction to the subject but is by no means a primer in trauma or its treatment. To put all of your faith in a single book as a health treatment would be foolish, but it does offer pointers towards the methods that might help; however, in its short 200 pages can really only skim the surface. The lack of citations and references to published papers and other media is an obvious omission, and sweeping statements are made throughout without their backing and therefore are probably too ambiguous to be useful to every reader. I would suggest that a reader looking for help in their healing might need more support from a health practitioner or be very well-read before attempting to use this book as a guide to healing.

[Dr. B · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a thoughtful and compassionate guide to understanding and recovering from psychological wounds. It effectively balances psychological theory with practical advice, presenting complex concepts in a clear and accessible way without feeling overwhelming.

One of its strengths is the gentle, non-judgemental tone, which acknowledges the challenges of processing trauma while offering insightful reflections and practical steps to support the healing journey. Rather than promoting a one-size-fits-all approach, it encourages self-awareness and self-compassion.

While the book provides a solid foundation, its broad approach may not delve deeply enough for those seeking more specialised guidance on complex or specific traumas.

Definitely worth a read!

[Asia Macdonald · Rating 4 out of 5]

From Trauma to Healing by The School of Life is able to articulate quite clearly, the ins and outs of mental health struggles. As a person who has struggled in many different ways with my own mind, it was nice to be able to understand a little more about my mind and body and what I experience. Learning about the possible reasons why I experience these feelings, as well as the steps towards starting the healing process was very intriguing to me. If you are interested in the inner workings of the mind from a psychological standpoint, and or wanting to learn more about your own mental health, this book is an amazing resource for that! Thank you to The School of Life, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

[Alan Hamilton · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had to read this twice to confirm that it was as poor as I first thought.
I had high hopes for the book having enjoyed a podcast with one of the authors (Alain de Botton). Mind you the podcast jumped about all over the place, which should have been a red flag.
Unfortunately, although the book contains a number of very useful insights, it is ultimately disappointing. It glosses over a very complex topic and presents what seems like a number of random thoughts at a high level. As a result, it comes across as the kind of material on trauma that you would pick up at your local health clinic.
I would recommend that time would be better spent reading or watching Gabor Maté’s material on this topic.

[Eviana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Trauma is a topic that difficult to talk about. Many people suffers from trauma, some not even recognize it. This book is a great introduction for the reader that want to know deeper about trauma. This book include explanation about causes, symptoms, also ways to processing trauma.
I specifically like the reflection question for us to ponder about inner fear and hidden needs.

It is important to cry and has coping strategies that works. I highligted this sentence as a reminder to myself: "we can worry when we need to, not just because we exist."

Thank you NetGallet & The School of Life for providing digital ARC. I truly enjoy reading this book and gain many insights.

[Ryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did not enjoy this volume as much as I did the others I’ve read from TSOL. There was helpful, truly applicable info and strategies for dealing with and working through trauma. However, there were times when the book lost its way and I felt like I was struggling to just get through it already.

Thanks to NetGalley and The School of Life for an ARC of this book.

[Parimah Farzan · Rating 5 out of 5]

مهم ترین و خلاصه و مفید ترین کتابی که در حوزه تروما خوندم
پایان
۱۴۰۴/۱۰/۱۸
۴:۵۹am
شیفت شب
تظاهرات

[Lindsay McDella · Rating 1 out of 5]

1/5⭐️

I was initially drawn to From Trauma to Healing in hopes of gaining a grounded, evidence-based understanding of trauma and its psychological impacts. Unfortunately, I was unable to finish the book due to its highly opinionated tone and generalized assertions that I found problematic and, at times, misleading.

Throughout the book, the author(s) make sweeping claims—such as suggesting that people are “not the worthless being they take themselves for”—that veer into subjective interpretation rather than objective analysis. While the intention may be to uplift, presenting these statements as universal truths undermines the complexity and individuality of people’s lived experiences.

One of my core concerns is the book’s tendency to link mental health conditions like chronic anxiety or suicidal ideation exclusively to unresolved childhood trauma. For example, it implies that chronic anxiety must stem from early life experiences, when in fact, anxiety can also be caused by genetic predispositions, neurochemical imbalances, or environmental stressors unrelated to childhood trauma. Mental health is multifaceted, and I found the book’s framing reductive.

What ultimately turned me off was the way the book approached suicide. It stated that “people die by suicide because of the way they interpret events”—a statement I found both irresponsible and deeply inaccurate. Suicide is a complex issue involving mental illness, brain chemistry, trauma, systemic factors, and more. Reducing it to a matter of personal interpretation ignores the breadth of research and nuance required to discuss it responsibly.

Similarly, its claim that “a perfectionist is first and foremost someone with a very particular relationship to failure” felt overly narrow. Perfectionism, like most psychological traits, can stem from various sources—such as personality type, upbringing, anxiety, or even cultural expectations—and can’t be reduced to a single cause.

Ultimately, I found From Trauma to Healing to be more philosophical and speculative than clinical or educational. If you’re seeking support or understanding around trauma and mental health, I’d recommend books that are grounded in current psychological research and written with greater care around nuance and lived experience.