Transformed by Trauma: Stories of Posttraumatic Growth

by Richard Tedeschi, Bret A. Moore PsyD, Ken Falke

All of our lives are filled with ups and downs, triumphs and tragedy, success and stress. The question is not whether we will experience difficulty, challenge, or trauma; it is what we will do in response to such events and experiences. While the dominant narrative of cultures around the world suggests that trauma diminishes our prospects for a great life, Richard Tedeschi, Bret Moore, Ken Falke, and Josh Goldberg know differently.Rich, Bret, Ken, and Josh have dedicated their lives to ensuring that people can grow in the aftermath of trauma, and live great lives — filled with Posttraumatic Growth. This remarkable book harnesses the power of all their experience, and the incredible true stories of combat veterans and military and veteran family members who have transformed loss into gain and pain into purpose.

Genres: Psychology, Nonfiction

290 pages, Paperback

Published February 16, 2020

Reviews

[Cori · Rating 3 out of 5]

Look at that cover. Would you lookatit? I'm a sucker for kintsugi in every shape and form.

My goal this year is to focus a bit more on Axis II/personality disorders in terms of learning materials with some PTSD thrown in the mix. I often focus on Axis I and these are areas I need to hone my knowledge (esPECially BPD- yikes).

I need to preface this review by saying that I've worked in the psychiatric field for twelve years now. Three stars seems awfully stingy for a book overflowing with stories of courageous military men and women, healing from the wounds of their past. I may have gone into this book with the wrong mindset, and for that the mediocre rating is my fault.

I thought, erroniously, this would be geared more towards clinicians. I wasn't expecting it to be a collection of stories with information sprinkled here and there. While I could see this being beneficial in many areas and to different people groups, just know the subject material going in.

Pretty specific to military. Pretty generic stories. Pretty entry level material. Beautiful book. But not really geared towards clinicians. Hope that helps!

Original book review: 3/9/2023

I'd rate this book a PG.

[Frank Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

An exceptional book that I found extremely helpful understanding the impact and mystery of trauma. But more than that the authors clearly offer ways to demystify the trauma, to break it down and understand why it’s so hard and, most importantly, how to deal with it. Having lost a son to cancer after 13 years of battling it and he died when he was two weeks shy of turning 16, this book helped me a lot.

[Michael Cushing · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great book full of stories of different people, many being Ex-Military, who survived their traumas and actually benefitted from the experience. I know that many people who read this review will probably be of the mindset where they feel that there is nothing to gain from the personal traumas that they have lived through. I, however, disagree. Your struggle is only terrible if you can't learn and grow from it. If you share the same frame of mind as I do, and you want to be inspired by others who share the same mentality. Then I would suggest picking this Book up.

[Robert Bogue]

Most people know about post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).  They’ve read an article or blog post or heard a podcast about how people are struggling to cope after a traumatic event.  However, there’s another story to be told.  Transformed by Trauma: Stories of Posttraumatic Growth tells those stories.  It explains how trauma can harm us and how we can also grow from it – sometimes both at the same time.

Read more

[Elaine Goldhammer]

Inspiring

This is a lovely book. Well written and follows the examples of those who faced terrible tragedy and turned their lives forward. I work with clients who have faced a large range of trauma and abuse and are searching for closure. This book has confirmed many things that I have been counseling on intuitivly and gives me additional ideas.

[Patricia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVE this book! It helped me so very much after the death of my step-son. It helped me to believe that there can be growth, purpose and joy after extreme tragedy. Dr. Tedeschi is a renowned psychology expert and developed the term Post-traumatic growth. In his book he shares a wealth of inspiration and guidance. There’s also a workbook that is extremely helpful.