Dreamin’ Reviews: What My Bones Know
By: Jasmin Roden LMSW, CAADC
Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (C-PTSD) is an area that I am passionate about in the mental health world and increasingly so. A book that spoke about this subject in a more personal way, is Stephanie Foo in her memoir titled, What My Bones Know. Stephanie happened to be at Northern Michigan University recently speaking on her book, which I am so bummed that I was unable to attend. Stephanie is a successful radio producer and journalist. Check out more about her here.
This book is broken up into several parts. Warning, part one is difficult to read as it can be quite triggering. Stephanie talks about specific incidents of abuse that she experienced as a child. She does preface that this part can be skipped if it is too distressing for the reader. Part two talks about how her symptoms manifested as an adult and her path to discovering that she has a diagnosis of C-PTSD. More and more research and information are coming out on how development and chronic traumatic stress have a long-term effect on people and Stephanie explains how it impacted her day-to-day life.
Part three of the book is about Stephanie exploring her intergenerational trauma. She explores her father’s side of the family primarily. Stephanie’s parents were immigrants to the United States and she researches how that likely led to toxic behaviors from her parents. To me, this part pushes the reader to have some empathy for parents who behave in a way that is abusive and toxic towards their children.
The final part of this memory is a more hopeful and helpful outlook on how a person can pursue healing from C-PTSD and how Stephanie continues to heal from CPTSD. Throughout the book, Stephanie shares what treatment methods worked and didn’t work for her. One thing that interested me about this book, was how personalized treatment for C-PTSD is. What one person needs, doesn’t mean another person will benefit. Chapter 40 was particularly beautiful to read and I hope that the reader gets to it. “Healing is never final. It is never perfection.”
Recommended Reader: Adults or mature adolescents that have a diagnosis or a loved one with a diagnosis of C-PTSD.
Readability: Moderate, this is a heavy read at times with the details of Stephanie's abuse. Stephanie does a good job explaining what treatment entails with less clinical jargon.
It is important to note that these books and other resources are not appropriate or meant to replace mental health or substance abuse treatment. If your symptoms are impacting your daily life, please seek treatment.