Trauma and Recovery

This book helped me change my life. I realized a bit late in life (50ish) that I'd been dissociating for most of my life. Seemingly from trauma as a baby and child.Judith Herman writes this book with such love, and nurturing and caring. I read it very slowly, with a highlighter. I could only read it a bit at a time, to give myself time to process. The book helped me understand things that had been mysteries to me my entire life! I hadn't made the PTSD connection before. Life has a way of illuminating things. At first, I wanted to track Dr. Herman down and see her for a few sessions. Too bad I don't have that kind of money :-) I found a PTSD group via MeetUps, and started working with the therapist who runs it and offers a sliding scale. I'm an integrated and joyful person these days.

I really wanted this book to be better, but I found it disappointing. Traumas come in all shapes and forms, and the affect all genders. The author seemed to be stuck with the view that women are only traumatized by sexual abuse and violence, and men are only traumatized by war. While she occasionally mentions that other traumatic events happen, she uses example after example of her stereotypical and sometimes narrow minded view. My comments are in no way denying that women are too often subjugated to sexual violence and abuse, or that war affects men. I just wish that the author would have spent more time dealing with traumas outside the box. Those traumas are compounded by lay people and professionals who follow her limited views. They too often are treated as though their experiences aren’t *real* traumas because they don’t fall into the neat categories that the author advances.

Incredible book. I am reading it for a course in clinical treatment for trauma. The book is an extra-ordinary, moving, tour de force that moves elegantly from the history of the idea of trauma (its origins in French studies of hysteria) through the "discovery" of PTSD with war veterans to the feminist uncovering of rape, domestic violence, and child abuse. Herman argues that although medical professionals and society recognize that some people suffer from a malady of depression, anxiety, uncontrolled fear, dissociation, and pain they are not always willing to give this condition a name or to treat it unless a political movement comes along and makes the case that an entire group of neglected people is suffering and deserves help. At any given time there are some groups (vets) whose suffering is recognized while another group (women or children) whose suffering is not recognized or whose symptoms are patholgized or repressed or ignored. At the present moment, I think Dr. Herman would agree, the study of trauma has expanded past the first two groups (war veterans and women/children) to include refugees, immigrants, and minorities in an oppressive political system. This book is beautifully written--it is both academic and intellectual, and accessible to people who are suffering and want to understand their own experience more.

I am a huge reader and my counselor told me that she recommends this book to many of her clients. So this book came STRONGLY recommended! (That should tell you something right there.) I'm not even 1/2 way through and it has opened my eyes to sooooo much. I can completely understand where, why, and how my feelings have originated. This is a great addition to your own emotional work and I would definitely recommend this book to anyone looking for more insight into their own traumas!

This was a groundbreaking book when it was written 27 years ago and Herman deserves enormous credit. But Herman's feminist agenda is hard to miss and so her approach comes across as in your face harsh, sometimes bordering on brutal. It is a book for therapists in my opinion. As a layperson, I found the detailed accounts of sexual abuse and of soldiers subjected to unimaginable horror too traumatizing.If you are a trauma survivor, I suggest a kinder and gentler approach, Bessel Van Der Kolk's "The Body Keeps The Score". It is more considerate of the non therapist reader and up to date on current research and treatments. The only downside is the print/font size, still way too small.

Wonderful book. My interest in developmental trauma is personal having grown up with a Borderline abusive mother and a jealous, bully of a sister who tormented me from day one. They couldn't have done a better job of damaging me in tandem if they tried.Now I try to help others who have no idea why their lives are a "mess" with the depression, anxiety, panic, and low self-esteem. IT FINALLY MAKES SENSE! Thank you, dear Ms. Herman. (And Bessel van der Kolk)!!

There is a reason the New York Times calls this book "one of the most important psychiatric works to be published in since Freud." Judith Miller has not only extensive knowledge but she is able to discuss how trauma and healing from trauma is affected my larger societal and familial relationship dynamics. The first part discusses the history of the study of trauma. Then how our relationship dynamics can help or hurt healing. Then what it takes to heal. She writes with great compassion and has a deep understanding how healing must happen in regards to the bigger picture of society. This books gets to the core of trauma.

This book had been a godsend. I suffer from complex ptsd from childhood trauma. This book looks at different aspects of trauma and has helped me to not only understand what trauma really means but its helped me to understand myself better too.

This was written at roughly the time trauma became recognised as far more common that the major event reactions. I don't in any way mean to diminish battle trauma, disaster trauma, or relationship trauma, but mean, rather, that a stiff upper lip doesn't address any issues from other events.As a result, it misses some of the more important work done since, in digging out the unresolved traumas tapped by recalling the original event, accidentally releasing the extreme behaviours associated with it, which have no bearing whatsoever on the current event.

Good book for those folk with problems who could really do with more one2one time with therapist. I was able to get a lot more information to back up the professional's advice re my CPTSD and Borderline PD. Really helpful and easy to take on board, but you do need a diagnosis first.. Not a treat-yourself hand book.

This is the first book of its kind I have read, reading many fiction books in the past. I think this is one of the best books I have ever read, not only because I could relate to much of it but the way it is written is very easy to understand. A deeply moving and extremely enlightening book for anyone to read, I would highly recommend.

A slightly heavy text (emotionally and academically).Worth every penny. Ought perhaps to be required reading at college: whatever a student's avenue of academic enquiry.

Amazing book! One of the core reading for who interested in trauma! some aspects did not cover in the book, but in general, clearly explain main theories of trauma and represent of recovery theory.