The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma
Bessel van der Kolk is one of the world's foremost authorities on traumatic stress, and this book, which has now sold over three million copies worldwide, shows exactly why that reputation holds. Rather than retreading familiar ground around talk therapy and medication, he puts forward a genuinely different way of thinking about trauma treatment, one that brings the body itself into the conversation alongside the mind and brain. The result is striking. Judith Herman, author of 'Trauma and Recovery', describes van der Kolk as combining a scientist's curiosity with a scholar's depth and a truth-teller's conviction, and it's hard to argue with that assessment once you're inside the book. It reads with surprising urgency for something so rigorously researched. Norman Doidge, who wrote 'The Brain that Changes Itself', calls it 'fascinating, hard to put down, and filled with powerful case histories', citing it as representing some of the most significant advances in mental health thinking over the past three decades. Author Tara Westover puts it more bluntly, describing it simply as 'the trauma Bible'. The book's reach extends well beyond those directly affected by trauma. Its implications touch families, carers, and anyone trying to understand why certain experiences leave such lasting marks on a person. A Sunday Times and New York Times bestseller, it continues to find new readers for very good reason.
- Author: Bessel van der Kolk
- Publisher: Penguin
- Genre: Personal Development
- ISBN: 978-0141978611
- Pages: 464 pages