Post-Traumatic Thriving

The Art, Science, & Stories of Resilience

De: Randall Bell PhD

Narrado por: Rich Germaine

Trauma doesn’t discriminate. It can happen to anyone, anytime. And in all likelihood, Covid-19 has traumatized each and every one of us to some degree. Everybody hits a low point once in a while, and ultimately, the quality of our lives depends on our ability to process heartbreaks and catastrophes successfully. So how do we do that?

In Post-Traumatic Thriving: The Art, Science & Stories of Resilience, world-renowned expert on disasters and trauma Dr. Randall Bell interweaves science and academic research with stories of people who have not just survived, but have used their trauma as their fuel to thrive.

Dr. Bell sits down with many survivors, including:

• Holocaust survivors.
• Families of murder victims.
• Crime victims.
• Suicide survivors.
• And those who’ve experienced homelessness, disasters, addictions, depression, death, divorce, disabilities, defeats, and disease.

Dr. Bell seeks to explore the rare mindset of the post-traumatic thriver.

©2022 Core IQ, Inc (P)2023 Core IQ, Inc

Good, not great

The book has good elements. It is accessible to non-clinicians. It is not, however, a very good tool for clinicians, in my opinion.

God awful

One of the most insensitive things you can say to a trauma survivor is that it was all just god’s plan. Yet this is the author’s world view and the basis of want he thinks is the key to thriving. He misrepresents himself as an expert. His business is appraising damaged real estate. He has only a rudimentary understanding of psychology, and uses tired and overused cliches in a cut and paste fashion to attempt to make his points. He vaguely refers to research without citing any. He tells other peoples’ stories as if he was was the priest at the funeral service who didn’t know the deceased very well. It all eventually turns to just praising god. Self aggrandizement, name dropping, false humility, lip service, and exploitation of others pain, were phrases that popped into my head as I listened to the author lay out his framework. In later chapters, he levels up to full god mode, patronizing and enraging! His explanation of and defense of intelligent design is particularly nauseating, and demonstrates a childish reasoning which also indicates his distain for non believers. I understand that this book’s audience is not those in the helping professions, but I fear that this book may actually be damaging for those who are actually looking to recover from trauma. The best part of this book is that it strenuously encourages others to get professional help. Please do.

Terribly disappointed

I had such high hopes for this book, but in the end, I would say don’t waste your time and money. If this was written as a personal story of lessons learned, it might have some value in that area, but he claims to be an expert in areas that he clearly does not have expertise (I am a Licensed Trauma Counselor). His definition of “Trauma” fits the tictok definition & not a clinical one. There are foundations of Truth in much of what he writes, but the execution is very poor - like a high school research paper that includes valid sources along with wikipedia. He also uses 12 conveniece sample case studies and shares details that at best are unnecessary for his purpose and could potentially be triggering for someone who has actually experienced clinical-level Trauma. The book DEFINITELY DOES NOT focus on the concept of thriving - instead he presents a “formula” for healing. I am grateful that he repeatedly stresses the need to partner with an expert such as a therapist in this process, but maybe go there first or pick a different book. I did listen to the entire book because I hoped it would improve (and I had already paid for it), but learn from my mistake and choose another read, instead!