The Body Keeps the Score

Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma

By: Bessel A. van der Kolk

Narrated by: Sean Pratt

Length: 16 hrs and 15 mins

Publisher's summary

Number one New York Times best seller

“Essential reading for anyone interested in understanding and treating traumatic stress and the scope of its impact on society.” (Alexander McFarlane, director of the Centre for Traumatic Stress Studies)

A pioneering researcher transforms our understanding of trauma and offers a bold new paradigm for healing in this New York Times best seller.

Trauma is a fact of life. Veterans and their families deal with the painful aftermath of combat; one in five Americans has been molested; one in four grew up with alcoholics; one in three couples have engaged in physical violence. Dr. Bessel van der Kolk, one of the world’s foremost experts on trauma, has spent more than three decades working with survivors. In The Body Keeps the Score, he uses recent scientific advances to show how trauma literally reshapes both body and brain, compromising sufferers’ capacities for pleasure, engagement, self-control, and trust. He explores innovative treatments - from neurofeedback and meditation to sports, drama, and yoga - that offer new paths to recovery by activating the brain’s natural neuroplasticity. Based on Dr. van der Kolk’s own research and that of other leading specialists, The Body Keeps the Score exposes the tremendous power of our relationships both to hurt and to heal - and offers new hope for reclaiming lives.

Cover image: © 2020 Succession H. Matisse / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York Courtesy of the Archives Henri Matisse, All rights reserved. 

©2014 Bessel van der Kolk (P)2021 Penguin Audio

Overall Worthwhile, Lingers Too Long in the Why

I found this book to be extremely well documented and quite frankly, without the exceptional narration I don’t feel I would have gained as much from the authors knowledge in trauma. If you’re a fan of Sam Harris you’ll love this narration. As to the content, as someone who is a survivor of childhood trauma, I felt the book lingered too long in the multiple case histories and ‘why’ of the traumas and missed an opportunity to provide actionable solution, tools and resources for the reader. If you’re a trauma survivor the last thing you want or need is 20 hours of dark and triggering accounts, you’re living your own trauma already. What would have been invaluable to me would have been a sense of hope and possibility for healing and again, tools and resources to help those of us highly functional but quietly suffering, a chance to take what this obviously brilliant clinician has to share and incorporate it into our own lives. Still well worth the investment.

Interesting read....a little retraumatizing

This book was very interesting however I had a hard time listening to more than 15 mins at a time due to explanation of others traumatic experiences. Kind of retraumatizing if you are still in a healing state

Written for therapists but learned a ton

This book was a recommendation to me from a health professional. Although it was dense with research for the first 11 chapters, it was a good foundation to build on for future chapters. The narrator did a good job keeping pace and tone consistent to keep interest. I wouldn’t have made it through the book without audible. Start at Chapters 12/13 for those who want specific, evidence based interventions.

Eye opening

Wow. Never has an intro to a review been more appropriate. This book opened my mind and delivered an understanding of myself and everyone around me in a manner I had not considered before. Bottom line for me: everything matters. The body doesn’t forget anything, no matter what our brain tries to do to help us cope with life. Truly worthwhile listen for me. My gratitude to the author and his years of researching that brought this work to light.

Incredible

I am close to finishing this book and I have already recommended it to everyone I know. There are no negative words which I could use to describe this book. From the writing, to the consistency, organization, level of comprehension, detailed examples/stories, knowledge and much more, this book is the most put together piece of writing that I have ever had the pleasure of reading/listening to in my life. Not only that, but the information given about Trauma has been life changing for me. This is a book I'm going to be coming back to many times.

listening to book is so different than reading it!

my book club and i decided to read this book. we all work in the homeless shelter and felt this would help us with working with some of our clients/guests. My son kidnapped my book and i decided that i would check out the audio version of the book. i love it! i am facinated by the key points that stuck out while lustening compared to reading it! I am playing with the idea of this being something i can adopt and apply with other books in the future; Reading the book and then going over it again with audio version. anyways besides that, the book is great subject matter is really thought provoking.

Book is amazing

My plan is to listen several more times. So much to absorb. All great information. 👍This book is a definite keeper. Author is caring, concise, with appropriate stories to accompany technical terms. I felt as if he was speaking directly to me. Will definitely pass it onto others. Thank you Author from thw bottom of my heart.

Not helpful - triggering

I heard so many great things about this book and I really wanted to like it.. to me it just seems that this book is trauma p*rn. The author goes into great detail about the traumas of vets and never gives tips on how to heal it.

If this book also focused on healing the trauma and not just re-living it then it might be something worth while.

Am excellent book!

This book has helped me tremendously. I was recently diagnosed with complex ptsd. After being misdiagnosed as bipolar for my entire adult life. It has been life changing.

Jam packed with helpful therapies

This book helped me understand why therapies beyond CBT and meds are often more appropriate for people struggling to find their way with the effects of developmental trauma.

Brilliant.

In this book, the author generously offers his years of experience and shines a light on issues which threaten the mental health of so many people every day.
It’s a sad fact though, that in the current economic squeeze many of the solutions offered here-which would ultimately make all our lives so much richer-are the first in line to be cut as more money is diverted to the mutually self-serving industries of defence and big pharma, both of which are responsible for much of the trauma discussed here.