Trauma Recovery Memoir

The groundbreaking work on trauma that remains a “classic for our generation” (Bessel van der Kolk, MD, author of The Body Keeps the Score) Trauma and Recovery is the foundational text on understanding trauma survivors. By placing individual experience in a political frame, psychiatrist...

How can Danielle understand "normal" if she has never experienced it? She was moved from town to town, kept hidden from society, and always felt like an outsider. Her innocence was brutally taken by someone she least expected. She harbored a dark secret that could devastate her family—a secret she fiercely protected. Would the burden of shame be too much to bear if the truth were revealed? As secrets are uncovered, Danielle plunges into a tumultuous descent with nothing to stop her fall.

Escape the Nightmare: Maria Schmeig’s Journey from Abuse to Freedom Maria Schmeig’s harrowing tale begins with “This nightmare ends today,” and for anyone who has experienced the torment of emotional abuse, her story offers hope and healing. Maria's gripping declaration, "This nightmare ends today," sets the stage for a tale of love gone awry and the enduring strength it takes to break free. At 29, Maria believed she had found her soul mate, but the blissful façade quickly crumbled, revealing a narcissistic husband who unleashed an onslaught of emotional abuse. For an astonishing ...

Acclaimed actor Jeremy Renner narrates his gripping and inspiring story of a near-fatal accident and what he learned about inner strength, endurance and hope as he overcame insurmountable odds to recover, one breath at a time. This program includes a note written and read by his daughter, Ava...

This is a personal story of generational trauma, a mother's debilitating paranoid schizophrenia and a daughter who was thrust into foster care, homelessness, drug addiction, and was sexually abused and neglected. This book Discovers the strength of the human spirit and the power of love that defies all odds, a story of resilience and hope. Beautifully written as a heartfelt memoir that invites readers to discover Lorie’s profound journey, The Voices We Couldn’t Hear is a transformative coming-of-age story that delves into poignant themes including abuse, mental illness, and the ...

Burnt Letters is not a self-help book. It’s a survival story. In this raw, unfiltered memoir, Christina Ditchkofsky takes readers inside the slow unraveling of emotional abuse—the kind that doesn’t always leave bruises, but leaves you questioning your reality, your worth, and your sanity. After two divorces and a lifetime of learned survival, Christina believes she has finally found love. Instead, she becomes entangled in a relationship marked by gaslighting, manipulation, coercive control, and psychological violence. What begins as romance becomes a labyrinth of fear, self-doubt, and...

You Just Survive is a combat veteran memoir that pulls no punches. These modern war stories from Iraq and Afghanistan sit beside plain spoken accounts of PTSD and trauma recovery, raw combat moments and the quiet battles that follow when the uniform comes off. This is not a sanitized war book. It is a combat veteran memoir told hour by hour, from turret scans in Ramadi and Marjah to patrols that ended with IEDs, mortars, and decisions you carry forever. If you search for modern war stories from Iraq and Afghanistan, you will find the real, unfiltered scenes that define this book. The book ...

Understanding addiction is no longer just about understanding neurons or genes, broken brain functioning, learning, or faulty choices. Oliver J. Morgan provides a fresh take on addiction and recovery by presenting a more inclusive framework than traditional understanding. Cutting-edge work in attachment, interpersonal neurobiology, and trauma is integrated with ecological-systems thinking to provide a consilient and comprehensive picture of addiction.

On a summer night in 1984, 19-year-old UC Berkeley sophomore Karen Thomas leaves her uniformed patrol job at the University of California Police Department and walks home alone in darkness. At the threshold of her apartment a man assaults her at knife point. After a soul chilling struggle she manages to escape and call 911. Police catch her assailant, she identifies him, and he is arrested. Fast forward 2014, 30 years after her assault. Why does the body remember what the mind tries so desperately to forget?

“Exquisitely told…A young woman’s harrowing coming-of-age story and an extraordinary narrative of forgiveness and spiritual triumph.” —The New York Times Book Review Amanda Lindhout’s unforgettable hostage memoir recounts her fifteen-month abduction in Somalia and her extraordinary...

***Winner of the 2025 International Impact Award in Christian Memoirs & Testimonies*** He was supposed to love you. Instead, you walk on eggshells, fearing his next outburst. For many Christian women, the private agony of emotional and verbal abuse is buried under guilt, shame, and fear. Divorce feels wrong. Speaking out feels selfish. And yet—deep down—you wonder: Is this really God's design for marriage? In Can’t You Smell the Smoke?, Sydney Koh vulnerably shares her personal story of surviving a narcissistic, emotionally abusive marriage while raising three young sons. Through ...

The aftermath of a single event or repeated trauma can profoundly shape how we experience the rest of our lives. Whether it occurred in childhood, a recent relationship, a catastrophe, or other situation, trauma can have lifelong effects. Yet, as impossible as it may seem now, says Dr. Arielle Schwartz, you can return to wholeness. This pioneering psychotherapist, a survivor of complex trauma herself, has helped thousands. With Trauma Recovery, she brings us a compassionate and practice-oriented audio resource for transformation and growth.

When her six-year-old daughter found her collapsed on the kitchen floor, Rachel had no idea how much her life was about to change. A brain scan revealed a dark shadowy mass, a huge abnormal growth of tissue that, whilst benign, was still growing and would surely kill her. It was too big to operate on. It needed to be "managed", and Rachel had, at best, two years to live. Refusing to accept the bleak prognosis, Rachel was determined to stay alive.

‘A powerful, harrowing and courageous book.’ - Piers Morgan 'An extraordinarily vivid, raw must-read. Toula writes with a powerful resilience and a big-hearted capacity to love - a vital glimpse into the inner world of a survivor.' - Nel Walker, Trauma Therapist (Retired) The complete memoir from Toula Mavridou-Messer. From the age of five, Toula was sexually abused by her mother’s partner for fifteen long years. The terror shaped every moment of her childhood and left her with severe complex PTSD that she carries to this day. In this raw, unflinching account - originally shared as ...

An unexpected journey. An unbreakable spirit. At 26, Non Reyes had it all—a loving family, a promising future, and an adventurous spirit. But in a single instant, everything changed. A devastating accident left him paralyzed from the neck down, forcing him to rebuild his life in ways he never imagined. In An Unexpected Ride, Non shares his deeply personal journey of resilience and rediscovery of purpose after tragedy. With raw honesty and a touch of humor, he reflects on the struggles, triumphs, and everyday victories of life with a disability—offering hope to anyone facing their own ...

If you’ve spent your life carrying emotional weight that was never yours to hold, this book will help you finally put it down. In The Stones We Carry, author and trauma-healing practitioner Nati Carrillo guides you through an intimate, transformative journey of self-discovery, emotional release, and nervous-system healing. Part memoir, part guidebook, this deeply compassionate work helps you understand the roots of your pain—and teaches you how to finally live without carrying the generational weight passed down to you. With gentle storytelling and grounded wisdom, Nati shows you how ...

When Christopher Littrell pinned on his badge, he believed his mission was clear: protect the innocent, stop the dangerous, and serve his community with courage. But what he could not anticipate was how the streets would shape him, scar him, and eventually force him to confront the cost of wearing the uniform.

The founder of Recovery Management Agency—the world’s first agency devoted to helping addicts heal their addictions by reawakening their souls—uses her knowledge of depth psychology and her personal experience as a recovering addict to help you reconnect with soul, find meaning and live...

"Something is wrong. I know it the moment I see Mum at school pickup." For sixteen-year-old Isabel, life was defined by the steady presence of her father—a man who helped with homework, played golf on Saturdays, and sat every morning at the family's breakfast bar. But in a single afternoon, that world is tilted off its axis. Her father is charged with the unthinkable: the indecent assault of the little girl next door. The Other Victims is a searingly honest exploration of the collateral damage of abuse. Moving through the decades following the initial arrest, the story is told through a ...

In this powerful and unflinching memoir, Carol Denise Mitchell revisits her award-winning novel What Happened to Suzy, a harrowing yet inspiring account of a young girl’s survival through unimaginable abuse, poverty, and betrayal. Born into a large, troubled family, Suzy endures years of physical and emotional torment at the hands of those meant to protect her. But through resilience, courage, and the rare kindness of a few, she finds her voice and reclaims her life. This 25th anniversary edition includes new reflections and remains a vital testament to the strength of the human spirit ...