Stephanie Foo uses her journalism background to research and beautifully write her memoir of surviving long-term childhood abuse, What My Bones Know: A Memoir of Healing from Complex. When her therapist reveals Ms. Foo’s diagnosis of Complex PTSD, Ms. Foo begins years of research into the treatment and her ability to recover from the abuse. She simultaneously places her entire life in review, revealing her most intimate feats and desires and journey to “normalcy” through self-help books and professional help. As a survivor of childhood abuse (though not as horrific as that which Ms. Foo endured), I felt sympathy and horror and relived much of my own maltreatment. Ms. Foo freely admits to the anger and shame present in her life as well as her yearnings for love and the ability to love and trust in return. Fortunately, she has the wisdom to seek treatment from multiple mental health professionals—to quit those who didn’t help her. She tells her story with humor, despite its horrors. This was a marvelous book with much insight into Ms. Foo’s personality, her problems, her strengths, and is well worth reading. People who might be triggered by fairly blunt descriptions of the abuse she sustained should read this with caution.
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What My Bones Know: A Memoir of Healing from Complex is available through:
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