What My Bones Know

Definitely a 4.5 and I'm rounding up.

CW: physical and emotional child abuse, trauma, ptsd, therapy sessions

I knew going in that this was a book about complex PTSD and childhood trauma, and the author's experiences of growing up with it and her process of healing. I decided to again pick up the audiobook because no way I was gonna be able to read it. And wow was this an experience.

Listening to the author telling the story of her abuse was harrowing, so I can't even imagine growing up like that. But the author also balances out her life story with moments of joy and friendships and times when she felt like she was able to get out of the shadow of her trauma. And the way she researched and tried to find all available/ working therapeutic options for her C-PTSD felt very similar to the experiences of author Meghan in her memoir about chronic illness The Invisible Kingdom.

But more than being just a book about trauma and therapy, the author also does a brilliant job explaining her findings about childhood abuse - specially in the Asian American community, the effects of generational trauma and how it can affect future genetics, how experiences with racism can alter brain chemistry, and so much more. The audiobook also features some of her sessions with her therapist, and it was very enlightening to see how both of them analyzed her thoughts and feelings and what it meant about her stage of healing.

I know my review may feel very bland but I really don't think I can write a review worthy of the book. This memoir is brilliantly written, with so much openness and vulnerability, and giving us immense knowledge about trauma and healing and how it affects communities across generations. It's definitely an important book and I would highly recommend it, especially the audiobook because the format adds so much more value to the narrative.