What My Bones Know

Every part of me bears the imprints of ancestral trauma, the echoes of lifetimes filled with death, birth, migration, and a past I can't fully grasp. I long to articulate what my innermost being already understands. By the time she was thirty, Stephanie Foo appeared to have it all: a coveted position as an award-winning radio producer for "This American Life" and a supportive partner. Yet, behind closed doors at work, she regularly faced overwhelming panic attacks and morning tears at her desk. After years of inner turmoil and self-questioning, she was diagnosed with complex PTSD, a condition stemming from prolonged exposure to trauma over many years.Foo's teenage years were marked by the trauma of abandonment by both parents, who subjected her to ongoing physical and verbal abuse before neglecting her completely. Although she believed she had moved past these experiences, her diagnosis revealed how her past continued to jeopardize her wellbeing, relationships, and professional life. In a quest for healing, Foo sought to correlate her life's chapters with the limited available literature on complex PTSD.In this compelling and extensively researched narrative, Foo reaches out to scientists and mental health professionals, exploring a range of innovative therapeutic approaches. Her journey takes her back to her Californian roots to assess immigrant trauma’s impact on her community and to Malaysia, her birthplace, where she unearths family secrets that highlight the intergenerational nature of trauma. She ultimately realizes that while you may not leave trauma behind, you can learn to coexist with it."What My Bones Know" stands as an insightful, hopeful, and courageous exploration of the powerful grip that history holds over the present, the interplay between mind and body, and one woman's journey to regain control over her trauma. This description is provided by the publisher.