to preface this review, i wanted to dnf this book so many times over, but stuck it through as it was a required reading for my trauma class as a part of my degree.

i do see the benefits of having a book like this widely accessible and generally easy to read and understand. it is incredibly important to understand complex things like trauma and the healing process, and the way people with trauma can enter into a "freeze" or "stuck" period that poses as a barrier to healing and growth. as someone working within a neuroscience field at the moment, the palatable explanations regarding neurological reactions to trauma/traumatic events was incredibly interesting to read and learn about. often times, i feel that people have a hard time understanding, empathizing with, and affirming people who struggle with trauma and complex trauma because they cannot "see" it. to detail actual biological responses can help break down such beliefs, and that is an incredibly valuable and powerful thing.

while reading this book, i also discussed with peers in class and read up more on the author and the material in this book, and found a lot of unfortunately unsavory things. a large critique of this author is that he tends to cherry pick data, misrepresent findings of studies he references, and heavily leans on outdated research/theories that no longer apply to our current understanding and knowledge of trauma and trauma recovery. while the latter is inevitable in a rapidly developing field like psychology, combined with the allegedly intentional misrepresentation of data, i can't help but wonder about the validity and reliability of this book and the material within it. not all of the information in this book is misrepresented, but enough of it is that it makes me raise an eyebrow, particularly given how popular/well known and recommended this book is.

i was disturbed with the accounts of trauma that were detailed in this book. there is a degree of detachment that i expect from professionals writing about extremely traumatic events and the individuals who suffered through them. however, i felt that van der kolk lacked the ability to empathize and humanize the individuals he was writing about. he knowingly or unknowingly buys into a lot of stereotypical, at times sexist patterns of thinking, and presents these as facts. there is a lack of diversity in the populations that van der kolk discusses (mostly white folk, but he does discuss the impact of sexual trauma on both men and women), and therefore it does not feel truly representative of the full range of traumas, trauma responses, and healing processes that a professional working in the human services field can expect to encounter and work with.

i would say that this could be a beginner friendly book to understanding the neurobiology of trauma and the way it can impact other processes (cognitive symptoms, somatic symptoms, etc.). but i would also urge people who are interested in reading this book to actually read the sources that van der kolk cites and also read other sources outside of this book to gain a better and more accurate understanding of trauma and everything related.