The Body Keeps the Score

Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma

By: Bessel van der Kolk M.D.

Narrated by: Sean Pratt

#1 New York Times bestseller

“Essential reading for anyone interested in understanding and treating traumatic stress and the scope of its impact on society.” —Alexander McFarlane, Director of the Centre for Traumatic Stress Studies

A pioneering researcher transforms our understanding of trauma and offers a bold new paradigm for healing in this New York Times bestseller

Trauma is a fact of life. Veterans and their families deal with the painful aftermath of combat; one in five Americans has been molested; one in four grew up with alcoholics; one in three couples have engaged in physical violence. Dr. Bessel van der Kolk, one of the world’s foremost experts on trauma, has spent over three decades working with survivors. In The Body Keeps the Score, he uses recent scientific advances to show how trauma literally reshapes both body and brain, compromising sufferers’ capacities for pleasure, engagement, self-control, and trust. He explores innovative treatments—from neurofeedback and meditation to sports, drama, and yoga—that offer new paths to recovery by activating the brain’s natural neuroplasticity. Based on Dr. van der Kolk’s own research and that of other leading specialists, The Body Keeps the Score exposes the tremendous power of our relationships both to hurt and to heal—and offers new hope for reclaiming lives.

Cover image: © 2020 Succession H. Matisse / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York Courtesty of the Archives Henri Matisse, All rights reserved.

WOW!!! I wish I had read this decades ago . . .

This is so well written. I listened to it on audio. After decades of therapy for PTSD, I didn't think I could "learn" any more that would help me out. I've gone thru soooooo many therapies. However, this was incredible at explaining in a manner I can understand (neurology is heavy!) so that I can be aware when my brain is telling me things which I can now apply "tools" to that I've learned throughout the years. It gave me a feeling of "I'm really ok" whereas normally I would blame myself for being "stupid" in not being able to "control" certain emotions (that seemed ridiculous to me at my age of 63). I'm going to listen to it again and take more notes so that I can have my arsenal of tools at the ready so as not to go down a spiraling emotional path for days on end. If you're dealing with childhood trauma (sexual, physical or emotional), this book could be for you. Mind you, I've been through years of therapy for this and worked thru very many issues/problems so if you're new in realizing your trauma, this may be a bit much for this period in your recovery. I can't say enough about it! It was truly an awakening for me in many areas of my life. Kudos to the author for his work with PTSD patients and the "naming" of a diagnosis for it so people, especially our soldiers, can now get the sorely needed help. Great narrator as well - I felt like I was in the stories!

so much info!!

this book really covers it all. there were some realizations I made about myself, some about others and some I simply marvelled that anybody had lived through and recovered from. this book gave me a deeper appreciation for veterans and psychology as a whole. it really opened my eyes to the amount and types of trauma that are experienced. it also addressed many different forms of treatment and how they are beneficial in aiding the mind to let go.

Very heady but great information

This book is so full of great perspectives as well as a boatload of studies and technical information that can become overwhelming at times but is at the same time always intriguing. Made it through on audio after owning the paper copy for a year an never getting past 1/4 way through. Narrator was EXCELLENT.
Glad I made it.

Insightful and helpful

This book was a revelation. It helped me understand a lot of things about myself and convinced me to seek out therapy.

Recommended by my therapist

I spent many years in an abusive relationship in which I had neither the language nor the coping skills to handle it without trauma resulting from it. This book was not a manual to teach me the coping skills but more a dictionary to give me the words I was missing. It does describe trauma from a variety of sources- domestic and sexual abuse, PTSD, and societal pressures- so it is a difficult listen.