Reviews tagging 'Suicidal thoughts'

What My Bones Know: A Memoir of Healing from Complex Trauma by Stephanie Foo

197 reviews

koreanlinda's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.5

This book was a hard read for me as a survivor of child abuse. I was beaten repeatedly by my mother and teachers when I grew up in South Korea. Although Stephanie Foo is a Malaysian Chinese-American, I was able to see lots of overlapping ideas around domestic violence between her family culture and mine. 

Part 1 (out of five parts) was the hardest to read because it describes all kinds of violence that Stephanie experienced when she was young. However, it gets easier from there, and Part 5, as Stephanie promised at the beginning of the book, has a happy ending. 

Although I felt immense sorrow, I did not cry throughout the book until the pages of Stephanie's life started getting filled with love. The power of happy tears was stronger than other kinds. As I closed the book, I felt hopeful about my own life. I thought, if she can live, I can live, too. Like Stephanie said in Chapter 41, "Maybe this life I've got is going to be spectacular, after all."

I went into the book with lots of fear; however, I am very glad I read it. I felt seen in Stephanie's story, and I learned a lot about C-PTSD. Although the abuse I experienced was not as severe as Stephanie's, I had symptoms that she experienced from C-PTSD. Stressful situations and mistakes pushed me into self-chastism and depression. While I was constantly scared of being punished, I continued to punish myself internally. 

I recommend this book to everyone who has experienced traumatic events or any abuse including a lack of love from a childhood caregiver. You will learn a lot. Not only you will gain knowledge, but you will also get empowered through Stephanie's narrative: Our PTSD is a precious part of ourselves, and it can manifest as our superpower. 

Review by Linda (Any Pronouns) in June 2024
Personal essays on DefinitelyNotOkay.com
Artwork on Instagram @KoreanLinda

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, and Abandonment

Moderate: Xenophobia and Racism

celine5's review

dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Abandonment, Child abuse, Physical abuse, and Cursing

Minor: Alcohol and Suicidal thoughts

avoticat's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring sad medium-paced

5.0

Such a fantastic read. I feel like this is a must-read for anyone who wants to understand more about cPTSD. It is a personal experience mixed in with academic evidence. It can be a tough, emotional read but it's well worth it. Highly recommend!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Suicidal thoughts, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, and Physical abuse

This is about parental abuse, the culture around it that perpetuates it, the long-term effects of cPTSD, and struggling towards healing

ineffable97's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful reflective

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Panic attacks/disorders, Child abuse, and Violence

shawnapantzke's review

challenging informative sad slow-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Domestic abuse

erinmcav's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts

emlev1995's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative reflective sad tense

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Emotional abuse, Abandonment, Suicidal thoughts, Panic attacks/disorders, Domestic abuse, and Child abuse

meganbrinson's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

So so so important. Really helped me understand my intellectualizing tendencies. Foo also does a great job situating trauma in a larger context. “Love begets love” really did it for me <3

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, and Child abuse

rileybq's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Child abuse, Abandonment, and Mental illness

Moderate: Racism

Minor: Homophobia

andalucia's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, and Panic attacks/disorders

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts