Trauma and Recovery: The Aftermath of Violence--From Domestic Abuse to Political Terror

by Judith Lewis Herman

Book Overview

The groundbreaking work on trauma that remains a "classic for our generation" (Bessel van der Kolk, MD, author of The Body Keeps the Score)Trauma and Recovery is the foundational text on understanding... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0465087663
• ISBN13: 9780465087662
• Release Date: August 1993
• Publisher: Basic Books
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 0.53 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.3" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

Traumatized

After years of therapy I've acknowledged my mother was equivalent to raw sewage that permeated everything.

A work of art in the field of psychology

Was Judith watching us at home? Did she hide in the closet and take notes? You'll wonder if Judith Herman has the ability to see inside your thoughts after reading Chapter 5. As a survivor of child abuse and trauma, I was amazed by her ability to clearly define my thoughts, reactions and general "take" on life. If you are a survivor of ANY kind of trauma, READ THIS BOOK. My therapist, Dr. Zitlin in San Antonio, asked me to please read this book after one visit with him. Trauma and Recovery proves to me that recovery is actually possible. And in a way that just might work. This is like no other book I've ever read on trauma, child abuse or PTSD. I've read enough self help books to fill three hefty bags and finally I'm reading something that mirrors my own experience. It's compassion filled without losing credibility. Simply amazing. Please take the time to read this.

therapists and survivors: read chapter 5

Just read ch. 5 and you will be sold. As a person who has worked as a therapist with a variety of people and a variety of problems, I was stunned by the way that this book explains the impact of trauma. You need to read the concept of "complex ptsd," presented in ch. 6. Chs 5 and 6 elegantly present a framework for understanding people who have grown up in the fear of a terroristic household, whether with sexual abuse or not, whether with notable physical abuse or not. This framework acounts for the various problems suffered that are often described by clinicians as "borderline personality disorder," "somatization disorder," and other difficult/lets-ignore-them diagnoses. My feeling is that if you grew up in a scary, terroristic home, if you read chapter five you will believe this author was observing the whole time, and you may gain some insight into your own adult life and personality.