? Written by Dutch psychiatrist Bessel van der Kolk and published in 2014, The Body Keeps the Score remains one of the most seminal works on psychology and mental health over a decade later. An amalgamation of decades of work and first-hand experiences within the field, the book sees van der Kolk put to paper what it means to experience trauma, understand it, and heal from it.

Your mind will suffer, but it’s the body that keeps the score. Backed by rigorous scientific research — the author’s own as well as others’ — the book offers a comprehensive analysis of trauma. The New York Times bestseller is written in a manner that is accessible to all readers, simplifying complex topics and jargon. It’s neatly categorized into five sections: rediscovery of trauma, the impact of trauma, trauma in children, long-lasting effects, and alternative paths to recovery.

“We are on the verge of becoming a trauma-conscious society.” If you seek to understand yourself, read this book. Have you ever wondered why you simply cannot let go of certain behaviors? Why you’re constantly exhausted when there’s no visible physical culprit? Or why you find yourself reacting in a similar manner to one particular thing time and again? You might find the answers within these pages.

“One does not have to be a combat soldier to encounter trauma.” Right off the bat, the book confronts the reader with uncomfortable truths pertaining to trauma, and just how many among us may be unknowingly suffering. The author makes it clear that recovering from trauma is anything but easy — our brains are wired to reactivate it when met with even the slightest, often subconscious, hint of danger.

Through rigorous research and first-hand accounts of trauma patients, van der Kolk tackles issues such as loss of self, distorted perceptions, and deteriorating social relationships — all a result of the brain — and the body’s — exposure to trauma, which manifests itself in myriad — and often unsuspecting — ways that the book also explores. Written in first person, information is presented in a manner that, aside from being digestible, feels raw, honest, and personal.

The Body Keeps the Score is anything but a light read. Pace yourself, pause when necessary, and be warned that the book discusses in great detail scores of difficult subjects, such as abuse, addiction, and childhood violence.

WHERE TO GET IT- You can find The Body Keeps the Score as a paperback at Al MasriahAl Lubnaniah, Diwan, and Reader’s Corner. You can also get the ebook from Amazon, and listen to the audiobook on Audible.

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