Resources- Books

Best Books Related to Complex Trauma:

Here are some of my favorite books related to Complex Trauma in some way. Reading about Complex PTSD, regular PTSD, breathwork, depression, and anxiety throughout my healing journey has really helped me understand and demystify what is happening inside my body, and each of these played a different role in my healing, each really helpful in their own way.

There are also many other books out there, and these are only the ones that were the best for me!
  • The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk          
    This book is used by many social workers, psychologists, and others as the seminal book on trauma. It was my first introduction to the tools that existed in treating PTSD (and by extension, Complex PTSD), and it is here that I began my journey towards healing. The first half of the book focuses on explaining PTSD and its neurobiological effects, while the second half of the book focuses on treating it.
    For more information, see Goodreads Description:
  • What my Bones Know by Stephanie Foo          
    This is one of my favorite books of all time. It chronicles Stephanie Foo’s journey with Complex PTSD, from her diagnosis to healing from it and the different things she tried. Many of the things she tried were similar to the things that I tried, and it is really enjoyable to connect with her by reading the book, as her humor, authenticity, and vulnerability really shine through the book—her personality can be felt and her journey is an amazing one to learn from, for anyone who has Complex PTSD and even for anyone who doesn’t.
    For more information, see Goodreads Description:
  • Breath by James Nestor          
    This book focuses on breathwork specifically. It gives a great overview of the different types of breathwork that can be used for different conditions, and the history of breathwork in different cultures and their different uses throughout history, including what that could mean for the present. This book was a great tag-along book to my yoga practice to understand the effects of different types of breathwork, the scientific basis behind them, and how to improve my breathwork.
    For more information, see Goodreads Description:
  • The Myth of Normal by Daniel Maté and Gabor Maté          
    This book is used by many social workers, psychologists, and others as the seminal book on trauma. It was my first introduction to the tools that existed in treating PTSD (and by extension, Complex PTSD), and it is here that I began my journey towards healing. The first half of the book focuses on explaining PTSD and its neurobiological effects, while the second half of the book focuses on treating it.
    For more information, see Goodreads Description:
  • What Happened to You? by Bruce D. Perry and Oprah Winfrey          
    This book is written as a dialogue between Dr. Bruce Perry and Oprah to talk about and understand trauma. It was an amazing book to read to feel connected to others about trauma and understanding some of the fascinating ways that trauma works. Because of its format as a dialogue between people, it felt really healing to be able to feel part of a conversation on trauma, when it is so often not talked about in society (or only superficially so), with two people with expertise on trauma in their own way.
    For more information, see Goodreads Description:
  • Lost Connections by Johann Hari          
    This books describes the alarmingly high rate of depression in today’s society and seeks both to explain why that might be as well as the different ways that have been found so far to treat it. I read it in high school, and it was at that time that I began to think about my mental health in a little bit more detail—though I did not go more in-depth into studying trauma and its effects on the brain until much later.
    For more information, see Goodreads Description: