hiatrist, he had a duty to report Tom's behavior and protect his wife and children from his "violent outbursts." And, while you're at it, please call it what it ACTUALLY is, which is verbal and physical abuse. While every human being deserves empathy, it should not be at the expense of the people around them.

Furthermore, WHAT is the point of going into excruciating detail of the specific traumas? It is not only triggering for people who have experienced such events, but does NOTHING in the grand scheme of explaining the mindset of a traumatized person. I understand the need to generally talk about these concepts, as both perpetrators and victims of trauma.

I do not want to read about how Tom raped women in Vietnam and now deserves our empathy and time because he is struggling with his successful job, and victimizing his family. It serves no purpose in the book except for shock value and to keep people reading.

Lastly, he can take on a very condescending and infantilizing tone when speaking on individuals specifically with childhood trauma and mental disabilities. It has not aged well.

Overall, my experience is 2 stars because I would like to believe that van der Kolk has good intentions. However, this is a relatively poor execution of outlining trauma and giving people a glimpse into their day to day experiences. He has put in more effort into humanizing abusers than he has of speaking to their victims.32:T5fc,This book is...okay. While there is a lot of insightful work done on people with trauma, van der Kolk seems to not realize that his personal bias and connection with his patients is affecting his ability to see them clearly. The biggest obstacle I cannot look past is Tom. As his psychiatrist, he had a duty to protect Tom's children and wife from his "violent outbursts," and while every human being deserves empathy, it should not be at the expense of the people around them.

Furthermore, WHAT is the point of going into excruciating detail of the specific traumas?

The Body Keeps the Score - Likewise Book Reviews

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