Mind, Brain and Body in the Transformation of Trauma
Bessel van der Kolk (2014), Penguin Random House UK
This book was my portal to embodiment work! I stumbled across The Body Keeps the Score during a yoga retreat in 2020. After I read a few pages I was hooked bought a copy straight away. The author, Bessel van de Kolk, MD is a clinician and scrientist. Van de Kolk has spent decades investigating how children and adults adapt to traumatic experiences. His extensive expertise makes this book a fascinating read: As a clinician, he narrates human stories from his practice, as a scientist, he explains, explores and contextualises them.
The book has opened my eyes to the devastating effects that unresolved trauma can cause to people, but it has also taught me that recovery is always possible. The Body Keeps the Score is not always an easy read because large parts are research focused. Still, I highly recommend it to anybody with a desire to learn about trauma and its treatment.