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WHAT MY BONES KNOW

Stephanie Foo

A Memoir of Healing from Complex Trauma

A searing memoir of reckoning and healing by acclaimed journalist Stephanie Foo, investigating the little-understood science behind complex PTSD and how it has shaped her life.
"Every cell in my body is filled with the code of generations of trauma, of death, of birth, of migration, of history that I cannot understand...I want to have words for what my bones know."

By age thirty, Stephanie Foo was successful on paper: She had her dream job as an award-winning radio producer at This American Life and a loving boyfriend. But behind her office door, she was having panic attacks and sobbing at her desk every morning. After years of questioning what was wrong with herself, she was diagnosed with complex PTSD - a condition that occurs when trauma happens continuously, over the course of years.

Both of Foo's parents abandoned her when she was a teenager, after years of physical and verbal abuse and neglect. She thought she'd moved on, but her new diagnosis illuminated the way her past continued to threaten her health, relationships, and career. She found limited resources to help her, so Foo set out to heal herself, and to map her experiences onto the scarce literature about C- PTSD.

In this deeply personal and thoroughly researched account, Foo interviews scientists and psychologists and tries a variety of innovative therapies. She returns to her hometown of San Jose, California, to investigate the effects of immigrant trauma on the community, and she uncovers family secrets in the country of her birth, Malaysia, to learn how trauma can be inherited through generations. Ultimately, she discovers that you don't move on from trauma - but you can learn to move with it.

Powerful, enlightening, and hopeful, WHAT MY BONES KNOW is a brave narrative that reckons with the hold of the past over the present, the mind over the body - and examines one woman's ability to reclaim agency from her trauma.

Stephanie Foo is a writer and radio producer, most recently for This American Life. Her work has aired on Snap Judgment, Reply All, 99% Invisible, and Radiolab. A noted speaker and instructor, she has taught at Columbia University and has spoken at venues from Sundance Film Festival to the Missouri Department of Mental Health. She lives in New York City with her husband.
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Published 2022-02-22 by Ballantine

Comments

Funny and tragic, unflinchingly honest and relentlessly hopeful, What My Bones Know is a marvel of a book.

As Foo sheds necessary light on the little-discussed topic of C- PTSD, she holds out the hope that while 'healing is never final... along with the losses are the triumphs' that can positively transform a traumatized life... A sharp, insightful, and stirring memoir.

Foo's journalistic eye serves her generously through a hard-won examination of trauma and its aftermath. I cried while turning the pages; I knew that I was witnessing an astonishing literary endeavor. For others who live with C-PTSD, this is a crucial, life-changing book.

At turns funny and devastating, terrifying and transcendent, Foo's quest for understanding should be relevant not just to someone with C-PTSD but to anyone seeking to grow and be present in this one life.

Stephanie Foo's WHAT MY BONES KNOW appears on six "Best of" lists: - Publisher's Weekly Best Nonfiction of 2022: "The astounding narrative, which incorporates expert research and an unflinching investigation into the author's own trauma, lands as a bracing self-excavation." - NPR's 2022 Books We Love List: "an unflinching reminder of the hidden struggles many face, told with the keen eye of a researcher and the brutality of a documentarian." - Amazon's Best Biographies and Memoirs of 2022 AND Best Nonfiction: "the most compelling thing about What My Bones Know...is that it's a reminder of the extraordinary resilience of the human spirit." - Audible Best Bios and Memoirs of 2022 - Goodreads Choice Awards Nominee - Chicago Public Library Best of 2022

UK: Allen & Unwin / Atlantic Books ; Korea: Gom ; Russia: Eksmo

Achingly exquisite... providing real hope for those who long to heal.

This book is a major step forward in the study of trauma. It's also a huge artistic genre-busting achievement. Stephanie Foo's brilliant storytelling and strong, funny, relatable voice makes complex PTSD enjoyable to read about.

What My Bones Know is an absolute triumph. Foo's beautifully written memoir is a balm and a light for anyone afraid that their early traumas have permanently stunted their capacity for connection, love, and purpose. This book is a must-read for anyone hungry for hope.

[T]he most compelling thing about What My Bones Know, and the thing that makes it a story that will inspire anyone who reads it, is that it's a reminder of the extraordinary resilience of the human spirit.

A testament to Foo's determination, What My Bones Know is an act of reclamation - and a bold, defiant proclamation: 'I am here'.

A work of immense beauty.

Foo's writing is shrewdly insightful. In telling her story so compellingly, she joins authors such as Anna Qu and Ly Tran in adding nuance to the 'model minority' myth, if not actively subverting it... Highly recommended.