Childhood Trauma: You’re Beating It

A Book Review

What Happened To You? Photo Credit: Tremaine L. Loadholt

Some medically charged books help and there are some that harm. I can attest that this one has helped me.

Authored by the incomparable Oprah Winfrey and Dr. Bruce D. Perry, What Happened To You? Conversations On Trauma, Resilience, and Healing is a page-turner. I highlighted passages, made notes in the margins, and became one with illustrations, diagrams, and charts. There is a plethora of useful information as it pertains to childhood trauma and how we advance in life from it as we age.

Below is the review I shared on Amazon and Goodreads:

“I Now Know Why I’m Resilient

And if you are a survivor of childhood trauma, maybe this book can help you understand why you can “bounce back,” and “endure” things even when you begin to believe there’s no way you can.

Reading What Happened To You? by Dr. Bruce D. Perry and the phenomenal Oprah Winfrey opened up a few windows to my heart and tapped into some areas that needed care and tenderness. I survived a whole heap of mess that could have been so much worse than it was, and I am glad it wasn’t.

Learning who we are and why we act the way we do starts with assessing what happened to us. What caused us to grow up with hardened hearts, lack of trust, unwillingness to love, fear of the unfamiliar, etc.?

This book dives into the many functions of the brain post-traumatic experiences and various methods geared toward healing and growth.

I love how both Dr. Perry and Oprah tag-team each scenario and offer their view of them and a way to move past the incidents and become somewhat whole again by learning how to regulate ourselves and gravitate toward safe spaces and environments.

If ever you feel as though you want to know more about why you continually hold on when you want to let go, reading this book is a great way to glean additional information about how you’re wired and why.

It is worth one’s time and attention, and you will certainly learn more about living through childhood trauma and how to maintain a positive outlook and a sustainable adulthood.”

Sometimes, we need a bit of guidance and a path we have not yet taken to show us who we are and why. This was “my yellow brick road.” Maybe you can benefit from it, too.


Have you gotten your copy of my new book: a collection of serial tales & flash fiction, Séduire (E-Book and Paperback) yet?

18 thoughts on “Childhood Trauma: You’re Beating It

Comments are closed.