The Body Keeps the Score

This is the first time I've ever gotten an explanation of repressed memories that didn't sound like bullshit, and I'm very happy for it. Kolk describes how traumatic events impact our brain function, how traumatic memories are stored differently to normal memories, and how modern therapy techniques like EMDR and neurofeedback are allowing people to finally retrain their brains in ways talk therapy and pharmaceuticals struggle to do.

Probably more of a 3.5. A bit longer and drier than your normal pop-science non-fiction, but a really important and interesting topic that I'm really glad to have learned a lot more about. A predictably tough listen, and I couldn't help but wonder what the main benefit is of including quite so many anecdotes of individuals' experiences across so much of the book, when we should base our decisions of medical treatment on studies and their meta-analyses. Perhaps simply highlighting examples of the human experience of the symptoms and lived experiences of PTSD and what successful treatment looks like helps to illustrate and drill in that intrinsic mind-and-body connection. Perhaps it'd just be a much drier and more boring book!

My main takeaway is a deep appreciation for the way my mind is my body -- my muscles, my posture, my heart rate, my nerves, my neurons -- all are intrinsically tied together. Mental health and physical health are not exclusive facets of ourselves. It is all one's general health, and our healthcare systems should treat it as such.

This was not a book I approached lightly—or leisurely. "The Body Keeps the Score" is dense, academic, and filled with clinical insight. To get through all 460 pages before my next therapy session, I toggled between the physical copy and the audiobook. It actually became a unique way to experience the material—reading when I had time to sit and focus, then listening while doing chores or cooking. Switching between formats helped me move through the content quickly, but also made it feel like I was processing the book in layers.

Van der Kolk’s central argument—that trauma reshapes both the brain and the nervous system—is hard to unsee once you’ve absorbed it. Trauma doesn’t just color how we feel about the world; it rewires how we function within it, biologically and neurologically. The electrical signals in our bodies are affected. And while medication may have a place in treatment, the author strongly argues that lasting healing comes through retraining the body and brain—through modalities like EMDR, neurofeedback, movement, theater, and yes, even Internal Family Systems.

Admittedly, I rolled my eyes a bit when IFS showed up again. After reading "No Bad Parts," I’d been skeptical of the 'Parts work' model, especially its more spiritual framing. But here, I found van der Kolk’s interpretation of Self, Exiles, Managers, and Firefighters to be more grounded, and honestly, more helpful. It was less about sitting down for a heart-to-heart with a fragmented 'Part,' and more about recognizing which parts of myself have been pushed aside—and figuring out how to let them live in the light without shame or suppression.

Still, this is a book that requires a little caution. Van der Kolk presents a lot of deeply disturbing trauma cases, including military PTSD, rape, and incest. I understand the need to highlight severe trauma—especially to show how drastically it can affect the mind and body—but I sometimes wished there were more examples of less extreme, more relatable cases. It’s hard for the average reader to see themselves reflected in examples that are, for lack of a better term, clinically catastrophic. In fairness, this book might be geared more toward therapists than general readers, but as someone doing my own healing work, I occasionally felt left out of the picture.

There were also moments that made me raise an eyebrow at the author himself. His tone occasionally felt… clinical in a way that bordered on voyeuristic, like he was more fascinated by his patients than empathic toward them. Maybe that’s just the nature of the work. Or maybe it’s a valid criticism of the therapeutic field in general.

That said, I still walked away from this book with lightbulb moments—and more tears than I’d like to admit for a nonfiction read. Certain phrases hit me hard. Certain examples made me pause and reflect on where I’ve been unkind to myself. If nothing else, "The Body Keeps the Score" gave me a better understanding of just how deeply trauma gets embedded—and a little more compassion for the parts of me that have been trying to protect and survive for a long time.

It's pretty good if you're familiar with therapy/psychology already. I would not recommend this to someone actively needing help. Perhaps it's giving into temptation and reading the reviews halfway into reading, but the author's grotesque detail into his client's traumas and the way he describes some of his fem clients do come off voyeuristic, to which he pointed out himself in chapter 15.
At best, I got a tour of some helpful methods to cope with life's catastrophes.

Honestly I'm very mixed about this book. On one hand, I found the descriptions and dissecting of trauma clear and illuminating. On the other hand, I think he really needn't have gone into such vivid detail of some some of his patients, and I think this book should be given VERY strong trigger warning. Furthermore, I appreciate the scientific studies the author provides for many of the treatments, however others he describes are only supported by his own anecdotal evidence, and haven't been scientifically supported at all. He also has a very strong ego and anyone who disagrees with him is portrayed as corrupt or misguided, which is always a red flag.

Gave me many aha-moments, about the mind boggling behavior some obviously damaged people put on.
This is probably worthwhile for introduction and experts alike. Read this if you want to get a better idea, what's going on with all those traumatized people.

A thorough look at the current research on trauma with a focus on non-pharmaceutical treatments. Due to the nature of the field it is littered with some truly horrific records of what some of his patients have suffered through, so be careful if you are sensitive to that sort of thing.
The key insight is that traumatic experiences can fundamentally change your biochemistry and neurology, but there are an array of techniques that can help mitigate this, from well established activities like martial arts, yoga, meditation and theatre through to more novel techniques like EMDR.
It has the common flaw for these sorts of books where everything is seen through the lens of trauma and other fields are dismissed or minimised but as long as you come to it with a critical mind there's still a lot to be gleaned here.

What a ride this was. Definitely stirred up some shit and got me thinking. I'm glad I'm actively seeing a therapist.

An amazing book for recovering from trauma though.

This book made me angry.

Not because of the material - it's a phenomenal encyclopedia of things that can help so many people. But because it's not a priority of our society. I'm pretty certain if we, as a people, suddenly gave a shit about trauma, especially trauma in children, and did things to resolve that, we'd find that prison abolitionists, food-not-bombs adherents, and pharmacological companies that sell mental health in a pill would be all out of business.

(I'm a firm believer in better living through chemistry, but I also want to solve the problem, not mask it with a pill.)

But because we, as a society, don't give a flying rat's patoot about actually solving the problem, and care more about profit margins and making financial gains for a mere 2% of society, the issues we have will never be resolved.