This was an important book for me at the time of my first reading. It helped me understand trauma, both my own and those in others, and to understand that trauma isn't just a "make different choices, mind over matter" situation...it's a physical change that happens in the body. Fortunately, there are many, many ways to get trauma out of our bodies, and I'm thankful for those who have done this (then) experimental research.

Since this publishing, van der Kolk has been fired from his own company/foundation. I don't know the details, but I'm still thankful for the research and his contributions to this field.