I read this book because of Stephanie Foo's "What My Bones Know". I was always aware of it, but that book was the impetus to pick this up. I listened to it on audiobook, and it was captivating, revelatory, and heartening. I found Van Der Kolk's voice a kind ferryman on the journey. He expertly interwove stories of such tumult and horror with a salve of reasoning and solutionizing. He never indicated he thought people's maladaptive coping mechanisms were their own fault, that their reactions to trauma were their own fault. It brought me near tears to hear such compassion and space to exist. The more sciencey parts of the book were equally intriguing and offered a lifeline, both to those in the book and myself as a reader. I gobbled this book up in a few days. It was such a relief.