This was absolutely riveting, heartbreaking, and I was wincing with terror nearly the whole time I listened to Stephanie Foo’s memoir. If you thought ‘I’m Glad my Mom Died’ by Jennette McCurdy was triggering, this is WAY beyond in level of abuse.
The trauma that people pass on to their children is very real and Foo brings the reader along in such an engaging way on her journey to learn about her complex trauma. From visiting her old high school teachers and friends, to working with multiple therapists (she even shares recordings from her sessions on the audiobook), she helps uncover the chemistry and psychology of complex PTSD, as well as generational trauma (especially that of Asian Americans).
I highly recommend Oprah and Bruce Perry’s ‘What Happened to You?’ as a companion read this book. All very difficult and heavy reading, but so insightful and so needed.

“Over and over, the answer is the same, isn’t it? Love, love, love. The salve and the cure. In order to become a better person, I had to do something utterly unintuitive. I had to reject the idea that punishing myself would solve the problem. I had to find the love.”