3 Books to Help You on Your Healing Journey
Books are an unparalleled way of tapping into pools of knowledge yet unknown. They are an avenue for exploration, learning and escape. Studies show that folks who read, particularly fiction, have increased empathy and understanding. Many of us have cried at the death of a beloved character, and that ability to put ourselves in others’ shoes, to feel their feelings and experience their story helps us grow our empathy with each book we read.
But beyond empathy, books are also a way of receiving validation that may be hard to gain elsewhere. They may contain new information that explains a certain predicament, inspire us to a new way of thinking or being in the world, or show us areas in us that are still hurting and need a salve.
Today I would like to share three of my favorite books that could be wonderful companions on anyone’s healing journey.
The Wisdom of Your Body by Hillary McBride
In a Western society most of us live as walking heads: disembodied from the neck down. We are raised to be thinking machines and are encouraged to be drawn to rationality, logic and pragmatism. Our bodies are seen simply as vehicles for our thoughts and desires, not entities deserving kindness, love and respect.
In The Wisdom of Your Body, McBride introduces softness to our relationship with our bodies. Her writing is gentle yet strong, her personal history interwoven with scientific knowledge and her work as a psychotherapist. She shares her own struggles with embodiment and in the way she talks about her body, the reader is inevitably drawn into self-examination and curiosity.
“We do not think ourselves into new ways of living, we live ourselves into new ways of thinking.”
- Hillary McBride, The Wisdom of Your Body
Each chapter ends with reflection questions/writing prompts, as well as exercises to get you in touch with your body.
This one is a beautiful book that I enjoyed as a slow read, savoring each chapter and noticing how it felt to read it. I recommend you do something similar and take your time with this one - it will pay off in the end.
The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk
A beast of a book, to be sure, but what a beast this is. I must warn you right away: this is a dense read. Van der Kolk is a medical doctor, a scientist and a researcher, and his book reflects that. However do not let this discourage you from the true wealth of information this book possesses.
For anyone who wants to learn more about trauma and what it does to the brain and body, this is a fantastic place to start. Going into depth of case studies, MRI imaging and decades of research of veterans who suffered from PTSD, van der Kolk explains trauma like no other.
You are likely to gain understanding from this one that will stick with you for a long time. You may also get some answers to the questions you didn’t even know you’ve been asking.
“We have learned that trauma is not just an event that took place sometime in the past; it is also the imprint left by that experience on mind, brain, and body. This imprint has ongoing consequences for how the human organism manages to survive in the present. Trauma results in a fundamental reorganization of the way mind and brain manage perceptions. It changes not only how we think and what we think about, but also our very capacity to think.”
― Bessel A. van der Kolk, The Body Keeps the Score
Similar to the first book, I suggest you take your time with this one. The abundance of information can teeter into the category of overwhelming, so make sure to pace yourself and take breathing and/or writing breaks to note what is coming up for you as you read.
My Grandmother’s Hands by Resmaa Menakem
A book with so much heart, it will hurt to read at times, yet I believe your heart will grow larger as a result. My Grandmother’s Hands also talks about trauma, but it considers racial trauma specifically, delineating the impact it has had on white bodies, Black bodies and police bodies. This book includes not only historical information that provides important context, it also gives voice to the pernicious way racialized trauma lingers in the body, mind, culture and society, wreaking havoc not only on BIPOC individuals, but also white bodies and police bodies who perpetuate it.
The book is a wealth of knowledge, beautiful exercises to do both by yourself and in community, as well as grief. Yet Menakem’s invitation into community healing, underscoring the need to do the work of healing racilized trauma together is also a beginning of hope.
“In today’s America, we tend to think of healing as something binary: either we’re broken or we’re healed from that brokenness. But that’s not how healing operates, and it’s almost never how human growth works. More often, healing and growth take place on a continuum, with innumerable points between utter brokenness and total health. If this book moves you even a step or two in the direction of healing, it will make an important difference.”
― Resmaa Menakem, My Grandmother's Hands
Once again, I invite you to be slow and intentional in your reading of this book. Make sure to take pauses and breaths in between chapters, and do the exercises Menakem recommends. This book is profound in many ways; inviting a friend or a loved one to read it with you and do the exercises in community can in itself prove to be a healing experience.