Five Great Books on Healing from Trauma

Books on healing trauma

No matter the kind of trauma you may have faced, we could all use valuable tools to help us cope with those difficult times. The path to healing through trauma can take you down an emotional roller coaster, but when we realise the trauma that we endured doesn’t have to shape us, it’s a freeing feeling. Whether it’s a divorce, an accident, racial trauma, a death, or another experience, we know that these events can cause significant distress. However, with the right guidance and support, healing can begin. 

To jump-start your path to healing, we’ve uncovered five books by leading experts that will help you to define and discover what it means to recover from personal trauma. 

When You’re Ready, This is How You Heal — Brianna Wiest

Healing is not a one-time event. It’s a series of consistent occurrences that can alter your life forever, and author Briana Wiest shares how we can begin to turn into our full selves once we’re ready to heal and tackle our life events head-on. 

What Happened to You? Conversations on Trauma, Resilience, and Healing  – Oprah Winfrey and Bruce D. Perry

Oprah Winfrey and Bruce D. Perry introduce the idea that true healing manifests itself when intense, deep conversation begins. Through these transformative personal dialogues, people can begin to understand the human underneath the trauma and shift the paradigm.

It Didn’t Start with You — Mark Wolynn

Have you ever wondered if trauma can be passed down from generation to generation even through relatives whom you have never met? This book by Mark Wolynn is the answer to your question. It also provides a unique perspective on the causes of trauma, and how our emotional and physical health can have a greater impact than has ever before been understood. The legacy of generational trauma is embedded in our DNA, and once we begin to understand that fact, we can begin to unpack deep wounds that impact our daily lives.

My Grandmother’s Hands — Resmaa Menakem 

In this ground-breaking book, therapist Resmaa Menakem examines the damage caused by racism from the perspective of trauma and body-centred psychology. My Grandmother’s Hands is a call to action for all to recognize that racism is not only about the head, but about the body, and it introduces an alternative view of what we can do to grow beyond our perception of how racism manifests itself in our lives.

Legacy: Trauma, Story, and Indigenous Healing — Suzanne Methot

Author Suzanne Methot offers a unique and insightful experience on trauma in the Indigenous community and the painful undertaking that is involved for a community to collectively heal. Digging into her own roots and the stories of others, she reveals how the long-term effects of colonialism have damaged the Indigenous population and how we, as a society, suffer the consequences of its horrors today. With that dissection, Methot also offers a unique perspective on the healing process and how it can be facilitated through Indigenous teachings. 

Sherika Powell | Contributing Writer

Fall 2024

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