Trauma is a topic I’m well read on and I enjoyed reading about post traumatic growth. I did like this book, but I am curious about reframing trauma as a gift may land for some survivors of trauma. There are nuances to everything, and as a mental health professional, it’s something I think about. I did enjoy this book and found it to be a helpful overview of post traumatic growth and how PTSD does not have to be a life sentence, but that healing is possible.

This is such a great book about trauma and how to heal from it. The author draws from personal experience and research. Dr. Edith Shiro discusses her five-stage framework to not only help heal from trauma but to grow beyond that. The stages are awareness, awakening, becoming, being, and transforming. The book also has practical strategies that you can do in your life to help yourself heal. Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for an ARC.

A gentle, helpful book that will help readers deal with overcoming trauma. It provides thoughtful guidance and practices to gain awareness of our feelings, heal, and move on stronger to achieve post-traumatic growth. It is especially empowering for women and those who may have suffered from abuse at a young age. A great resource for mentors, counselors, and family members too for supporting loved ones who have undergone traumatic experiences.

As a counselor working with children I am deeply invested in the study of trauma and its effects. I was introduced to the concept of post traumatic growth about 10 years ago, and I am always looking to learn more about how one can move beyond healing and concepts I can apply to the children I work with. I think the 2nd half of the book was stronger than the first, and contained great information. I do wish that the book had been edited a bit differently to make it more even reading across the text. Thanks to the author, Dr. Edith Shairo, Netgalley, and the publisher William Morrow for making this book available for my unbiased review.

In this book, Dr. Edith Shiro provides a readable and accessible explanation and exploration of posttraumatic growth. The book is organized so as to introduce readers to the basics of trauma and its effects on people before delving into the author's defined stages for moving towards posttraumatic growth. She utilizes personal and client experiences to illustrate the points and provides a hopeful outlook on peoples' ability to reach the growth stage.

I feel conflicted about this book. The second half was incredible—so profound and helpful. But the first half was a mess. I couldn’t tell who the book was intended for, and it seemed so disorganized…

Dr. Edith Shiro is clearly a brilliant and compassionate person. She explores in these pages the reality of growth after trauma—what it can look like and the impact that come come from it. She has created a stunning method for working with trauma patients. As a certified coach, I can see how valuable and effective her methods are. But the first half of this book felt so out of place.

She began with defining basic terms, and so I was led to believe that this was a primer for beginners on how to identify trauma. But that was never the purpose of the book. The way in which she defended her thoughts also led me to believe that she was actually writing an article defending her methods before her peers…but then the basic-level defining of terms didn’t make sense. And certainly this book isn’t meant for people who are smack in the middle of trauma. I was so confused for the first half of the book.

She also spends so much time quoting other research that I had a hard time believing her credibility until I crossed the halfway point of the book.

In the second half of the book, Dr. Shiro comes to life in her words—it’s obvious that her method for post-traumatic growth is where her passion lies. Suddenly, I felt very connected to her thoughts and could see myself in what she was explaining. This is the book I expected to pick up.

The first 50% is kind of a disservice to her methods because I almost gave up before getting to the heart of her message. But I wholeheartedly recommend this book because of how powerful the second half is. If you have experienced trauma or want to better understand those who have experienced trauma, this is a truly helpful resource.

Thanks to NetGalley, William Morrow, and Dr. Edith Shiro for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

I didn’t really find much new here to grow from. Most of the ideas in the book really were retelling of what we already hear in therapy or school. For a casual learner it would be informative but for someone who is wanting a deeper meaning, it’s too much of the same.

Thank you to the author and NetGalley for an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Overall, this book has a lot of good information and provides real life examples while maintaining positivity about healing from different traumas. As someone with PTSD who has read a decent amount on the topic, I didn’t find much new here and did struggle to get through some of the sections due to the verbosity hence the 3 stars. Definitely a needed perspective just not written in a way that easily kept my interest.