Bite-sized book reviews
Bite-sized book reviews
Psychology
An excellent dive into the impacts of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) on both children and adults. Harris is a physician who began noticing connections between trauma and physical health in her pediatric patients. This led her to spend a significant amount of time and energy bringing attention to the ACE assessment (Adverse Childhood Experiences) and advocating for its use in screenings, while also pushing for a more holistic approach to health rather than just throwing pills at symptoms.
My only minor criticism—and it is not really a criticism—is that a large portion of the book focuses on her work establishing her clinic and later the Center for Youth Wellness. It is valuable context, but perhaps less relevant if I am recommending the book to a client who primarily wants to understand how their own ACEs might be affecting their mental and physical health.
Overall, this is a great way to understand how so many aspects of our inner and outer worlds are connected, and why we cannot just treat symptoms without looking at the bigger picture.
Do not have time to read the book? Her TED Talk is excellent: How Childhood Trauma Affects Health Across a Lifetime.