I watched the development of podcasts in the early 2000s and spent a lot of those years avidly consuming independent and mainstream audio. When This American Life hit the podcast aggregators, I was a subscriber. Through This American Life, I got to know the name Stephanie Foo.
In 2022, Stephanie Foo published What My Bones Know a memoir about complex PTSD, in which she incorporated excellent science writing along with incisive commentary about race, media, and more. I read the book as soon as it came out, marveling at its structure, Foo's strong and unique voice, and the resonant themes. During 2020-2025, many books I read dealt with trauma, but none so completely as this one.
Cambridge Public Library hosted Stephanie Foo recently. I attended her talk, after my sister shared the information about it with me, and brought my hardback copy for her to inscribe. Like on NPR, the talk was incredibly potent and the collected audience honored Stephanie's presence. I was a blubbering mess by the time I requested she sign my book. I struggled to communicate to her just how impactful her writing is and why inscribing the book to my mother, Linda, was so important to me.
If you get a chance to listen to the audio book of this memoir, you should! The book is so important and I recommend it wholeheartedly, for those who are identified as complex PTSD folk or, well, pretty much anyone!
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