07 Mar Book Review: The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk

There are some books that change the way you see yourself and the world around you. The Body Keeps the Score is one of them. This isn’t a light read, nor is it the kind of book you casually breeze through, but it’s one of the most important books I’ve ever read on trauma, memory, and healing.

What’s it about?

Written by psychiatrist and trauma specialist Bessel van der Kolk, The Body Keeps the Score explores how trauma doesn’t just live in the mind—it lives in the body. Van der Kolk has spent decades working with survivors of abuse, war, neglect, accidents, and other traumatic experiences, and through his research and clinical work, he discovered that trauma literally reshapes the brain and body, changing how people experience emotions, relationships, and even their own physical health.

The book is broken into four major sections, each diving deeper into different aspects of trauma:

1. The History of Trauma Research
   Van der Kolk gives an overview of how trauma was misunderstood (or ignored) for much of modern psychology and psychiatry. He discusses early studies on Vietnam War veterans and childhood abuse survivors, which laid the foundation for what we now understand about Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and complex trauma.
2. How Trauma Changes the Brain
   This is where things get scientific but still incredibly readable. Van der Kolk explains how trauma rewires the brain, particularly areas like the amygdala (fear center), hippocampus (memory processing), and prefrontal cortex (rational thinking). People who have experienced trauma may constantly feel on edge, have difficulty processing emotions, or struggle with memory fragmentation—not because they’re weak, but because their brains have literally adapted to survive.
3. How Trauma Manifests in the Body
   This is one of the most eye-opening sections of the book. Trauma isn’t just about flashbacks or emotional pain—it’s about chronic pain, autoimmune disorders, digestive issues, and even an inability to feel safe in one’s own skin. Many trauma survivors experience physical symptoms that traditional medicine struggles to explain, and van der Kolk argues that healing trauma requires more than just talk therapy—it requires working with the body.
4. Paths to Healing
   This is where van der Kolk shifts from research to solutions. While traditional talk therapy and medication have their place, he argues that movement-based therapies like yoga, EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), neurofeedback, and theater therapy can be just as effective—if not more so—because they help retrain the brain and body to feel safe again.

What This Chick Thinks

The Science is Accessible and Eye-Opening

Even if you’re not a science person, van der Kolk explains neurology and psychology in a way that feels digestible. He breaks down how trauma affects the brain and body without turning it into a dense textbook. Every study he references is connected to real-life examples—whether it’s a veteran who can’t sleep, a sexual abuse survivor who constantly dissociates, or a child who stops speaking due to severe neglect.

Trauma is Everywhere, and This Book Makes That Clear

One of the most profound takeaways from this book is that trauma isn’t just something that happens in war zones or abusive households—it’s something that exists all around us. Childhood neglect, car accidents, bullying, medical trauma, racism, generational trauma—van der Kolk makes it clear that trauma is not just about what happens to you, but about how your brain and body respond to what happened.

The Case Studies are Heartbreaking but Vital

Throughout the book, van der Kolk shares stories from his patients, and they’re devastating, but essential to understanding the full picture. These case studies give a human face to the science, making it clear just how deeply trauma impacts every part of a person’s life.

It’s Not Just About Understanding Trauma—It’s About Healing

What I loved most about this book is that it doesn’t just leave you with the horrors of trauma—it gives you hope. The final chapters explore how people heal, how the brain and body can rewire themselves with the right treatments, and how trauma survivors can regain a sense of agency over their lives.

Final Thoughts

This is one of those books that everyone should read at some point in their lives. Whether you’ve experienced trauma yourself or want to better understand how it affects people around you, The Body Keeps the Score is a powerful, eye-opening read.

It’s not an easy book—it’s heavy, and it forces you to sit with some very difficult truths—but it’s an essential one. Trauma is something that so many people carry without even realizing it, and van der Kolk’s work offers not just understanding, but hope.

Rating: 9.5/10

Try it if you like

• The Deepest Well by Nadine Burke Harris – A look at childhood trauma (Adverse Childhood Experiences) and how it affects lifelong health.
• What Happened to You? by Bruce Perry & Oprah Winfrey – A conversational, accessible look at how trauma shapes the brain and how people can heal.
• Waking the Tiger by Peter Levine – Focuses on somatic experiencing, a body-based approach to trauma healing.