Unbroken: The Trauma Response Is Never Wrong
And Other Things You Need to Know to Take Back Your Life
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Narrated by:
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MaryCatherine McDonald PhD
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Written by:
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MaryCatherine McDonald PhD
About this listen
A profound new approach to healing trauma, grounded in a radical reframing of how we understand this nearly universal experience
For centuries, we’ve been taught that being traumatized means we are somehow broken—and that trauma only happens to people who are too fragile or flawed to deal with hardship. But as a researcher, teacher, and survivor, Dr. MaryCatherine McDonald has learned that the only thing broken is our society’s understanding of trauma. “The body’s trauma response is designed to save our lives—and it does,” she says. “It’s not a sign of weakness, but of our function, strength, and amazing resilience.”
With Unbroken: The Trauma Response Is Never Wrong, Dr. McDonald overturns the misconceptions about trauma with the latest evidence from neuroscience and psychology—and shares tested practices and tools to help you work with your body’s coping mechanisms to accelerate healing. Here, you’ll explore:
• What is trauma? The latest science that undoes the stigmas of shame, blame, and humiliation
• Moral injury—having our basic sense of how the world should work overturned
• The truth about triggers—what they really are and how they can guide the healing journey
• Traumatic patterns—new findings to help break free from recurring habits and toxic dynamics
• Why we can always rewrite our inner narratives, no matter how much time has passed
• Finding a “relational home” for trauma—how we can help each other return to wholeness
Dr. McDonald’s case studies reveal the many ways trauma can manifest and persist in our lives, yet there’s one factor every case has in common: the trauma response itself reveals the path to healing. “Our traumatic experiences reveal that we can be bent, dented, or bruised,” she says, “but we cannot be broken.” For anyone who has gone through trauma or wants to help others who are struggling, here is an empowering resource for finding our way home to our bodies, rebuilding our relationships, and returning to full engagement with life.
©2023 MaryCatherine McDonald, PhD (P)2023 Sounds TrueYou may also enjoy...
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What the critics say
“Equal parts memoir, client stories, and neuroscience, Unbroken: The Trauma Response Is Never Wrong will radically reframe everything you’ve ever thought about trauma and how to heal from it. No more feelings of shame. Just newfound empowerment.”—Mark Epstein, MD, author of Going to Pieces Without Falling Apart and The Zen of Therapy
“We all experience trauma. And it leaves scars for most of us. We can learn to better handle it using Dr. MaryCatherine McDonald’s fresh, positive, and scientifically rigorous approach. Her toolbox full of practical, down-to-earth advice and methods enables us to lift the burdens of shame, guilt, and fear that we all shoulder when we suffer from trauma. Unbroken is essential to showing us how we can become empowered, moving beyond the trauma in our past.”—Allan Hamilton, MD, author of The Scalpel and the Soul and the forthcoming Cerebral Entanglements
“I call MaryCatherine the Brené Brown of trauma. She normalizes trauma and helps us get rid of shame so that we can accept our stories fully and embrace our humanness—something that we need now in the world more than ever.”—John Kim, aka The Angry Therapist
What listeners say about Unbroken: The Trauma Response Is Never Wrong
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Karen H.
- 2023-07-26
Time well spent on this listen
As a clinical youth worker and professional that works with families there were so many relatable paragraphs with strategies. I will re -listen to this and have already recommended it to colleagues. The important message of the importance of relationships to heal and work through trauma is woven throughout the book. Well done and easy listen.
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- Mary
- 2023-06-10
A refreshing and relatable look at trauma
Mary Catherine brings her own story, and those of some of her clients, along with her research to provide a lens on trauma that dispels the mis-truths we have carried for generations.
The anecdotes, metaphors and exercises help the reader to understand, and integrate the life changing growth that comes with trauma healing.
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- mylene deveau
- 2024-11-11
excellent with lots of tools
The book was very well written, easily explained and very human & vulnerable touch. A wonderful help for both the therapist and the client or anyone for that matter. thank you.
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- Anonymous User
- 2023-03-29
Extraordinarily well done overall!
As a therapist, I will refer this book far and wide both to clients and colleagues alike. It was beautifully narrated. I heard the author's passion, dedication, and humanity shine through every eloquent phase.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Lisa
- 2023-09-28
Well worth your time !!!
I have a lot of trauma and this book was just so soothing for my soul.
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1 person found this helpful
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- NatNat
- 2023-05-11
Thank you for making this book a relational home
If you want to understand trauma better and feel validated for your experiences. Highly recommend this book.
MaryCatherine, you have done a tremendous service to the world by sharing your experiences and championing the light for healing.
Thank you.
Remember to be kind to yourself.
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2 people found this helpful
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- terri ward
- 2023-05-25
Wow!
A fantastic book! Definitely one to keep and re-listen to. Easy to listen to and take away small bites at a time.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Lucia Ortega
- 2023-05-23
Excelente explicación
Sensible. Excelente explicación del trauma, bien fundamentado. La narración clara con excelente dicción. Y los ejemplos personales le dan más sentido.
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1 person found this helpful