What trauma hides, safety reveals. This story shows us how. The Tell and the Wonder of Memory What struck me most about The Tell was the wonder of memory. Our minds hold a treasure trove—not just of personal experiences, but of inherited ones too, passed down through...
Therapist’s Book Nook (Book Reviews)
Mental Health & Wellness Blog from Jenny B. Smith
Unmasking Autism by Devon Price, Ph: A Therapist’s Review
Unmasking Autism by Devon Price, PhD: A Deep Dive From the Therapy Chair Not Just About Autism—A Reflection on Creativity, Masking, and Finding Your Way Back to Yourself I carry a certain sadness—a deep loneliness that has followed me for much of my life. Over the...
The Fall of the House of Usher
Here are the mental health themes I pulled from the book and will discuss here:
(1) The manner in which darkness envelops and transforms us in its presence, and long after.
(2) The lingering specter of pain, whether forgotten or suppressed, continues to haunt us.
(3) The manifestation of trauma on the physical body.
Stations Eleven
Stations Eleven, a dystopian fiction book by Emily St. John Mandel, is about a pandemic wiping out the majority of humans and their civilization. It explores who we might be if stripped of the identities we adopt through our relationship with capitalism and the borders of state and country.
What We Don’t Talk About When We Talk About Fat
What We Don't Talk About When We Talk About Fat by Aubrey Gordon What We Don't Talk About When We Talk About Fat discusses how our culture often feels completely justified in discriminating against fat bodies. While implicit bias is declining in other categories—such...
Ghostly Matters by Avery F. Gordon
Ghostly Matters: Haunting and the Sociological Imagination By Avery F. Gordon Ghostly Matters explores how unresolved trauma, both personal and generational, haunts like ghosts. We sense its presence yet can’t see it. Or perhaps we choose, either consciously or...