I am not a self-help book reader, which makes sense because this book is not strictly self-help. But I read it for self-help reasons: several important people in my life are survivors of childhood trauma and I wanted to learn how to be more understanding and compassionate about how adversity has shaped them as adults. I have not stopped recommending this book to people since I started reading it. With prompting from Oprah—because the book is written in dialogue-style—neurologist Bruce Perry traces the effects of early neglect and abuse on developing brains and how the brain and the body’s attempts to make sense of that world can have difficult consequences for them as they grow. Perry explains brain development under stress in easy to understand terms and interestingly describes his own process of learning about how to treat traumatized patients over the course of his career. Winfrey’s own experiences of building resilience from her own adversity also personalized the process and makes it feel positive and doable. “Everything that was happening to you was also happening for you,” she observes (298), which could sound sugarcoated, but with a little background on the brain’s plasticity, I could embrace the truth of that. Remarkably helpful book.