Tell me why it hurts

ABC 172: On the man behind our trauma

If you run in similar circles to me, “The Body Keeps the Score,” psychiatrist Bessel van der Kolk’s surprise bestseller about the nature of traumatic stress, has become a cultural icon. It’s the kind of book—like “The Overstory” or “Sapiens”—that even if people haven’t read it, they either want to read it or feel like they already have.

I fall into the latter camp. I haven’t read the book, but between the title and the number of my friends who either gush about somatic therapy or have become fluent in amateur therapy speak, I feel like I get the gist.

Before I started reading this NYMag profile, I had an image of van der Kolk in my mind—a jolly Dutch shrink, whose life’s work just so happened to intersect with a society looking for language for its pain. But the real story has many more twists and turns.

The article is the perfect kind of magazine piece—you’ll leave with a deeper understanding of why “trauma” seems to be everywhere and who the man behind its popularization really is.

Here’s the piece: Tell me why it hurts

Book updates:

• I contributed to this NYT article about why following your passion is overrated.

• Today is the last day to register for the next cohort of my course.

Warmly,
Simo 

P.S. The song of the week is the closest thing Mac Miller had to a sing-along. Perfect summer track :). The full songs of the week playlist is here.