Toxic Childhood Stress: The Legacy of Early Trauma and How to Heal

(Paperback)

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*Previously published as The Deepest Well* A pioneering physician reveals how childhood stress leads to lifelong health problems and what we can do to break the cycle. When a young boy walked into Dr Nadine Burke Harris's clinic he looked healthy for a preschooler. But he was seven, and hadn't grown a centimetre since a traumatic event when he was four. At that moment Dr Burke Harris knew that her gut feeling about a connection between childhood stress and future ill health was more than just a hunch - and she began her journey into groundbreaking research with stunning results. Two thirds of us have experienced at least one adverse childhood experience, from the likes of bereavement and divorce to abuse and neglect. In Toxic Childhood Stress California's Surgeon General Dr Burke Harris reveals the science behind childhood adversity and offers a new way of understanding the adverse events that affect us throughout our lifetime. Based on her own groundbreaking clinical work and public leadership, Dr Burke Harris shows us how we can disrupt this cycle through interventions that help retrain the brain and body, foster resilience, and help children, families, and adults live healthier, happier lives. Perfect for fans of The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk, this eye-opening book includes a free ACE test and looks at the widespread crisis of childhood adversity through the objective lens of science and medicine, providing a roadmap for deeper understanding and change.

Reviews

Offers a powerful - even indispensable - frame to both understand and respond more effectively to our most serious social ills. -- New York Times
A heart-breaking, world-shaking, revolutionary book. The Deepest Well uncovers offers a new set of tools, based in science, that can help each of us heal ourselves, our children, and our world. -- Paul Tough, author of New York Times Best Seller How Children Succeed
Nadine Burke-Harris is one of the most important thinkers in the world. If you have ever experienced psychological pain, you should read this profound and prophetic book. -- Johann Hari
Adverse childhood experiences are the single greatest unaddressed public health threat facing our nation today. -- Dr Robert Block, former President of the American Academy of Pediatrics
The Deepest Well is a heartbreaking, beautiful book about what might be the most important single issue facing disadvantaged populations: the prevalence of childhood trauma. -- JD Vance, author of Hillbilly Elegy
This ultra-smart and compassionate book delivers revelations about what is really going onin our bodies, in our families, in our communitiesas a result of childhood toxic stress, as well as targeted solutions for individual healing...When I needed it, one person extended the hand of hope and help to me. It saved me. This book has the power to extend that hand to countless others. -- Ashley Judd, actress, political activist and author of All That is Bitter and Sweet
This powerful work book brilliantly exposes and explores one of the most critical health issues we face today. Dr Burke-Harris combines a scientist's rigor with a compassionate doctor's heart to paint an unforgettable picture of what is at the center of what ails so many of our communities. -- Bryan Stevenson, author of Just Mercy
An extraordinary, eye-opening book. -- People, Book of the Week
The Deepest Well is a rousing wake-up call, challenging us to re-imagine pressing questions of racial and social justice as matters of public health. The research and stories shared in this highly engaging, provocative book prove beyond a reasonable doubt that millions of lives depend on us finally coming to terms with the long-term consequences of childhood adversity and toxic stress. -- Michelle Alexander, author of The New Jim Crow
The Deepest Well is more than a riveting medical story - its a must-read guide for recognizing, understanding and treating a condition that many will find in our own homes. -- BookPage
This important and compassionate book further sounds the alarm over childhood trauma - and what can be done to remedy its effects. -- Kirkus, starred review

Author Bio

Dr Nadine Burke Harris is the Surgeon General of California, the founder and CEO of Center for Youth Wellness in San Francisco, California and the author of Toxic Childhood Stress (originally published as The Deepest Well). She has earned international attention for her innovative approach to addressing adverse childhood experiences as a risk factor for adult disease, such as heart disease and cancer. Dr Burke Harris serves as an expert advisor on the Too Small To Fail initiative championed by Hillary Clinton and the Clinton Foundation, and has been named as a leader in the field of understanding childhood trauma by the likes of Oprah Winfrey (author of What Happened to You). Dr Burke Harris is also an advisor to California Governor Jerry Brown and she has earned the Arnold P. Gold Foundation Humanism in Medicine Award presented by the American Academy of Pediatrics.