An Ordinary Being: a Journey from Trauma and Chaos to Awakening

This is the memoir of one man's struggle to identify and come to grips with the childhood trauma and associated mental health and somatic symptoms that plagued him most of his adult life. Bessel van der Kolk, M.D. describes a typical journey of a trauma survivor as moving through strict structured programs such as fundamentalist religions, using physical strengthening and Yoga, using drama therapy, using mindfulness and meditation, and even seeking Enlightenment as paths of healing from trauma. The author did all of this in more in his quest to heal from trauma and find an awakened life of strength and resilience.