An updated and revised edition of the bestselling book with more than 1 million copies sold, from Oprah Winfrey and renowned brain development and trauma expert, Dr. Bruce Perry What happened to you? This powerful, fundamental question is an invitation to share one’s most difficult experiences, to unpack and process them, and reflect on the ways they have shaped us. When Oprah Winfrey and Dr. Bruce Perry first began to investigate this question in 2021, it was with the shared desire to destigmatize trauma, to normalize conversations about adversity that has a lasting impact on our wellbeing.
Today, the dialogue around trauma and adverse experiences has advanced considerably. We know that “what happened to us” in childhood is a powerful predictor of our risk for health problems down the road, and the patterns of behaviors we often struggle to understand. Now, in the paperback edition of this landmark book, Oprah and Dr. Perry share new research, new stories from readers of the book, and new insights and experiences from Oprah.
Once again, one of the world’s greatest truth-tellers pairs forces with one of the world’s leading experts on trauma to marry storytelling with science, allowing us all to open the door to resilience and healing.
Over the course of her esteemed career,
Oprah Winfrey has created an unparalleled connection with people around the world. As host and supervising producer of the top-rated, award-winning The Oprah Winfrey Show, she entertained, enlightened, and uplifted millions of viewers for twenty-five years. Her continued accomplishments as a global media leader and philanthropist have established her as one of the most influential and admired public figures in the world today.
Bruce D. Perry, M.D., Ph.D., a child psychiatrist and neuroscientist, is the principal of the Neurosequential Network, senior fellow of the ChildTrauma Academy and an adjunct professor of psychiatry at the Northwestern University School of Medicine in Chicago. He is the author, with Maia Szalavitz, of
The Boy Who Was Raised as a Dog, a bestselling book based on his work with maltreated children, and
Born for Love, about the essential nature of empathy.