First, a little introduction. Our friend, Dr. Bruce Perry, has spent his entire career trying to understand exactly how trauma impacts brain development. And for those who don't know Oprah, I'll give you a quick summary, "You get a car! You get a car! Everybody gets a car!!"
I wasn’t really expecting to be reading a book by Oprah and some brain doctor to kick off the new year, but here we are. What Happened to You? is about how, instead of asking "what's wrong with you?" when someone's being difficult or acting "weird," meaning in a way that you don't understand, you should ask "what happened to you?" because trauma literally changes your brain. Oprah shares her own childhood experiences (which were really sad - her grandma beat her and her mom basically abandoned her) and Dr. Perry explains the science behind it all. Some of the brain stuff was interesting, but honestly, a lot of it was a little boring. I found myself zoning out during the technical parts.
Here's what I actually liked: it made me see people differently. Like that kid who's always causing trouble in class, and you can't understand why they do half the things they do? Now I'm wondering what their story is instead of just thinking they're annoying. The book says kids aren't actually resilient; they just adapt and lose pieces of themselves, which kind of made sense for 5 minutes. Would I recommend it? Only if you're into psychology stuff and don't mind things getting a little boring. It's definitely a "makes you think" book, not a fun read. But I'm glad I read it, even if I skimmed some parts.
- Noah
This is an interesting premise for a book, and i certainly wouldn't guess Oprah would be a co-author for a Psychology book!
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