Customer Reviews

Trauma Stewardship: An Everyday Guide to Caring for Self While Caring for Others

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How many books do you read that compel you to want to send it to everyone you know? THIS BOOK IS SUCH A BOOK. This work completely transcends it's genre. At the risk of sounding over-the-top, if you are a citizen of this Planet, you should read this book. It is dense with nugget after nugget of profound Wisdom and Insight into the human condition. Let's face it, the World we live in poses very challenging circumstances--both Individually and Globally. Lipsky does not sugar-coat these realities. Rather, she courageously probes into the core of human trauma and it's residual effects while offering a treasure trove of tools for transcendence. The writer's use of HUMOR is MASTERFUL-she somehow manges to elicit an array of almost "Sedaris-style" belly laughs while addressing the most serious of life's obstacles. Her profound insight into the recesses, idiosyncracies and trappings of the human mind allows her to offer the golden chord of healing in the form of pragmatic solutions and tools--we just have to grab on. It's quite a ride!!

I didn't even know I needed this book. It gives coherent words and structure to understand the process that occurs for those who find themselves caring for others, and what we might need to keep going and make it make sense.

The chapters are concise and readable, with cartoons and anecdotes to make it witty and interesting. I don't know what more I can say except that it is breathtaking.

If you are a nurse/doctor/social worker/psychologist/first responder/legal aid/non-profit/humanitarian worker, even if you think you aren't burnt out or that the trauma you are experiencing in your patients/clients doesn't affect you, read this book! It should be taught in grad school.

As a non-professional who may be responsible for elders or others with special needs, this book could provide a safety valve and strategies for keeping in touch with yourself while caring for others. This is not a self help book. It is a whole new way of looking at the field that is accessible to professionals and non-professionals alike. Wish I had had this years ago.

The thing about this book that's so brilliant, is that it is absolutely for anyone who is care taking, not just professionals. The insights, support, and perspective offered are smart, clear, and compassionate. At some point, everyone is taking care of someone else, even if it's just as someone who works for a non profit organization that provides a service. Burn out is everywhere and this little wonder of a book helped me understand how to take care of myself as well. It's smart, savvy, and the cartoons really give you a lift. I can't say enough about it. It is supremely useful and user-friendly! I would have been lost with out it.

I thought I was doing a good job managing my exposure to others' trauma, until I read this book. What I discovered is that I'm responding in a multitude of subtle ways that have, over time, altered who I am and how I live. Yet, the message I took from the book, is that I chose this path and therefore, as a trauma steward, have a responsibility to manage my trauma exposure response. Instead of feeling hopeless about who I've become, I decided to embrace my responsibility and take back control. I started with simple changes, such as answering my phone when it rings instead of letting it go to voice mail. I noticed an internal shift almost immediately. I had not realized how much I had been avoiding connection and keeping myself isolated as a way to cope with my trauma exposure.

The author's approach to trauma stewardship is systemic and encompasses a variety of domains and ecologies. As a clinical supervisor, I am able to use this material to help my staff recognize and manage their trauma exposure response. We are all using this knowledge to help our clients' caregivers and the external systems that work with our clients recognize and manage their exposure to our clients' trauma. The result of our increased awareness has had a direct and significantly positive effect on our work.

Reading this book was a privilege and a gift. It is original, profound, and eye-opening!

As someone who has worked in the environmental field for many years, I was delighted to find that this book speaks to my experience as well. Those of us who care deeply for the state of the planet may not use the language of trauma, but this book describes me and my colleagues in conservation and sustainability very well. When you are sitting daily with the realities of environmental degradation, you definitely feel that you can never do enough, and it wears on you at a very deep level. This book provides accessible yet profound strategies for taking care of yourself, and by extension, all forms of life in your care.

This is a wonderful book for anyone who has ever found themselves in a caretaker role - whether it be loved ones who are ill, people we encounter in our work, or friends going through difficult times.

Be curious about this book.

And don't forget to breathe. Consider this book an invitation to come home to yourself. Given the reality of our times and histories of oppressions, our home center can seem far away and blue sky can seem out of reach. Yet Trauma Stewardship is here to remind us why we work for justice and how to sustain ourselves and the transformation we seek. With profound insight, Laura guides us towards spaciousness, hopefulness, choice, and liberation.

Beautiful over breakfast.

It is often difficult to find humor, hope, and meaning when faced with trauma. This book does a wonderful job at doing just that. I laughed out loud, I teared up, and felt genuinely moved throughout. I even loved the introduction! Among many things, the way she delivers the overall message is what resonates with me the most. She emphasizes the importance of caring for self in a way that gives greater understanding to the bigger picture. It is a book that reminds practitioners that by caring for one's self, we are better able to care not only for those that have suffered traumatic experiences - but also for those that work along side us. I am grateful for this book and the message it sends. I have recommended it to everyone that I know, particularly those working in mental health professions, emergency human service jobs, and anyone who has been intimate with trauma.

This has been the most important book I have read as part of my professional career working with survivors of domestic violence. The books gives the necessary perspective to be able to continue doing this type of work for many years. Not only has the book changed the way I look at my work, it has changed the way my agency works with survivors. The best part of Trauma Stewardship is the incredibly straightforward manner in which the information is imparted. This is a must read for anyone trying to do good in the world.

This is a must have for anyone who has been traumatized. For the person who has undergone a traumatic experience as well as those exposed to traumatic events in work, volunteering, travel. It gives tools to work through the results of trauma and help to begin to think more clearly and find its value in making future decisions about life. There are clear signals of what trauma looks like, for those who wonder if they have indeed suffered trauma. I highly recommend it.