Vulnerable start

Publisher's summary

What if the roots of your pain go back to before your first breath?

This book gives a voice to people who discovered that their earliest experiences — in the womb, during birth, or shortly thereafter — left deep traces in the form of pre- and perinatal trauma left behind. Their stories are raw, honest, and hopeful: about pain that made itself felt unexpectedly, but also about the road to healing and recovery.

Vulnerable start opens a new and current theme in psychology and mental healthcare. All interviewees point to an important realization: fetuses and babies experience and remember much more than was assumed for decades. Acknowledging this fact could be the missing puzzle piece in explaining persistent anxiety disorders, psychological complaints, and psychosomatic symptoms in adulthood.

The power of this book lies in the combination of personal stories and professional insights. The interviews with leading professionals—including the internationally renowned psychotherapist William Emerson and psychoanalyst Ludwig Janus—are candid about their own traumas while also giving the book a solid clinical foundation.