What’s uplifting about Brené Brown’s book is not only does she validate our experiences of shame; she also shows us how we can overcome these and invite an infinite amount of personal possibilities.

May cause you to inflate your ego to hide the belief that you don’t have value ( narcissistic personality) Dazzling . . . By turns funny, sharp, raw and overwhelming, this is o ne of those novels where you think you are exploring someone else's pain, only to realise you are actually exploring your own -- Read of the Week * Heat * Cibich M, Woodyatt L, Wenzel M. Moving beyond "shame is bad": How a functional emotion can become problematic. Soc Personal Psychol Compass. 2016;10(9):471-483. doi:10.1111/spc3.12263 I was an adolescent when I first came across the letters of St Paul. Though I had been raised Greek Orthodox, at 13 I had joined an evangelical church in the hope that God would banish my shame. The shame of being different. The shame of hurting my immigrant parents’ honour. The shame of being gay. At that age, all I could hear from Paul was his admonishment in his first letter to the Corinthians that my homosexuality would banish me for ever from God’s love and grace. I battled with that for over two years before finally abandoning my faith. It was a relief to declare myself atheist, and a relief to begin the slow, difficult process of extricating myself from shame. This was a sharp and personal debut about Mathilda, who has in many ways lost herself due to grief and heartbreak. It is in a way difficult and easy read at the same time. The subject matter is hard, but it is written in a manner that one wants to laugh and cry along with Mathilda. I really liked how the story switches between the her point of view to her speaking directly to her dad and her previous partner. The plot kept moving while the writing was beautiful on a sentence level. A definite recommend!

A young boy stopped growing after a sexual assault. This was the starting point of Dr. Harris ’s lifelong work on child trauma management linking the effects of toxic stress and chronic illness. Childhood adversity (neglect, abuse, parental shame, divorce) can quite literally change our biological makeup for life. First of all it pissed me off, the way her parents thought they were better than The English people, they considered white, low class (there words , not mine) but the whites were good enough to let them live there and care for them and this is what is wrong with Europe nowadays. Specifically, the book advocates finding meaning in three different ways: through making ourselves useful to others, through unconditionally loving others and through suffering. The best part of the book is his exploration of alternative treatments such as yoga and mediation to sports and drama — to literarily change the neuroplasticity of the brain so that recovery is achieved and survivors may fully reclaim their lives .

I loved reading this story, not only is Jasvinder a very good writer and story teller, she wrote honestly about her life, mistakes and lessons. A 'shame' is indeed what she claimed having become, growing up in a Indo-Pakistani community of Derby, rejected by her family when she was barely 16. Why? Simply because, and unlike her sisters, instead of accepting an arranged marriage by her parents according to strict Sikhs traditions she preferred to run away with her then boyfriend (an 'untouchable'), despite attempts to keep her sequestrated. Michele Filgate, whilst still an undergraduate at university, began an essay about her stepfather’s abuse but only finished it a decade later — needing the time to work out what she actually wanted to talk about — the effect of the abuse on the relationship with her mother. Upon publication it went viral and was shared by notable authors including Rebecca Solnit. There was a clear need for this type of conversation to be had — and the appetite of writers to share their stories was not exactly limited. An anthology was born showcasing a collection of essays and stories that looked at a starkly exposed view of our relationships with our mothers.For all of us second-generation migrants who are writing from the fraught perspective of what we owe to our parents, this short story is shattering. The son of Jewish immigrants to the US, Schwartz perfectly captures the burden of shame the immigrant’s child feels of never being able to compensate for their parents’ exile and sacrifice. I could tattoo this short story on my skin. i have nothing much to say of this book apart from it was just okay. i believe this is bergstrom’s debut so it is completely understandable. it’s a normal reaction to me almost. I absolutely adored this book! The pain and sorrow, but joy and love that comes from being a human. How grief and heartbreak can lay so heavy on a person, this book was raw and emotional, even awkward at times, but I truly loved it.

I loved her volunteer work, her learning at every stage. I am happy she met the women she met. I am grateful for their open mindedness, their empathy and non judgement. Jas tries to rekindle her relationship with her family after her daughter's birth but things were never the same again. Her failed relationships, marriages and bad decisions were what made her the strong woman that she is now. When her sister Robina commits suicide, she promises to help women who are pushed in to forced marriages. Her organization Karma Nirvana has been assisting thousands of women ever since. Jas's story is not one of victimization but is of survival. I could never understand her mother's cold behaviour, about the fact that parents can be so ruthless in the name of religion and honour. Raw, poignant, haunting (and hilarious!)... In Mathilda, Bergstrom has created a clear-eyed heroine for a new generation. -- Sam Baker Mark Wolynn prescribes the Core Language Approach – linking words and language to emotions, behaviours and physical symptoms to understand where the trauma actually resides and releasing it . It’s a nove l approach, that’s proven to be extremely effective, particularly when other treatments and therapies have failed.

Featured Reviews

What a Shame fizzes with energy, rage and love, burrowing deep into those experiences that define us at our core. Bergstrom writes with wit and wisdom, and Mathilda's voice is ever-incisive, fresh and compelling. -- Jessica Moor Don’t forget to let yourself be sad. You are allowed. Grief is a good thing. It means that you loved someone. It means that they mattered.” What a Shame is an absorbing experience; the story is strange yet brilliant . . . it's dark and raw and funny, with a woman on an emotionally engulfing journey at its centre . . . like Sorrow and Bliss on acid . . . A real gem. * Well Read with Anna Bonet * Tender, unflinching and blisteringly funny, What a Shame glitters with rage and heartbreak, perfect for fans of Emma Jane Unsworth, Dolly Alderton and Holly Bourne. Lareese’s Review