Keep Breathing: A Psychologist’s Intimate Journey Through Loss, Trauma, and Rediscovering Life

by Dr. Kate Truitt

From Unthinkable Loss to Unbreakable Resilience

In Keep Breathing , Dr. Kate Truitt, a renowned psychologist, applied neuroscientist, and trauma expert, shares her story of unimaginable loss, trauma, and, ultimately, healing. Faced with the sudden, gut-wrenching death of her fiancé just one week before their wedding day, Kate found her world shattered, catapulting her into a deep void of profound grief, trauma, shock, and guilt.

Part memoir and part scientific exploration, Keep Breathing uses Kate’s own personal account as a case study to illuminate the common experiences in our human brain―deep love and devastating loss, exhilaration and pain, life and death―that have the power to both derail our lives and ignite us to rebuild, heal, and grow. Her deeply personal loss sheds light on the human spirit’s extraordinary ability to persevere and thrive in the face of suffering―providing readers with a roadmap to navigate their own paths to healing and self-discovery. With its raw yet warm candor, Kate’s brave storytelling exemplifies what it means to truly come back to ourselves.

Genres: Psychology

250 pages, Hardcover

Published April 2, 2024

Reviews

[Stacey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was part memoir, part psychology textbook. There was lots of information presented and the author clearly did her research and is knowledgeable about the subject of trauma.

Possibly because I am a psychology professor and familiar with some of the information she presented, I found if sometimes too much and made it feel more like a book I’d assign in my class and less a book that could be accessible to someone navigating trauma.

Overall the book is well written and I can see how it could be very important to help some people navigate trauma and recognize the role their brain is playing in their current situation.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

[Jem · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5

[Alyssa Winnem · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading this book one can gain an understanding of the Amygdala and how it acts to protect us and also how it can work against us. This is done in a great way where 'Amy' becomes a protagonist in our experiences.

Dr. Kate Truitt focuses on her traumatic experience (lessened triggers and association for me) and the biological processes that occur following her experience. She explains her experience and trauma in academic and professional prose, making it clear and easy to understand. Thankyou Kate!

I appreciate that Kate wrote so openly about the loss of her fiance and her struggle with overcoming the impact it had on her. I was able to take from this that we are all human, even those most trauma-informed. Training/knowledge does not remove one from the human experience. And thanks to this book, *I jest* we can understand and work with our Amy's until they gain their rationale and support us more efficiently.


Thankyou to @Netgalley, @Kate Truitt and @PESI Publishing for the free copy of #Keep Breathing in return for an honest review.

[Nate Preston · Rating 5 out of 5]

Keep Breathing by Dr. Kate Truitt is a remarkable journey that grabbed my attention right from the start. Dr. Truitt's approach, blending personal narratives with cutting-edge neuroscience, is nothing short of brilliant. As I delved into the pages, I found myself immersed in a world of raw emotion and profound insight.

The fearless exploration of her own traumatic experiences, including loss, illness, and childhood trauma, is deeply moving. Yet, what sets Keep Breathing apart is not just the sharing of these experiences, but the way scientific evidence is seamlessly woven in to provide a comprehensive understanding of resilience and healing.

Her vulnerability in sharing her own struggles is both refreshing and inspiring, and the insights into the workings of the brain offered me a new perspective on navigating life's challenges. As someone who has faced their own struggles, I found Keep Breathing to be incredibly hopeful. It's a reminder that even in our darkest moments, there is hope for healing and growth.

In the end, Keep Breathing is more than just a book—it's a lifeline for anyone facing adversity. I cannot recommend it highly enough. Pick up a copy today and I hope it is as transformative and helpful for you as it was for me.

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book helped me on my personal grieving journey. It's like the coming full circle of the acceptance of loss and living on, as I let my grief transform me. Dr. Kate's personal experience is dissimilar to mine, as of course, every grieving journey is personal and never the same, but this book does capture perfectly well the feeling of loss and not being able to move forward because we need to make sense of the loss. But if you've ever lost a loved one, you'd know that death never makes sense. It's like a shout at the universe, WHY?

This book helped me get over intellectualizing my grief and instead actually feel it and acknowledge it. It helped me make a lot of sense of the things that happened to me, like panic attacks at the E.R. when I used to work in the hospital.

Dr. Kate's mix of storytelling and scientific facts helped me make sense of the grief that seems so personal and yet a universal experience we all have at certain points in our lives experience.

So prepare your tissues and notebooks as well. I suggest keeping a journal while you read it.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I bought Keep Breathing, I was hopeful that I might make sense of the chaos inside me - death, trauma, pain, I know these things well. My copy came super early at a perfect time when I felt like I was really lost in the darkness. What I found in Dr. Kate Truitt's words was so much more. It's one thing to tell someone they're not alone in their struggle; it's another to show them, through both personal vulnerability and the science of healing, that their pain has a place in the larger story of recovery. Dr. Kate has a way of explaining things that lights up the brain's crazy reactions to trauma with hope and clarity. Her story, intertwined with neuroscience that I could not only "get" but also start making my own when I had panic and felt my brain spiraling, didn't just make me feel understood; it gave me a solid hope that I can take control of my healing journey. She's a gift. A psychologist who shares with such depth, authenticity, and raw human real-ness is rare.

[Kimberly Simpson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved how the book explained the brains reaction to trauma in an easy, relatable and digestible way. It was very helpful to read how trauma can be applied to anyone experiencing hardship or overwhelm, and the patterns that the brain forms as a result.

At the end of the book she introduces her recovery. Although it is inspiring to read about her healing, it seems a bit too specific, perhaps taking some hope away from anyone who might not have that relationship or type of therapy available to them. I know the author was just sharing her story, and it was a very moving story… but I wish that she reinforced that healing can take many different forms for different people. Given that she is a Psychologist and appeared to lean toward educating the reader, it would be disappointing if they were left to think that one specific type of modality is the only road toward healing.

[Lori Herman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Somehow, this book came a couple of weeks before its release date - thank you, amazon! And oh my goodness, I read it in one night. I'ma lomg time fab of Dr. Kate's work, she's helped me immensely in my trauma recovery process with her first book and YT content but this book.... just WOW. She's so raw. I cried. I learned. I grew. I can't wait to read it again once I've done some integration on this first read. I've bought 5 more copies already for friends - o luck with early delivery this time. It's her story with science. Just like how she teaches. I hope this becomes a NYT Bestseller. I read Body Keeps the Score years ago and got so triggered, albeit I learned a lot. This is like a full update on that with the careful care and compassion Dr. Kate brings to everything. Thank you Dr. Kate!

[Lori P. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received this book in the mail on Friday and set it next to my bedside table for a Saturday morning coffee read. I didn't leave bed (except to get another cup of coffee and leftover pizza) until I'd finished all two hundred fifty pages. I can't remember the last time a book captured my attention like Kate's did. She courageously lays out her own story as a roadmap to encountering, reliving, and reviving from the layers of trauma we each face. Her storytelling is crafted with all the beauty of a novel --she drops clues along the way that make you curious to find out more and by the end you feel like you know both Kate and yourself in a deep way. She demonstrates that even the most intelligent, compassionate, and successful people can thrive through devastation. She gives hope freely in the form of our own hands. I couldn't imagine a better ending and beginning.

[Lorena · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clinical psychologist and applied neuroscientist Dr. Kate Truitt shares her story of growing up with complex trauma, suffering from PTSD after the sudden death of her fiancé, and recovering through various therapeutic processes. The author combines her personal story with research about the neuroscience of trauma, allowing readers to learn in a relatable way that makes technical material less intimidating. Her story offers understanding and hope for others looking to recover from trauma. I wish she had provided more information about Havening, but I think that’s the focus of her first book, Healing in Your Hands.

I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys memoirs and is curious about the neuroscience of trauma.

I received a complimentary ARC through NetGalley that I volunteered to review.

[Linda Ginex · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a student of the Havening technique and having read Dr. Truitt’s, ‘Healing in Your Hands’, I was excited to learn about this autobiography, 'Keep Breathing.’

I just finished it and can say it truly serves as a beacon of hope and wisdom for anyone navigating the avalanche of life's challenges. She takes you on her intimate journey though loss and trauma to healing and eventual transformation.

The cool spin: Her profound pain and growth are spoken through a neuroscientific lens, which, for me, is a guilty pleasure geek out read. Having personal success with the Havening technique discussed in her books kept me interested from one page to the next.

Bonus: This book is chock-full of amazing quotes by celebrated visionaries.

[Chelsea Batten · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of those memoirs that you begin reading on your lunch break and find yourself breathlessly tearing through the final pages at 3 a.m. Which is a hell of a thing to say about a narrative that includes so much neuroscience. It's like if a Michael Pollan book and a "beach read" had a baby. Not only will Dr. Kate Truitt's personal story take you apart and put you back together again (chapter 12 is Peak Feelings) but you'll learn to stop resenting your own wounded brain for all the ways it makes life complicated and instead celebrate its unrelenting determination to keep you alive.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a powerful first hand experience with traumatic grief. Please, if you are experiencing a loss of your own, make sure you are in a good headspace with supportive people available while reading this book.
As a mental health professional, I find this book to be impactful and informal. I recently attended Dr. Truitt's training on havening touch and find it to be an impactful tool in my practice.
Grief is hard. Finding good grief support is difficult. My hope is that you won't give up until you find the right professional and social support.

[Laura Meiser]

Have you experienced a great loss in your life? Are you struggling to understant what trauma looks like. If so, you will appreciate Kate Truitt's offering. Here she shares candidly about the crushing loss of her fiancée just days before thier weeding and the ramifications of such a loss. In addition, she shares her clinical experience to help others understand why the brain acts the way it does. Trauma is hard and relationships are risky, but Kate's book will help you unpack both just a bit.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

I appreciate when clinicians utilize their own experience to share important information about trauma. I kind of wish Truitt would have stayed with her story and then explain the neuroscience behind it. It kept taking me out of the connection I was forming with her as the author and pulling me into my head. Nevertheless, I believe that those who have walked the path of PTSD will relate and will gain insight to their own healing journey.

[Liz Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dr. Truitt does an incredible job of weaving together her personal story of trauma and loss with top-notch information and research. This book is an essential resource for anyone looking to understand what happens to our brains and bodies after trauma. This is a must-read for mental health professionals and anyone seeking to heal.

[Sarah Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve heard Dr. Truitt speak and was thrilled when she wrote a book! Thank you, Kate, for sharing the deep raw parts of your own story and how we can use our knowledge of the brain’s response to trauma to heal deeply as well. Part autobiography, part neuroscience. All made for a lovely and informative read!

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Powerful. Memoir and self-help and neuroscience interwoven. Stories may be triggering to those who also have unresolved trauma, so take time and garner support if that happens to you as a reader.