Back to Life: Getting Past Your Past with Resilience, Strength, and Optimism
Popular Psychiatrist Salzer has worked with people affected by 9/11 and extensively with RAINN (Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network) and aims with this spot-on book to help survivors of both "big-T" and "little-t" traumas. Rejecting the notion that rehashing one's trauma leads to healing, Salzer focuses on positive psychology and employs the metaphor of a vase of stones to explain her technique: the stones (positive emotions) displace the water (negative emotions resulting from trauma). She illustrates how to refute trauma-preserving assumptions and regain a full bandwidth of emotions; her resilience skills will benefit any reader, whether dealing with trauma or not. Refreshingly, she acknowledges the trauma survivor's pain without further victimizing them, is upbeat without being cloying, and is full of humanity, humor, and respect. Well paced, the book's three sections guide readers to change how they think, what they do, and how they feel. Included are the requisite exercises (helpful) and recommended reading list (useful). With a Medical Degree from Cornell and over a decade spent working in psychiatry, Salzer explains clinical concepts in a straightforward yet interesting way, which should help her first book become a primer in the increasingly important field of positive psychology.(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC.  All rights reserved.