“A searing debut. Fogg’s blending of emotional and medical insights delivers an original perspective on the usual recovery arc. This enthralls.”
- Publishers Weekly
“A powerful account of the human capacity for healing. It speaks to the deep reservoir of resilience in all of us.”
- Anna Lembke, MD, New York Times bestselling author of Dopamine Nation
“As the survivor of a catastrophic event that resulted in the amputation of her dominant hand, Rebecca Fogg understands the randomness and cruelty that are unavoidable parts of life. But this remarkable book is wholly without resentment or bitterness. Instead, this is a celebration of the adaptability of the body and the resilience of the mind. Fogg has retained her awe of the human experience, despite it all, and the result is a truly special book.”
- Susannah Cahalan, New York Times bestselling author of Brain on Fire
"Captivating and insightful, Beautiful Trauma will have you rapt from the very first page. What starts as the story of a freak accident becomes a meditation on recovery, resilience, and the miracle of the brain/body connection. Rebecca Fogg's stylish and spare prose mirrors her clear-eyed will to survive and understand the healing process. This book--an extraordinary celebration of the human spirit--will stay with you long after you turn the final page."
- Adrienne Brodeur, New York Times bestselling author of Wild Game
“A powerful and moving testament to resilience."
- The Royal Society of Literature, Giles St. Aubyn Special Commendation for Non-Fiction WIP
“Rebecca Fogg’s Beautiful Trauma is a compelling story of gain from loss. It describes Fogg’s personal quest to understand the objective basis of her physical and subjective torment, and how, using introspection and science,
she emerged as a new person.”
- Joseph LeDoux, author of The Deep History of Ourselves: The Four-Billion Year Story of How We Got Conscious Brains
"A Cheering, upbeat story of recovery from life-threatening injury, Beautiful Trauma frames healing as a dance of acceptance and readjustment, of effort and reward, as well as the exploration of new possibilities. Fogg's journey back to health is an inspiration."
- Gavin Francis, author of Adventures in Human Being
"This is a book of grace and hope. Grace in the recovery from pain and fear, and hope in the acceptance of a new, fascinating life."
- Emily Mayhew, author of Wounded: The Long Journey Home from the Great War
"[Beautiful Trauma] is alternately harrowing, humorous and enlightening...remarkable for its depth and clarity when it delves into the science and anatomy of the hand."