Trauma Stewardship: An Everyday Guide to Caring for Self While Caring for Others

by Laura Van Dernoot Lipsky and Connie Burk

Book Overview

This beloved bestseller--over 180,000 copies sold--has helped caregivers worldwide keep themselves emotionally, psychologically, spiritually, and physically healthy in the face of the sometimes overwhelming traumas they confront every day.

A longtime trauma worker, Laura van Dernoot Lipsky offers a deep and empathetic survey of the often-unrecognized toll taken on those working to make the world a better place. We may feel tired, cynical,...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 157675944X
• ISBN13: 9781576759448
• Release Date: May 2009
• Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 0.99 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.0" x 8.9"

Customer Reviews

THIS IS AN ABSOLUTE MUST READ!!!!!!!!!!!

How many books do you read that compel you to want to send it to everyone you know? THIS BOOK IS SUCH A BOOK. This work completely transcends it's genre. At the risk of sounding over-the-top, if you are a citizen of this Planet, you should read this book. It is dense with nugget after nugget of profound Wisdom and Insight into the human condition. Let's face it, the World we live in poses very challenging circumstances--both Individually and Globally. Lipsky does not sugar-coat these realities. Rather, she courageously probes into the core of human trauma and it's residual effects while offering a treasure trove of tools for transcendence. The writer's use of HUMOR is MASTERFUL-she somehow manges to elicit an array of almost "Sedaris-style" belly laughs while addressing the most serious of life's obstacles. Her profound insight into the recesses, idiosyncracies and trappings of the human mind allows her to offer the golden chord of healing in the form of pragmatic solutions and tools--we just have to grab on. It's quite a ride!!

For Everyone

The thing about this book that's so brilliant, is that it is absolutely for anyone who is care taking, not just professionals. The insights, support, and perspective offered are smart, clear, and compassionate. At some point, everyone is taking care of someone else, even if it's just as someone who works for a non profit organization that provides a service. Burn out is everywhere and this little wonder of a book helped me understand how to take care of myself as well. It's smart, savvy, and the cartoons really give you a lift. I can't say enough about it. It is supremely useful and user-friendly! I would have been lost with out it.

A Gift for Those Who Care for Others

This is a wonderful book for anyone who has ever found themselves in a caretaker role - whether it be loved ones who are ill, people we encounter in our work, or friends going through difficult times.

despair for the state of our planet

As someone who has worked in the environmental field for many years, I was delighted to find that this book speaks to my experience as well. Those of us who care deeply for the state of the planet may not use the language of trauma, but this book describes me and my colleagues in conservation and sustainability very well. When you are sitting daily with the realities of environmental degradation, you definitely feel that you can never do enough, and it wears on you at a very deep level. This book provides accessible yet profound strategies for taking care of yourself, and by extension, all forms of life in your care.

Wonderful!

I didn't even know I needed this book. It gives coherent words and structure to understand the process that occurs for those who find themselves caring for others, and what we might need to keep going and make it make sense. The chapters are concise and readable, with cartoons and anecdotes to make it witty and interesting. I don't know what more I can say except that it is breathtaking. If you are a nurse/doctor/social worker/psychologist/first responder/legal aid/non-profit/humanitarian worker, even if you think you aren't burnt out or that the trauma you are experiencing in your patients/clients doesn't affect you, read this book! It should be taught in grad school. As a non-professional who may be responsible for elders or others with special needs, this book could provide a safety valve and strategies for keeping in touch with yourself while caring for others. This is not a self help book. It is a whole new way of looking at the field that is accessible to professionals and non-professionals alike. Wish I had had this years ago.