From a Stanford professor and practicing psychiatrist, a poignant and informative look at PTSD, a crushing and long misunderstood disease that afflicts millions of Americans, and the recent remarkable scientific research and clinical advances in the field. At any given moment, more than six million Americans are suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder-PTSD-a severe medical condition that has been described since ancient times but was not recognized by the psychiatric establishment until 1980. In her beautifully written and deeply informative new book, professor of medicine and practicing psychiatrist Shaili Jain finally gives the illness its due, exploring the ways in which traumatic stress cuts to the heart of existence, interfering with one's capacity to love, create, and work-and the complex interplay between biology, genes, and environment that causes it. PTSD is a disorder of memory that provokes nightmares, flashbacks, an exaggerated startle reaction, and renders emotional life barren. Unspeakable offers a textured portrait of this devastating disease, drawing on Jain's personal history and the two decades she has spent conducting cutting edge research in the field and caring for patients who have survived child abuse, rape, intimate partner violence, life-threatening accidents, and war. Full of profoundly moving case studies and fascinating scientific research, Unspeakable tells the complete story of PTSD for the first time, deconstructing its impact on the cellular, emotional, psychological, behavioral, societal, cultural, and global level. For the millions of Americans who have experienced traumatic events and are still trying to fathom the impact on their lives, Unspeakable provides answers and reassurance-it is also an essential guide for their loved ones. And yet PTSD not only affects us individuals, argues Jain, it also infiltrates our society and culture. A singular work, Unspeakable is not only required reading for those who have a personal experience with PTSD, but for everyone who seeks to understand how traumatic stress is an inescapable part of all our lives and the world we live in.
