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Resources

In case you’d like some further reading, here are a few of my current favourites. Each of these texts offers something unique around the themes of trauma, the body, and how we navigate the human experience — individually and collectively. Whether you’re looking for practical insight, reflective philosophy or gentle storytelling, there’s something here for you.

Trauma & The Body

  • The Body Keeps the Score – Bessel van der Kolk

    A classic introduction to trauma, this book is essential reading for anyone interested in understanding how traumatic experiences can live on in the body long after the event has passed. Drawing on neuroscience, clinical experience and personal stories, van der Kolk explores how trauma reshapes both body and brain, and highlights the importance of body-based approaches to healing.

  • Intelligence in the Flesh – Guy Claxton

    A fascinating exploration of how intelligence is not just housed in the brain but distributed throughout the body. Claxton makes a compelling case for a deeper connection between bodily awareness and decision-making, creativity and learning — a valuable read for anyone curious about somatic work and embodied presence.

Philosophy & Life Wisdom

  • The Philosopher and the Wolf – Mark Rowlands

    An unconventional and deeply personal reflection on life, morality and the nature of being human — all told through the author’s experience of living with a wolf. This memoir-philosophy hybrid explores themes of wildness, loss and the constraints of civilisation, prompting us to consider how we relate to instinct, emotion and the wisdom of the body.

  • Women Who Run With the Wolves – Clarissa Pinkola Estés

    Rich with myth, poetry and psychology, this iconic book reclaims the 'wild woman' archetype and speaks to the intuitive, embodied wisdom within us all. It is especially resonant for those seeking a soulful and archetypal entry point into the journey of healing, resilience and reclaiming the self.

“Earth will be safe when we feel in us enough safety”

Thich Nhat Hanh

Autobiographies

  • Jail Diary – Albie Sachs

    A moving and courageous account of the South African anti-apartheid activist and lawyer’s time in prison. Sachs’ reflections on dignity, suffering and the resilience of the human spirit offer a visceral insight into trauma, resistance and the capacity for healing in the face of systemic violence.

  • Even Silence Has an End – Ingrid Betancourt

    Betancourt’s memoir of her six-year captivity in the Colombian jungle is a testament to endurance, psychological strength and the deep inner work of survival. It speaks powerfully to the embodied experience of trauma, and the slow, complex journey toward reclaiming agency and voice.

Gentle Introductions to Themes of Embodiment

  • Maps of Our Spectacular Bodies – Maddie Mortimer

    Blending prose and poetry, this novel takes readers inside a body as it navigates illness, memory and identity. Its lyrical style offers a tender and imaginative lens on the lived experience of embodiment, grief and transformation.

  • The Night Animals – Sarah Gordon

    A quiet and evocative novel that explores trauma through silence, sensory detail and the spaces in between. With subtlety and care, it gestures towards the impact of past experiences on the body and psyche, making it a beautifully gentle way into deeper themes of healing and embodiment.

I go among trees

I go among trees and sit still.
All my stirring becomes quiet
around me like circles on water.
My tasks lie in their places
where I left them, asleep like cattle.

Then what is afraid of me comes
and lives a while in my sight.
What it fears in me leaves me,
and the fear of me leaves it.
It sings, and I hear its song.

Then what I am afraid of comes.
I live for a while in its sight.
What I fear in it leaves it,
and the fear of it leaves me.
It sings, and I hear its song.

After days of labor,
mute in my consternations,
I hear my song at last,
and I sing it. As we sing,
the day turns, the trees move.

Wendell Berry