My Grandmother's Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies

Resmaa Menakem

Aug 2017 · Central Recovery Press

About this ebook

A NATIONAL BESTSELLER

"My Grandmother's Hands will change the direction of the movement for racial justice."— Robin DiAngelo, New York Times bestselling author of White Fragility

In this groundbreaking book, therapist Resmaa Menakem examines the damage caused by racism in America from the perspective of trauma and body-centered psychology.

The body is where our instincts reside and where we fight, flee, or freeze, and it endures the trauma inflicted by the ills that plague society. Menakem argues this destruction will continue until Americans learn to heal the generational anguish of white supremacy, which is deeply embedded in all our bodies. Our collective agony doesn't just affect African Americans. White Americans suffer their own secondary trauma as well. So do blue Americans—our police.

My Grandmother's Hands is a call to action for all of us to recognize that racism is not only about the head, but about the body, and introduces an alternative view of what we can do to grow beyond our entrenched racialized divide.

• Paves the way for a new, body-centered understanding of white supremacy—how it is literally in our blood and our nervous system.
• Offers a step-by-step healing process based on the latest neuroscience and somatic healing methods, in addition to incisive social commentary.

Resmaa Menakem, MSW, LICSW, is a therapist with decades of experience currently in private practice in Minneapolis, MN, specializing in trauma, body-centered psychotherapy, and violence prevention. He has appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Show and Dr. Phil as an expert on conflict and violence. Menakem has studied with bestselling authors Dr. David Schnarch (Passionate Marriage) and Dr. Bessel van der Kolk (The Body Keeps the Score). He also trained at Peter Levine's Somatic Experiencing Trauma Institute.

Ratings and reviews

I had to read those book as part of my Social Work Trauma Informed Care course. It ended up being one of those books that you refer to others and then discuss later.

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About the author

Resmaa Menakem, MSW, LICSW, is a therapist with decades of experience in private practice in Minneapolis, MN, specializing in healing of trauma, conflict in relationships, body-centered psychotherapy, and violence prevention. He has appeared on both the Oprah Winfrey Show and Dr. Phil as an expert on conflict and violence, and for ten years he cohosted a radio show with US Congressman Keith Ellison on KMOJFM in Minneapolis. He also hosted his own show, “Resmaa in the Morning,” on KMOJ. Resmaa has served as director of counseling services for the Tubman Family Alliance, a domestic violence treatment center in Minneapolis; as behavioral health director for African American Family Services in Minneapolis; as domestic violence counselor for Wilder Foundation; and as trauma consultant for the Minneapolis Public Schools. From 2011–2013, Resmaa served as community care counselor for civilian contractors in Afghanistan, managing the wellness and counseling services on fifty-three US military bases. As a certified Military Family Life Consultant, he also worked with members of the military and their families on issues related to PTSD, family living, deployment, and returning home.

Resmaa studied with Dr. David Schnarch, author of the bestselling Passionate Marriage, and Bessel van der Kolk, MD, author of the bestselling The Body Keeps the Score. He also studied and trained at Peter Levine’s Somatic Experiencing Trauma Institute. He teaches workshops on psychological first aid and leads programs on healing from white supremacy for both African American and European-American audiences.