Transforming The Living Legacy of Trauma: A Workbook for Survivors and Therapists

This is one of the most important writings in present day psychotherapy. For both therapist and patient it covers every aspect of trauma and builds the staircase of understanding from childhood trauma to present day behaviors . The material is highly understandable, hits the nail on the head and helps the reader to understand and cope with the many layers of trauma that they may have experienced in their life. The book also empowers the reader to find solutions that work in changing unwanted behavior. In essence it makes the legacy of trauma manageable in a way that the individual can initiate and understand how to be successful in coping with the unseen fallout from trauma.

Reviewed by Jennifer Silverness, MSEd, LPCC, LADC – Founder, Pioneer Recovery CenterJanina Fisher has a rare gift for making complex trauma concepts both deeply compassionate and incredibly usable in real life. Transforming the Living Legacy of Trauma is not just a book—it’s a guided journey for understanding how trauma shapes identity, relationships, and the nervous system, and how to gently reclaim safety and self-worth.What I love about this book is its workbook format. It offers step-by-step exercises, reflective prompts, and grounding strategies that clients at Pioneer Recovery Center have found immediately helpful. Fisher’s approach honors the survivor’s pace, combining the latest neuroscience with a profound respect for lived experience.Whether you’re a therapist seeking effective tools or a survivor ready to explore healing in a safe, structured way, this book provides a roadmap that is both hopeful and empowering. It’s one of the most accessible and actionable trauma resources available today.

Amazing! Amazing! Amazing! Perfect for therapists and clients with trauma.

Transforming the Legacy of Trauma was a short but impactful book. I spoke about this book so much that I thought I had written the review in 2023. The author provided one of the best manuals to identify how, when, what, and who is traumatized. She then highlighted ways to alert us when we are interacting and triggered by fears or triggers.She extensively explained the human brain from birth through adolescence. Her research was a huge eye-opener and deeply intrigued me. She established through case studies and examples how our mind/brain develops, ages, grows, activates, and sometimes, parts of the brain shuts off. She revealed how even basic things can trigger a person into unhealthy behaviors and not always for the reasons we speculate.She spoke about our bodies none verbal memories. This book reconfirms that trauma does not disappear, but we can learn to mitigate our response with direct and mindful work. This pivotal work has many applications for home, school, office, prisons, private therapy, human resources, military, police, etc.The Legacy of Trauma is a terrific book that should be read, shared, treasured, and referenced often. It was one of my best reads for 2023. There is also an accompanying workbook and a list of resources to continue learning.

Overall I found this workbook highly revelatory and clarifying. However I got the sense that the author was told by maybe one patient, one time "can you diagram that for me" and no one since has had the heart to tell her that they're gibberish. In the intro she insists that people find these concepts easier to understand with the diagrams, but I don't see how that's possible. They are typically either unnecessary, with visual elements that can be ignored, or impossible to understand. I wish she'd just said what needed to be said clearly instead of trying to dumb it down with pictures. I feel the average person doesn't require that degree of hand-holding. This flaw may seem like a trivial nitpick but I find it highly frustrating.

I use this as a supplemental tool with clients

Highly recommend to survivors of multiple traumas, but especially those diagnosed with Complex-PTSD (C-PTSD). Was introduced to this book in intensive PTSD treatment and helped me understand... myself. It provided the foundation I needed to begin legitimate healing after over a decade of nearly zero progress with misguided therapeutic techniques and related diagnoses. It will never leave my bookshelf.

I haven't started this yet, but my therapist recommended it to me. From what I've started reading so far, it seems to offer a unique way of working through past traumas and understanding how it plays out in your current life. Excited to get started.