“Thirty years on this earth, and I’ve been sad at least half that time. On my subway rides to work, I stare at the supposedly neurotic masses—who are calmly staring at their phones—and think: Maybe I’m different from them? Maybe something is wrong with me?”

This passage very succinctly illustrates the depth of Stephanie Foo’s continuous struggle with depression, a result of her traumatic childhood and a manifestation of her complex PTSD. Foo questions her own behavioral patterns and thought processes, finding them to be fundamentally different from those of others who did not experience prolonged abuse in their childhood. Foo’s memoir is a tale about self-discovery as a tool toward healing: Through understanding her past, her parents, her trauma, and herself, she can identify the parts of herself—both physiological and psychological—that have been fundamentally altered as a result of her abuse. This is the key that helps her move forward.

“The difference between regular PTSD and complex PTSD is that traditional PTSD is often associated with a moment of trauma. Sufferers of complex PTSD have undergone continual abuse—trauma that has occurred over a long period of time, over the course of years. Child abuse is a common cause of complex PTSD.”

Samantha, Foo’s therapist, provides the work’s first definition of C-PTSD upon divulging Foo’s diagnosis. As of the book’s publishing, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) in America did not recognize C-PTSD as a diagnosis, making it ineligible for coverage by most health insurance. C-PTSD is the main topic of the memoir, and Foo’s goal is to share her experience dealing with its complex symptoms in the hopes of providing more resources for others.