The Deepest Well

Description

A pioneering physician reveals how childhood stress leads to lifelong health problems and what we can do to break the cycle. Dr. Nadine Burke Harris was already known as an innovative, crusading physician delivering targeted care to vulnerable children. But it was her patient Diego - a boy who had stopped growing four years earlier after a sexual trauma - who galvanized her to dig deeper into the connections between toxic stress and the lifelong illnesses she was tracking among so many of her patients and their families. A survey of more than 17,000 adult patients' Adverse Childhood Experiences, or ACEs, like divorce, substance abuse, or neglect, had proved that the higher a person's ACE score the worse their health-and now led Burke Harris to an astonishing breakthrough. Childhood stress changes our neural systems and lasts a lifetime. Through storytelling that delivers both scientific insight and moving stories of personal impact, Burke Harris illuminates her journey of discovery, from innovative research labs nationwide to her own pediatric practice in San Francisco's poverty-ridden Bayview, Hunters Point. For anyone who has faced a difficult childhood, or who cares about the millions of children who do, the innovative and acclaimed health interventions outlined in The Deepest Well will represent vitally important hope for change.

Promotion info

Dr Nadine Burke Harris reveals the science behind Adverse Childhood Experience and the tangible effects of abuse, neglect and stress on the development of the brain and long term health

Reviews

One person in recovery extended the hand of hope and help to me. It saved me. This book has the power to extend that hand to countless others. -- Ashley Judd, actress and political activist Over the last decade, Nadine has transformed the lives of the thousands of young people she has treated, counselled, and healed. Now, with this book, she is poised to transform the lives of millions, who don't yet know the story of ACEs and don't yet understand their impact on our lives, our work, and our families. -- Paul Tough, author of New York Times Best Seller How Children Succeed Adverse childhood experiences are the single greatest unaddressed public health threat facing our nation today. -- Dr Robert Block, former President of the American Academy of Pediatrics

Author description

Dr. Nadine Burke Harris is founder and CEO of Center for Youth Wellness in San Francisco, California. She has earned international attention for her innovative approach to addressing adverse childhood experiences as a risk factor for adult disease, such as heart disease and cancer. Dr. Burke Harris serves as an expert advisor on the Too Small To Fail initiative championed by Hillary Clinton and the Clinton Foundation. Dr. Burke Harris is also an advisor to California Governor Jerry Brown and she has earned the Arnold P. Gold Foundation Humanism in Medicine Award presented by the American Academy of Pediatrics.