Reclaiming Your Life After Medical Trauma

“Surviving a health crisis–whether sudden or chronic–is often profoundly distressing emotionally, but our health care system has struggled to fully acknowledge this reality. Dr. Jackson thoughtfully confronts this problem head-on as he guides us toward concrete and empowering ways to address medical trauma.” –Damon Tweedy, MD, author of Black Man in a White Coat: A Doctor’s Reflections on Race and Medicine“As a medical oncologist, I find Dr. Jackson’s book to be a vital, empathetic resource that illuminates the largely unacknowledged problem of medical trauma of all kinds. The emphasis on evidence-based strategies…will help survivors navigate the difficult path toward reclaiming their lives after traumatic medical experiences, and clinicians better understand their patients’ struggles and partner with them in the journey forward.” –Dr. Alicia Morgans, Director of Cancer Survivorship, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute“In Reclaiming Your Life from Medical Trauma, [Dr. Jackson] brings the full depth of his clinical and research expertise, along with deep humanity, to bear–naming medical trauma with clarity, tenderness, and scientific rigor, while offering a genuine path toward healing. At a moment when millions are struggling with the invisible aftermath of illness, his voice is one we urgently need to hear.”–Shaili Jain, M.D., author of The Unspeakable Mind: Stories of Trauma and Healing from the Frontlines of PTSD Science“Dr. Jim Jackson is an extraordinary scientist, clinician, and communicator. I am so glad to see him sharing his hard-won insights with the public, as some of the phenomena he discusses were not on the radar for most of us in the medical world until the last couple of decades and many of us remain guilty of overlooking how medical problems and treatments can profoundly affect our patient’s lives. Dr. Jackson provides much-needed insight and information to add hope and meaning for those suffering from traumatic and otherwise stressful medical events.” –Joe Bienvenu, PhD, Director, Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry at Johns Hopkins“A thoughtful, helpful, and deeply moving book grounded in decades of clinical experience and buoyed by cutting-edge science, Reclaiming Your Life from Medical Trauma, by renowned psychologist, Dr. Jim Jackson, provides a hopeful and compassionate roadmap for learning to thrive and flourish even in the face of unspeakably hard things. I highly recommend it for patients and families grappling with the persistent effects of difficult medical experiences of all sorts, as it is sure to bolster and empower them on their recovery journey.”–Wes Ely, MD, author of Every Deep-Drawn Breath“This book offers a clinically sophisticated and deeply humane approach to trauma and healing that aligns with a polyvagal-informed perspective. By foregrounding safety, honoring the body’s role in shaping experience, and recognizing social connection as a primary regulator, James Jackson reframes symptoms as adaptive survival strategies and provides a trustworthy, neuroscience-grounded guide for embodied recovery and co-regulation.” –Stephen Porges, PhD, Director of the Kinsey Institute Traumatic Stress Research Consortium at Indiana University Bloomington“This outstanding guide is deeply validating, compassionate, accessible, and informative, and it will be a balm to many as they travel the path through life-changing diagnoses, health emergencies, and medical gaslighting. Jackson offers his own life experience alongside examples from real patients and their families, and his expertise and research illuminate many possible paths for integration and healing.”–Sonya Huber, author of Pain Woman Takes Your Keys and Other Essays from a Nervous System“Thoroughly and thoughtfully researched, and at the same time extremely practical, Reclaiming Your Life from Medical Trauma is a major contribution to the field of traumatic stress and provides much-needed support for those affected by medical trauma. From acceptance to embracing growth, Dr. Jackson offers readers compassionate companionship on their journey toward healing and even thriving after medical trauma.” –Karestan Koenen, PhD, Professor of Psychiatric Epidemiology at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

Dr. James Jackson is a leading expert in the impact of illness on cognitive and mental health. He is a licensed psychologist and neuropsychologist with training from Vanderbilt University and the Oliver Zangwill Center in England. He holds positions as Research Professor of Medicine and Psychiatry at Vanderbilt and Director of the ICU Recovery Center, which specializes in treating survivors of critical illnesses. He also directs Long-Term Outcomes at the CIBS Center, focusing on brain dysfunction after critical illness. His research has been funded by the Department of Defense, Department of Veteran’s Affairs, and the National Institute of Health and highlighted in the pages of The Atlantic, Newsweek, The New York Times, Scientific American, Time, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Wired, as well as on CNN and PBS.

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