Book Review: The Deepest Well, by Nadine Burke Harris, MD

The Deepest Well:  healing the long-term effects of childhood adversity

By Nadine Burke Harris, MD (published 2018)

I came across Dr. Nadine Burke Harris’ TED talk from 2014 in my quest to find out more about ACE’s and the Trauma Informed Community. To be very honest, I am trying to understand what it is and why Abiding Presence has embraced the movement.

Dr. Harris’ TED talk is a quick, informative description of what is an adverse childhood experience and how exposure to these experiences affects our body’s systems throughout life. Just google her name and her TED talk will appear.

In her book, “The Deepest Well”, she explains how she became aware of ACE’s through the ACE study and how and why she changed her pediatric practices based on her new knowledge and understanding. She also walks us through how she shared what she was learning and her concerns. (As an aside, Kamala Harris as district attorney of San Francisco appears on page 118.)

This is a well written book and easy to read. I found a copy in the Fairfax County Public Library.

I highly recommend it.

Lynne Linder

May 19, 2021