Why This Book?

Healing the Fragmented Selves of Trauma Survivors is a profound and compassionate guide to understanding what trauma does to the inner world — and how healing begins when we stop pathologizing and start listening. Dr. Janina Fisher, a world-renowned trauma therapist, helps readers and clinicians understand how survivors often live with "parts" — protective inner selves developed to manage overwhelming pain. With sensitivity and clarity, she shows how these parts are not problems to fix, but protectors to understand. Healing begins, she writes, when we learn to welcome them home.

Who It’s For

• Trauma survivors who struggle with inner conflict, shame, or dissociation
• Therapists supporting clients with complex PTSD, developmental trauma, or structural dissociation
• Readers curious about “parts work” (e.g. Internal Family Systems, ego states) and how it supports recovery

Big Takeaways

• Trauma fragments the self — not because survivors are broken, but because the psyche protects itself by dividing pain into manageable parts.
• These parts often carry shame, fear, or rage — but they are also signs of survival.
• Healing comes through understanding and unifying the inner system, not suppressing or silencing it.

How It Can Help

This book gives words to what many survivors have silently felt for years: that they are made of many pieces, not all of which agree, and some of which seem to sabotage healing. Dr. Fisher offers a gentle, neuroscience-informed map for understanding these internal divisions and working toward integration. Her tone is never clinical for the sake of distance — it is grounded in respect, empathy, and deep belief in each person’s capacity to heal.

Additional Notes or Warnings

• Best suited for readers who are in therapy or who have some foundational knowledge of trauma recovery
• Gently explores themes of dissociation, internalized shame, and traumatic attachment
• Highly recommended for those feeling confused by internal conflict or “inner chaos” after trauma