What It Takes To Heal (Hardcover)

By Prentis Hemphill | Random House (2024)

From one of the most prominent voices in the trauma conversation comes a groundbreaking new way to heal on a personal and collective level.

As we emerge from the past few years of collective upheaval, are we ready to face the complexities of our time with joy, authenticity, and connection? Now, more than ever, we must learn to heal ourselves, connect with each other, and embody our values. In this revolutionary book, Prentis Hemphill shows us how. 

What It Takes to Heal argues that the principles of embodiment awareness—the recognition of our body’s sensations, habits, and the beliefs that inform them—are critical to lasting healing and change. Hemphill, an expert embodiment practitioner , therapist, and activist, who has partnered with Brene Brown, Esther Perel, among others, shows us that we don’t have to carry our emotional burdens alone. Hemphill demonstrates a future in which healing is done in community, weaving together stories from their own experience as a trauma survivor with clinical accounts and lessons learned from their time as a social movement architect. They ask, “what would it do to movements, to our society and culture to have the principles of healing at the very center? And what does it do to have healing at the center of every structure, and everything we create?”

In this life-affirming framework for the way forward, Hemphill shows us how to heal our bodies, minds, and souls, to develop the interpersonal skills necessary to bust down the doors of disconnection and take the necessary risks to reshape our world towards justice.