The article argues that The Body Keeps the Score contains major factual errors and overextends findings about trauma’s prevalence and bodily effects, including claims about trauma without memory. It uses concrete counter‑evidence (e.g., a 1973 obstetric study) to show that distressing birth events don’t support PTSD narratives as presented.
— Debunking a canonical trauma text matters because its claims steer clinical practice, school programming, media framing, and public health priorities.
Emily Mendenhall
2026.01.08
72% relevant
Both items show how influential books and professional narratives can misstate or simplify medical evidence and thereby shape policy and public perception; Mendenhall’s tracing of hysteria as a cultural frame connects directly to the existing idea that popular works can promulgate misleading clinical stories and affect care, research priorities, and trust.
Cat Lambert
2026.01.05
50% relevant
Both pieces document how a widely distributed literary work can create or harden public beliefs despite shaky provenance: Louÿs’s Bilitis (a fake corpus presented as ancient) parallels how best‑selling books can misstate evidence about trauma; in each case an influential textual artifact reshapes public discourse and policy debates. The actor/claim connection: Pierre Louÿs published The Songs of Bilitis as if translated from Heim’s 'discovery', producing an authoritative‑sounding source that entered cultural memory.
2025.10.07
100% relevant
The critique contrasts Dave Asprey’s 'cord around the neck' PTSD claim with published findings showing no lasting psychological damage, and highlights the book’s massive reach (NYT list, millions sold).