Book excerpt: At the age of 17, Apryl E. Pooley woke up in a fraternity house with no recollection of the past 16 hours and paralyzed from the neck down. What followed was more than the loss of innocence, it was a hurtling out of childhood and into the unfamiliar life-and brain-of a broken woman. It wasn't until her first year in a neuroscience PhD program that she learned PTSD is more than a military issue. Her newfound knowledge led to Apryl's PTSD diagnosis after nearly a decade of living with the disorder, and she devoted the remainder of her life's research to understanding the effects of trauma on the brain. She aimed to find a cure for herself and for others, but it wasn't her scientific knowledge of PTSD led to healing, it was sharing her personal story. Of rape. Of abuse. Of addiction. Shadow Brain describes Apryl's unrelenting attempts to escape her mind and body, only to find that what she really needed was to travel deep within herself to find the healing answers that were there all along. This story provides powerful insight into the range of emotional and psychological consequences of trauma, and most importantly, hope that the strength of the human spirit, body, and brain can prevail through the most difficult times.