Turnaround for Children featured in Dr. Nadine Burke Harris’ book, The Deepest Well

Crusading pediatrician Nadine Burke Harris has written a compelling new book on how to help children impacted by traumatic experiences. The Deepest Well: Healing the Long-Term Effects of Childhood Adversity uses storytelling and scientific insight to provide accessible strategies for preventing stress from getting under the skin, where it can cause life-long illnesses and barriers to learning.

Turnaround for Children Washington, D.C. staff check in with Dr. Harris at her D.C. talk.

In the book, Dr. Burke Harris depicts her efforts at the Center for Youth Wellness in San Francisco where she practices – and efforts across the United States –  to understand and help children who have experienced trauma become healthy and successful. In doing so, she tells the story of Turnaround for Children’s founding in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, and recounts the organization’s pioneering efforts to connect scientific understanding to educational practice. Here’s an excerpt:

Far from stigmatizing and singling out kids with [Adverse Childhood Experiences] ACEs, Turnaround embraces an approach that simply identifies where a student is on the developmental trajectory and uses the science of toxic stress to help get that child back on track. Knowing whether a kid’s development is stuck because of exposure to ACEs is fundamental to figuring out where to start in the classroom. (p.188)

Turnaround for Children New York team members at the New York City book signing.

You can learn more about The Deepest Well by reading Dr. Burke Harris’s interview with National Public Radio in which she speaks about Turnaround’s work. In the days after the book was published, Turnaround staffers enjoyed listening to Dr. Burke Harris read excerpts in New York City and Washington, D.C. Click here to see if she is coming to a city near you soon!