“What makes the book so special is not only the inspirational message it offers for individuals whose lives began, through no fault of their own, on a precarious foundation. Or that it provides those who care for them and care about them reason for hope. It is in Buchan’s ability to lucidly articulate the inner experience of the healing process that this book’s contribution shines. It does not sugar-coat Buchan’s long and complex healing journey. Instead, it realistically and vividly, often poignantly, maps the stages that unfolded. It is rare, in my experience, that self-reflection is so cogently expressed and packed with penetrating insight. The author’s background as a successful novelist combined with her later-in-life work in the grand tradition of the “wounded healer”–helping others similarly afflicted in her counselling practice–are important contributors to the power of this book. Apt literary allusions join summaries of pertinent findings from the medical and psychological literature, feminist thinkers, and spiritual leaders, in making it a richer and more informative read.”

“Once Upon a Body is a personal story of early developmental trauma and the life-long process of return to wholeness. It is a multi-layered, evolving story, guided by the author’s natural curiosity and an instinctual intelligence, informed by a vast trove of literature that helps us to understand the human condition, and grounded in theories of trauma and attachment rooted in developmental principles, relational processes, and somatic practices. . . . I highly recommend this book to anyone and everyone: anyone who struggles with the crippling effects of developmental trauma, and anyone who works professionally with people who are engaged in a healing journey, but beyond that, anyone who is interested in the human story as told by a fine storyteller.”

“What emerges in these pages is the strength and resilience of the human spirit. Jane provides the reader with a sense of hope we all so desperately need and crave during these times and beyond. She also gives us a reminder to be an active participant in our healing even when and as we don’t know where it will lead. It is in those moments we grow and learn the most.”

“Part of Jane’s eloquently written memoir shares her journey with treatments and interventions as she discovers and processes different events throughout her life. While Once Upon a Body is a personal recollection and process, it is also a glimpse into strategies that can heal and turn trauma into triumph. The body may keep the score, but it also has to ability to recover and thrive. Sometimes it just needs the right tools. Jane outlines techniques that served her perfectly – from energy medicine and psychology approaches, to acupoint stimulation and dance. All approaches had something in common: they were true mind-body approaches in that they included direct interventions at the level of the body; they all had the ability to change brain activity very rapidly; and they were all able to shift emotional learning.”