Summary

In Chapter 16, “The Choice,” Dr. Eger recounts three therapeutic experiences in significant detail, experiences she describes as both helping her clients and helping herself. She prefaces these recounting with a brief description of an unsuccessful encounter early in her career, which led her to realize that she needed to not be afraid of her own trauma, but recognize and use them as a powerful resource for empathy and connection. The first lengthier description is of her work with a young woman named Emma, who had been diagnosed with anorexia and who was living with a demanding family. Through working with Emma, Dr. Eger says, she learned the value of patience and reconnected with her own longings for dance; a key component of Emma’s healing, she says, was helping her reconnect with her own love of dance...