Books

Dr. Levine is the author of 5 books about healing trauma, including the best-seller Waking the Tiger, Healing Trauma, which has been translated into over 29 languages. He co-authored three books, including topics on childhood trauma and chronic pain. His latest book, An Autobiography of Trauma, was released in Spring 2024.

An Autobiography of Trauma

A Healing Journey
by Peter A Levine, PhD

In this intimate memoir, renowned developer of Somatic Experiencing Peter A. Levine shares his personal journey to healing his own severe childhood trauma and offers profound insights into the evolution of his innovative trauma healing method.

Casting himself as a modern-day Chiron, the wounded healer of Greek mythology, Dr. Levine describes, in graphic detail, the violence of his childhood juxtaposed with specific happy and exuberant memories, which helped him prepare for coming to terms with his horrifying experiences. He shares his inner experience of being guided through Somatic Experiencing (SE) to illuminate and untangle his traumatic wounds and describes the mysterious and unexpected dreams and visions that have guided him through his life’s work. Exploring his dream visitations with Albert Einstein in depth, he explains how he came to view Einstein as his personal spirit guide and mentor and how he later discovered his own personal and profound real-life connection to him through his mother.

Describing his breakthroughs in developing Somatic Experiencing, the author details how he helped thousands of others before resolving his own trauma years later with the support of his method. He explains how the SE method is derived from his studies of wild animals in their natural environments, neurobiology, and more than 50 years of clinical observations. He describes his education and career as well as his encounters with noteworthy figures such as somaticists Charlotte Selver and Ida Rolf, ethological zoologist Nikolas Tinbergen, and autism pioneer Mira Rothenberg.

Unveiling the inner story of the man who changed the way psychologists, doctors, and healers understand and treat the wounds of trauma and abuse, this autobiography reveals how anyone suffering from trauma has a valuable story to tell. And by telling our stories, we can catalyze the return of hope, dignity, and wholeness.

Waking the Tiger

Healing Trauma
by Peter A Levine, PhD

“Animals do not view freezing as a sign of inadequacy or weakness, nor should we.”

― Peter A. Levine, Waking the Tiger: Healing Trauma

“In many ways, the felt sense is like a stream moving through an ever-changing landscape. It alters its character in resonance with its surroundings. When the land is rugged and steep, the stream moves with vigor and energy, swirling and bubbling as it crashes over rocks and debris. Out on the plains, the stream meanders so slowly that one might wonder whether it is moving at all. Rains and spring thaw can rapidly increase its volume, possibly even flood nearby land. In the same way, once the setting has been interpreted and defined by the felt sense, we will blend into whatever conditions we find ourselves. This amazing sense encompasses both the content and climate of our internal and external environments. Like the stream, it shapes itself to fit those environments.”

― Peter A. Levine, Waking the Tiger: Healing Trauma

In an Unspoken Voice

How the Body Releases Trauma and Restores Goodness
by Peter A Levine, PhD

"Highly traumatized and chronically neglected or abused individuals are dominated by the immobilization/shutdown system. On the other hand, acutely traumatized people (often by a single recent event and without a history of repeated trauma, neglect or abuse) are generally dominated by the sympathetic fight/flight system. They tend to suffer from flashbacks and racing hearts, while the chronically traumatized individuals generally show no change or even a decrease in heart rate. These sufferers tend to be plagued with dissociative symptoms, including frequent spacyness, unreality, depersonalization, and various somatic and health complaints. Somatic symptoms include gastrointestinal problems, migraines, some forms of asthma, persistent pain, chronic fatigue, and general disengagement from life."

— Peter A. Levine, In an Unspoken Voice: How the Body Releases Trauma and Restores Goodness

Trauma and Memory

Brain and Body in a Search for the Living Past: A Practical Guide for Understanding and Working with Traumatic Memory
by Peter A Levine, PhD

“Traumatic memory lives in the body as sensation, activation, and procedural patterns—not as a coherent story we can simply recall and retell. In Trauma and Memory, I explore how overwhelming experiences bypass our ordinary systems of narrative memory, becoming instead imprints on the nervous system that remain active long after the event has passed. These implicit memories—held in posture, breath, and autonomic arousal—shape how we perceive the world and ourselves, often without conscious awareness. Healing requires gently unlocking these embodied remnants of the past, allowing the thwarted survival responses to complete so the body can return to equilibrium. When we work with the body’s innate capacity for self-regulation, traumatic memory can transform from a source of fear and fragmentation into an integrated part of our lived experience.”

— Peter A. Levine, PhD, Trauma and Memory, Brain and Body in a Search for the Living Past: A Practical Guide for Understanding and Working with Traumatic Memory

Trauma-Proofing your Kids

A Parents’ Guide to Instilling Confidence, Joy and Resilience
by Peter A Levine, PhD and Maggie Kline

“In Trauma-Proofing Your Kids, we offer parents, caregivers, and educators a practical guide to protecting children from the long-term effects of overwhelming experiences. Children are naturally resilient, but when their instinctive survival responses are interrupted or misunderstood, those experiences can become lodged in their nervous systems. This book teaches adults how to recognize early signs of stress or trauma, how to respond in ways that support a child’s innate capacity to regulate, and how to guide them through simple, effective body-based practices that restore safety and confidence. By understanding how a child’s nervous system processes fear, shock, and threat, we can help them move through difficult moments with greater ease—preventing small incidents from becoming lasting imprints. Our hope is to give every child the tools to meet life’s challenges with resilience, vitality, and emotional well-being.”

— Peter A. Levine, PhD & Maggie Kline, Trauma-Proofing your Kids: A Parents’ Guide to Instilling Confidence, Joy and Resilience

Trauma Through a Child's Eyes

Awakening the Ordinary Miracle of Healing
by Peter A Levine, PhD and Maggie Kline

Trauma Through a Child’s Eyes, co-authored by Peter A. Levine, PhD, and Maggie Kline, offers an illuminating and compassionate exploration of how children experience trauma—and how parents, caregivers, and professionals can help them heal. Drawing from decades of clinical wisdom and the principles of Somatic Experiencing®, the authors reveal how a child’s body and nervous system respond to overwhelming events, often in ways that are misunderstood or overlooked. Through engaging stories, case examples, and practical guidance, the book empowers adults to recognize the signs of unresolved stress and support a child’s natural capacity to recover, regulate, and thrive. With clarity and hope, Levine and Kline demonstrate that when children are met with attuned presence and simple, somatically informed tools, even deeply rooted trauma can transform into resilience and renewed vitality.

Freedom from Pain

Discover your Body’s Power to Overcome Physical Pain
by Peter A Levine, PhD and Maggie Phillips, PhD

Freedom from Pain, co-authored by Peter A. Levine and Maggie Phillips, offers a groundbreaking, integrative approach to understanding and resolving chronic pain—one that goes far beyond symptom management. Drawing on the principles of Somatic Experiencing® and decades of clinical expertise, the authors reveal how unresolved stress and trauma become embedded in the body, often manifesting as persistent physical pain. Through accessible explanations, guided exercises, and real-world case examples, Levine and Phillips empower readers to gently unwind the nervous system’s protective patterns and restore a sense of safety and ease. Combining neuroscience, mind–body practices, and compassionate insight, this book provides a practical and hopeful pathway for anyone seeking lasting relief and a renewed connection to their own innate capacity for healing.

Healing Trauma

A Pioneering Program for Restoring the Wisdom of Your Body
by Peter A Levine, PhD

”Re-enactments may be played out in intimate relationships, work situations, repetitive accidents or mishaps, and in other seemingly random events. They may also appear in the form of bodily symptoms or psychosomatic diseases. Children who have had a traumatic experience will often repeatedly recreate it in their play. As adults, we are often compelled to re-enact our early traumas in our daily lives. The mechanism is similar regardless of the individual’s age.”

― Peter A. Levine, Healing Trauma: A Pioneering Program for Restoring the Wisdom of Your Body