Looking for help beyond self-help?
This is a book for you!

"Buy this book if years of therapy of done you no good. I cried as I read it, learning of Brian's own struggles with anxiety, depression and panic attacks. I cried for myself and my lost childhood. I gave up on therapy years ago, as Brian states in his book, it felt like picking scabs and any relief I felt was only momentary. Now I'm crying because I know that at the age of 62, there is light, there is hope, there is a way for me to heal. Thank you Brian!"

"When you’ve tried everything to heal your anxiety and the results are only short-lived, that’s where Brian comes in. This book provides a roadmap to the root cause, while also letting you know that anxiety doesn’t have to be a life sentence."

"The author is a Somatic Therapist (I didn’t know what that was initially) who talks of the terrible accident he went through that put him in such a place of trauma when he finally found help, it was Somatic therapy that changed his life. From there, the author speaks on all types of shame and trauma and how they manifest in our lives and truly, I had no idea this might be some of the issues I was dealing with. The language is easy to understand as of being explained by a friend, a brilliant accomplished friend. I will cherish this book, I know I’ll read it again and I may seek Somatic therapy after reading this. Many thanks for this. I hope as many people read this as need help. I’m so happy I found this."

"This timely book defines trauma and the trauma from shame as physiological rather than psychological. Here Mahan offers an autobiographical account of growing up with trauma and toxic shame and the dissociation he felt through much of his life up to a tragic car accident that left him with PTSD. At first he became a client then a practitioner and now an authority on healing trauma and toxic shame. It’s a compelling read."

"Brian was my therapist for a year during which I struggled with panic attacks, when I felt like something else had taken over the controls. It was profoundly relieving to have someone understand what that feels like from the inside and teach me from that it how to manage and decrease my response to threat, which is an instinct that breeds and escalates very quickly. I felt like someone was in the trench with me and taught me to climb out. I am profoundly grateful to him, so i awe of his skills and how he immediately reads and responds to a nervous system's many cues. It was impossible for me to even mention what had triggered me for many months - NOT talking was anathema to any other therapy I had tried. Brian's skills with somatic experiencing imparted in his hilarious and moving tale have given me much more than healing, but a truer and more authentic connection to myself and my life. He deserves all the accolades I hope will be poured upon him. Bravo!"

"This book is amazing! I've talked to several counselors over the years about my depression and PTSD and traumas and it feels like they only just give me medication but nobody's really ever tried to get to the root of the problem. This book really gave me a lot to think about and to reevaluate how I thought about my depression and TBI. I've recommended the book to four of my friends already. Would love to read more books from Brian."

"Like Brian’s work, this book gets deep into your bones and wounds and starts to help you truly heal. Brian’s heartbreaking, honest account of his own journey with healing toxic shame and trauma is the perfect anchor for this book that is full of helpful anecdotes and seeds for lasting change. Until I started working with Brian, I had never heard someone put such clear words to what shame is, how it feels, and how to actually start healing it, and I had several breakthrough moments while reading this book. It feels like having a session with him — funny, deep, all-seeing, all-is-welcome, vulnerable, and transformative. I will be re-reading this and buying copies for my friends for years and years to come."

"This book addresses the root of trauma. It brings to light the cause of so much of our suffering. It's obvious that the author poured his heart and soul into the work. Grateful I came across this work!"

"If you are ready to make lasting changes in your life, this book is for you. It is so beautifully written and immensely helpful. Brian explains the way our brains, body and nervous system work in a way that is easy to understand. He explains why positive thinking and other traditional strategies don't usually work. He also provides simple, powerful techniques to heal old wounds (we all have them) at a deep and transformative level. His guidance in how to turn toward our uncomfortable sensations and emotions with curiosity is a game changer. I loved hearing about Brian's clients and his own personal, transformative journey. It gave me so much hope and I can't recommend this book enough!"

"Surprisingly this book was a better read than I expected, a real page turner which i read more than halfway through at my first sitting. This is a record for me as I tend to read only if have to for work. This book is way ahead of the norm and I thoroughly recommend to those who are troubled or not. In this day and age very few of us have escaped unscathed so i recommend this book to that percentage of the population wholeheartedly. Well done to the author for his literary debut. I look forward to reading more."

Polly. Lawyer UK

"It's nice to read a book about some of the hardest things in life that isn't filled with citations, and which is relatable in so many ways. I can look up the clinical background later. Rather, this book is from the perspective of an expert in the field and his own personal journey in the first half, which then makes the second half of concrete, often challenging but incredible advice, easier to understand and digest. You realize that you're not alone in your journey, you're not crazy, and there are 15 terms that you will now always recite to your friends as if they too such understand a cognitive disconnect and the fact that "beliefs always win." But on a more serious note, this book is once for reading for a first pass, and a second time to remember the 17 things you wanted to underline along the way, mark down, and remember. It made me understand not just the baseline of somatic therapy (or a tiny part of the baseline), but also ask myself a lot of questions about how and why I do things, and what it even means to feel life again. Oh and the single fact alone that you can reframe anger on a spectrum, where it can sometimes be helpful, is worth the price of purchase."

"This book is unlike any other and it will change your life (for the better)!

It is indeed a self-help book but it reads more like a memoir. Mahan weaves a compelling tale of the journey into, through and beyond the traumas that can shape our lives without us even knowing it. You won't be able to put it down because his approach is so open, so heartfelt and so personally honest. He isn't didactic, not for a second, even though you can tell that he has more than enough knowledge and experience (both professional and personal) to be be if he wanted to. Rather he is vulnerable, forthright and ultimately courageous in facing, healing and treating trauma.

You will cry. Be warned. But you will also be empowered. And by the time you are done reading you will find that your cheeks are wet because you are crying. And the tears will be the tears of joy, the joy at the person you have become once again.

Highly, highly recommended!"

"This was exactly what I needed to read at this time in my life. Mr. Mahan offers deeply moving insight to toxic shame that resonated powerful truth for me. His humor made it a pleasure to read and his experience brought it all home. I read it in two days. I had a hard time putting it down last night to go to sleep. If, like me straight up talk therapy hasn’t resolved some of your deeper core issues, you definitely need to read this book. I loved the ending! It inspired me so much I went straight to the Somatic Experiencing International website and found a practitioner near me. When that kind of ease in taking action happens, I know that’s my intuition saying YES! Mission accomplished Mr. Mahan. Thank you so much."

"The book is a compelling read. From the first page to the last, Brain Mahan’s personal story kept me captivated and absorbed. Brian was also able to weave an easy to understand explanation of shame and trauma and how a body up approach is needed to heal both! I highly recommend it to anyone on a healing journey!"

"This book is a gift: nurturing, enlightening, and healing. This is a remarkable treatment of pain and healing. This book is full of human examples and is characterized by a good ideal of personal charm and wit. I found it the kind of book that one can enjoy reading and rereading because it generates association to one's own life and experiences. I highly recommend this book to therapists and any reader who has an interest in understanding pain, healing and shame."

"The personal anecdotes made the explanation of trauma as a body-based reaction come to life. Instead of getting intellectualized insight, the reader is invited to feel the truth of it through empathy."

"I promised myself I'd never buy another 'self-help' book. I've read too many. But I was promised this one offered something different - and I wasn't disappointed. In fact, it's been a game-changer. It's not just talk-therapy AGAIN. It's a very real, visceral, practical guide that builds upon itself and actually teaches you how to use your BODY (not just your mind) to understand where you hold your pain - from trauma and early developmental wounds - and how to finally release that pain, and the old patterns that hold you back. It makes the mind-body connection easy to understand and unlock, in a new way. It's also funny at times, and beautifully written."

"Reassurance and clarity are at the heart of Brian's approach to living well with and without our woes. He will touch you deeply with his authentic healing methods."

"I can’t even believe this. Already this book has made me cry with relief. I haven’t finished reading it quite yet, which is rare for me to review a book just before the end! But this book makes you feel like someone understands, someone gets it. Brian Mahan offers a wealth of knowledge about getting through the really hard experiences in our bodies and minds. What an awesome book! I honestly didn’t know what to expect when my girlfriend suggested this book to me. I have experienced a lot of trauma in my life and I am always looking for something to help. So I thought I would give this little book a shot. I already feel like I got my money’s worth though! I just ordered two more copies! Lol! I’m hooked already! One for my sister and one for my friend who just went through a lot of loss. I know this book is going to change a lot of lives. I can see it in my own life already. Get this book! You won’t regret it!"

"Everyone faces some form of trauma or feels a form of shame that can affect aspects of their life up to the present moment, After reading Brian’s book I was able to become aware of how mine affected my belief system which hindered aspects of my life. Trauma can come at any moment and Brian’s book has given me the awareness and tools needed to healthily process these moments without judgement, so I can show up as the best version of myself. I highly recommend reading this and thank you Brian for writing this well written easy to read book. It is definitely a game changer!"

"This book does a great job helping to explain why simply talking about your problems can be helpful, but not necessarily go all the way for the healing process. The author highlights how trauma to the body impacts the mind in ways many of us don’t understand. I found it to be highly helpful, insightful, and relatable."

“I Cried All The Way To Happy Hour” is a breathe of fresh air in the struggle to find healing from trauma-induced conditions. I suffered trauma from my father, hazing at two all-male boarding schools, and combat zone in Vietnam. I found triggering sources wherever I went. I entered traditional talk therapy in 1990 and thence for 29 years - obviously not finding healing. Like many trauma survivors, I read many books and tried other modalities toward healing.
Brian’s book may be the pinnacle of all the modalities and treatments I tried. So have hope. I am certain most who read this book and practice its techniques will find much relief and many will finding healing.
As a devoted and Bible-believing Christian, I find that if indeed this book has any shortcomings in offering hope and healing for trauma survivors, it may lie in selling short what Brian labels the Spiritual Bypass.
Nevertheless, I highly recommend “I Cried All The Way To Happy Hour” as the next and perhaps final stepping stone on your path to permanent recovery. Read it. You won’t regret it."

"Brian Mahan's intimate literary journey of trauma healing through somatic experiencing is a breath of fresh air for those of us who have tried it all in our striving for joy. Full of humor and honesty, this book offers new ways of understanding and releasing old trauma held on to though our bodies that breaks the cycles! Thank you Brian for this deep breath, laugh, and gentle look into what is possible."

"This is potent stuff. It has tools to show you how to change held embodied beliefs, and having used it for some days I already feel a shift in some areas where I have felt a block for quite a while. The tool is so effective that I actually feel like using it slowly, since it seems to make sustainable change, where I otherwise would do things with such an intensity and regularly fashion because simply most doesn’t. It’s years of distilled wisdom."

"What can I say? Brian Mahan’s book is truly thought-provoking. I wasn’t able to put it down. I will read this amazing book over and over. It made me laugh, it made me sad. We all go through struggles and traumas over our lifetime. This book has given me a new perspective on Profound Healing and Personal Transformation. Thank you Brian Mahan."

"Brian is so plugged into, and facile with, a subtle humor that acts as a kind of miracle-making multi-tool throughout this book. He uses it masterfully to look at trauma from a pretty novel perspective. It’s a humor that does not sacrifice sincerity for the sake of a laugh. Rather, it’s one that appears when least expected, lasts precisely as long as it should, and each time, welcomes the reader more and more into the gravity of the conversation. It’s a joy to see how the humor dazzles throughout the educating and storytelling that Brian shares so beautifully on these pages. It’s a joy to see how all of Brian’s gifts dazzle throughout his sentences. The read is fluid and easy to follow. It’s intimate. Informative. Comprehensive. I can implement what he points to without my system triggering into overwhelm. I attribute much of that to Brian’s transmission of earnestness and compassion. They sound loud and clear through every word. In my experience, this book is chock-full of wisdom that is humorous, humble, and invaluably helpful. And that’s the review that’s coming through these bones in this moment. Grateful to Brian for helping me learn how to sense more deeply into these bones, how to trust what’s coming through them. Grateful for "I Cried All the Way to Happy Hour" and its proficiency to point to a loving, right, and healthy relationship with trauma. Grateful for the opportunity to encourage you to read this book."

"This is one book that I started reading as soon as I received it. I can't put it down. It speaks to me so clearly and I relate to so much of his writing. I have been waiting for a book like this."

"First of all, I've never laughed so hard reading a book on trauma & therapy - I had no idea what I was missing out on. Brian's writing is stylish and melodic, in a way that helps the reader soak in the material effortlessly.

I've read many books on self-help, therapy, and trauma over the past 7 years as I tried to figure out "what was wrong with me". I honestly wish this book was out back when I started my process - it would've saved me so much time and cleared up so much confusion and shame. Brian touches on the two things that are overlooked by many mental health practitioners - physiology/nervous system & shame. Imo, it is incredibly difficult and at times impossible to heal the deep wounds without integrating these elements, and Brian does a lovely job in illuminating both of them.

The whole book was a delight to read, peppered in with moments of reflection and aha-moments. I felt supported by Brian's honesty and transparency that he exhibits throughout the book, allowing me to be more honest with myself and my own story. This is a must-read for anyone in the mental/healing space - clients as well as practitioners/clinicians. This will be the first book I hand over to my clients as they start their process. Who would've thought that a book on trauma could make you laugh hard and be so profound."