What Happened to You? is a book intended for a readership interested in the topics of trauma, healing, and resilience. At the outset, Winfrey clarifies that the book is intended for those who have experienced trauma, or know of those who have experienced trauma, to help them understand these past histories and how they have influenced individual behavior and personality.

Although penned in a conversational format with Perry responding to Winfrey’s questions, and peppered with anecdotes offered by both co-authors, the book is not a memoir or a collection of stories. Perry roots his responses in scientific studies, specifically a neuroscientific approach to the experience of trauma. Perry defines and explains numerous aspects of the human brain and biology, and the role they play in the experience of trauma. His work as a clinician and academic is evident in his explanations, as well as his use of anecdotes drawn from his clinical experience to illustrate these concepts.

What Happened to You? offers new perspectives on trauma that are not widely acknowledged or understood by the public, or even health professionals. Perry attempts to draw convincing links between how physiology and human experience impact one another, and particularly so in the case of trauma.