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A review by rigbees
In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado
5.0
I highlighted over 130 passages while reading this book. Carmen Maria Machado is a masterful writer and has achieved the pinnacle of trauma experiences - being able to write it into a beautiful story. "In the Dream House" follows the tradition of "The Argonauts" in weaving together theory and lived experiences. In academia, we'd call this auto-ethnography. In a memoir, it's powerful writing. By dripping in and out of theory and vivid recollection, she's able to express her experience and provide meaning-making with it.
I feel somewhat strange about trauma memoirs these days, particularly as a person with a trauma-ridden past. I know that they're often written by the author to express a story, but their popularity among the audience feels like sharks circle the water. Trauma, I think, should be able to be expressed without making it beautiful. However, I know that it isn't the case. The author herself makes it clear that she doesn't feel like she's generally believed.
Of course, the only reason why I'm able to even articulate this is because she brings it to the page. She is able to incorporate the connection of queer history and a lack of research into queer women's experiences of intimate partner violence. She's able to say "believe me, because other people don't". She's able to bring out the biomedical research that shows the change in brain structure due to trauma (okay, maybe this is a reach - I didn't make a note of any passages that specifically go over it- but I see it often enough in trauma memoirs).
I feel somewhat strange about trauma memoirs these days, particularly as a person with a trauma-ridden past. I know that they're often written by the author to express a story, but their popularity among the audience feels like sharks circle the water. Trauma, I think, should be able to be expressed without making it beautiful. However, I know that it isn't the case. The author herself makes it clear that she doesn't feel like she's generally believed.
Of course, the only reason why I'm able to even articulate this is because she brings it to the page. She is able to incorporate the connection of queer history and a lack of research into queer women's experiences of intimate partner violence. She's able to say "believe me, because other people don't". She's able to bring out the biomedical research that shows the change in brain structure due to trauma (okay, maybe this is a reach - I didn't make a note of any passages that specifically go over it- but I see it often enough in trauma memoirs).