A review by ashezds
Trauma and Recovery: The Aftermath of Violence--From Domestic Abuse to Political Terror by Judith Lewis Herman

challenging emotional informative inspiring reflective slow-paced

5.0

really incredible and well written account of trauma studies. as someone who had basically no understanding of the science/psychology side of trauma this was really accessible and informative, i really appreciate herman’s ability to explain very complicated things in simple ways. i also love that she doesn’t shy away from the political aspects of trauma — the gendered/racialised/classist aspects of it and how these issues make people more likely to have had traumatic experiences. in a field which was historically extremely sexist and racist this book is a great counter to this. 

obviously read as part of my phd research but on a personal level i also found this really helpful. it was sometimes weird to read about trauma therapy from the therapist’s point of view but in a good way. it’s always good to read something that feels like putting words to things you have felt but not been able to express (!!)