Contrary to the view of trauma popularized by literary theorists, Trauma and Forgiveness argues that the traumatized are capable of representing their experience and that we should therefore listen more and theorize less. Using stories and case studies, including testimonies from Holocaust survivors, as well as the victims of 'ordinary' trauma, C. Fred Alford shows that, while the traumatized are generally capable of representing their experience, this does little to heal them. He draws on the British Object Relations tradition in psychoanalysis to argue that forgiveness, which might be expected to help heal the traumatized, is generally an attempt to avoid the hard work of mourning losses that can never be made whole. Forgiveness is better seen as a virtue in the classical sense, a recognition of human vulnerability. The book concludes with an extended case study of the essayist Jean Améry and his refusal to forgive.

Product Description: The Ethics of Remembering and the Consequences of Forgetting: Essays on Trauma, History, and Memory brings together scholars from a variety of disciplines that draw on multiple perspectives to address issues that arise at the intersection of trauma, history, and memory...read more

Product Description: Based on case studies spanning time and geography - from the Spanish to the Nigerian civil wars, to government repression in Argentina and genocidal policies in Guatemala and Rwanda and, finally, to forced population removal in Australia and Israel - this collection examines some of the strategies used to publicly engage with traumatic memory work...read more

Product Description: This book offers an original conception of trauma and of the working mind that has not been previously presented. It is mostly based on essentials taken from Bion's contributions. All human beings are fatalistically marked by the presence and eventual disappearance of primary part-objects...read more

Product Description: How does a trauma survivor communicate «what can’t be said out loud» to others? In what form? How can we – readers, listeners, viewers – recognize the pain and suffering hidden behind words, pictures, or other artifacts produced by trauma survivors? This volume presents a possible response by bringing together the «expressions of the unspeakable» by trauma survivors and the interpretation of researchers in various fields, i...read more

Product Description: The remarkable story of an ordinary man who was transformed when a traumatic injury left him with an extraordinary giftNo one sees the world as Jason Padgett does. Water pours from the faucet in crystalline patterns, numbers call to mind distinct geometric shapes, and intricate fractal patterns emerge from the movement of tree branches, revealing the intrinsic mathematical designs hidden in the objects around us...read more

Product Description: The remarkable story of an ordinary man who was transformed when a traumatic injury left him with an extraordinary giftNo one sees the world as Jason Padgett does. Water pours from the faucet in crystalline patterns, numbers call to mind distinct geometric shapes, and intricate fractal patterns emerge from the movement of tree branches, revealing the intrinsic mathematical designs hidden in the objects around us...read more

Product Description: This volume synthesizes cutting-edge research on natural processes of resilience and recovery, highlighting implications for trauma treatment and prevention. Prominent experts examine what enables many trauma survivors to heal over time without intervention, as well what causes others to develop long-term psychiatric problems...read more

Product Description: Working with Trauma: Lessons from Bion and Lacan by Marilyn Charles takes concepts from the psychoanalytic literature and translates them into user-friendly language. In this book, Charles focuses on clinical work with more severely disturbed patients, for whom trauma has impeded their psychosocial development...read more