I found the introduction interesting but also a little too
didactic in feel because there was not statistics and I was expected to take
their word for it. Some key terms of the introduction are “control,” such as in
this section, the chief healing effect of writing is thus to recover and to
exert a measure of control over that which we can never control—the past” (7). This
is important because the traumatic event is probably defined by danger and
uncontrollability. However, healing doesn’t mean the person gets to completely control
the present: “healing is neither a return to some former state of perfection
nor the discovery or restoration of some mythic autonomous self. Healing, as we
understand it, is precisely the opposite. It is change from a singular self, frozen in time by a moment of
unspeakable experience, to a more fluid, more narratively able, more socially
integrated self” (7).
I also found this passage on page 3, “finding themselves in a
culture that could not or would not understand or accept them, veteran’s
symptoms only intensified” explains a part of the aftermath well and that
trauma is not just the event itself but also how one carries that event with
them in daily life. I also like how the authors did not specify an end result
per say but definitely defined what is not the beginning, “healing arises from
just such confusion and psychic pain, never from peace. It is when we are
overloaded with past and present trauma that we are motivated to take on the
difficult work of healing”(5). They briefly mentioned time, "traumatic events, because they do not occur within the parameters of "normal" reality, do not fit into the structure and flow of time," and this I found interesting and possibly similar in concept to any notable moment in a person's life (6). I also respected the honesty of the writers
when they said that it can be challenging for teachers to deal with a student
who writes about traumatic events as there is more needed attention both potentially
time-wise and in the discussion of the
piece.
All of these pieces I found suitable to talk about in class.
