When Trauma and Recovery was first published in 1992, it was hailed as a groundbreaking work. In the intervening years, Herman’s volume has changed the way we think about and treat traumatic events and trauma victims. In a new afterword, Herman chronicles the incredible response the book has elicited and explains how the issues surrounding the topic have shifted within the clinical community and the culture at large.Trauma and Recovery brings a new level of understanding to a set of problems usually considered individually. Herman draws on her own cutting-edge research in domestic violence as well as on the vast literature of combat veterans and victims of political terror, to show the parallels between private terrors such as rape and public traumas such as terrorism. The book puts individual experience in a broader political frame, arguing that psychological trauma can be understood only in a social context. Meticulously documented and frequently using the victims’ own words as well as those from classic literary works and prison diaries, Trauma and Recovery is a powerful work that will continue to profoundly impact our thinking.
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Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Herman links the public traumas of society to those of domestic life in this provocative work of psychiatric theory.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
About the Author
Judith Herman, M.D., one of this country’s leading experts on trauma and abuse, is associate clinical professor of psychiatry at the Harvard Medical School, and director of training at the Victims of Violence Program at Cambridge Hospital. She is also a founding member of the Women’s Mental Health Collective in Massachusetts.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
153 of 157 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Just read ch. 5 and you will be sold. As a person who has worked as a therapist with a variety of people and a variety of problems, I was stunned by the way that this book explains the impact of trauma. You need to read the concept of "complex ptsd," presented in ch. 6. Chs 5 and 6 elegantly present a framework for understanding people who have grown up in the fear of a terroristic household, whether with sexual abuse or not, whether with notable physical abuse or not. This framework acounts for the various problems suffered that are often described by clinicians as "borderline personality disorder," "somatization disorder," and other difficult/lets-ignore-them diagnoses. My feeling is that if you grew up in a scary, terroristic home, if you read chapter five you will believe this author was observing the whole time, and you may gain some insight into your own adult life and personality.
63 of 63 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Was Judith watching us at home? Did she hide in the closet and take notes? You'll wonder if Judith Herman has the ability to see inside your thoughts after reading Chapter 5. As a survivor of child abuse and trauma, I was amazed by her ability to clearly define my thoughts, reactions and general "take" on life. If you are a survivor of ANY kind of trauma, READ THIS BOOK. My therapist, Dr. Zitlin in San Antonio, asked me to please read this book after one visit with him. Trauma and Recovery proves to me that recovery is actually possible. And in a way that just might work. This is like no other book I've ever read on trauma, child abuse or PTSD. I've read enough self help books to fill three hefty bags and finally I'm reading something that mirrors my own experience. It's compassion filled without losing credibility. Simply amazing. Please take the time to read this.
68 of 70 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is not your usual trauma recovery book. Most books on healing explain symptoms, offer exercises, and provide illuminating case histories. Judith Herman does all this, but she goes beyond just focusing on healing oneself in isolation. We are social animals, and must live within our culture. Thus, how our culture regards trauma and traumatized people is very important to those trying to become reintegrated into society after massive psychic shock. Dr. Herman explains our modern Western culture's attitudes toward trauma and the traumatized, gives a fascinating and pertinent history of how those attitudes have changed throughout the past century, and shows how those attitudes affect how survivors recover.
Dr. Herman sets forth most of this broader cultural history in Part 1, Chapter 1, "A Forgotten History." She begins with the female hysteria patients of 19th Century Europe, and ends up with the Vietnam veterans' movement to demand treatment for battle induced post-traumatic stress. The veterans' work bore fruit. In 1980 the American Psychiatric Association included "post-traumatic stress disorder" in its official manual of mental disorders. This paved the way in the 1980s for victims of rape, childhood abuse, and domestic violence to be treated for post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms.
Part of the history Herman sets forth explores why people tend to shun and try to silence trauma survivors. She writes, "It is very tempting to take the side of the perpetrator. All the perpetrator asks is that the bystander do nothing. He appeals to the universal desire to see, hear, and speak no evil. The victim, on the contrary, asks the bystander to share the burden of pain. The victim demands action, engagement, and remembering."
I would guess that most people recovering from trauma have experienced the dynamic of those around them "taking the side of the perpetrator." Without understanding why they are doing so only compounds the suffering the survivor experiences, and intensifies the feeling that one is tainted, bad, or defective for having been traumatized in the first place. In exploring the cultural dynamics of collective repression and denial, Herman does a great service to those who must heal and re-enter a culture which can sometimes be seen to be in league with the perpetrators in our world.
The remainder of Part 1 deals with the types of abuse and the symptoms which follow. This information can be found in other books, but here it is set in a larger cultural context which helps the reader to make more sense out of the symptoms.
Part 2 describes the stages of recovery. This information is very concrete, very helpful, and hopeful as well. Dr. Herman outlines three main stages: establishing safety, remembering and integrating one's story, and re-integrating oneself back into the social world.
This book is probably the most helpful book I have read on trauma recovery in 20 years. Dr. Herman's idea of exploring the social matrix in which healing occurs is brilliant. After all, we are all connected. We cannot heal ourselves without making some sort of peace with the culture around us. We cannot always change the attitudes of those around us, but we can learn to understand, and thus approach those who cannot comprehend our reality with at least some measure of forgiveness and compassion.
Dr. Herman sets forth most of this broader cultural history in Part 1, Chapter 1, "A Forgotten History." She begins with the female hysteria patients of 19th Century Europe, and ends up with the Vietnam veterans' movement to demand treatment for battle induced post-traumatic stress. The veterans' work bore fruit. In 1980 the American Psychiatric Association included "post-traumatic stress disorder" in its official manual of mental disorders. This paved the way in the 1980s for victims of rape, childhood abuse, and domestic violence to be treated for post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms.
Part of the history Herman sets forth explores why people tend to shun and try to silence trauma survivors. She writes, "It is very tempting to take the side of the perpetrator. All the perpetrator asks is that the bystander do nothing. He appeals to the universal desire to see, hear, and speak no evil. The victim, on the contrary, asks the bystander to share the burden of pain. The victim demands action, engagement, and remembering."
I would guess that most people recovering from trauma have experienced the dynamic of those around them "taking the side of the perpetrator." Without understanding why they are doing so only compounds the suffering the survivor experiences, and intensifies the feeling that one is tainted, bad, or defective for having been traumatized in the first place. In exploring the cultural dynamics of collective repression and denial, Herman does a great service to those who must heal and re-enter a culture which can sometimes be seen to be in league with the perpetrators in our world.
The remainder of Part 1 deals with the types of abuse and the symptoms which follow. This information can be found in other books, but here it is set in a larger cultural context which helps the reader to make more sense out of the symptoms.
Part 2 describes the stages of recovery. This information is very concrete, very helpful, and hopeful as well. Dr. Herman outlines three main stages: establishing safety, remembering and integrating one's story, and re-integrating oneself back into the social world.
This book is probably the most helpful book I have read on trauma recovery in 20 years. Dr. Herman's idea of exploring the social matrix in which healing occurs is brilliant. After all, we are all connected. We cannot heal ourselves without making some sort of peace with the culture around us. We cannot always change the attitudes of those around us, but we can learn to understand, and thus approach those who cannot comprehend our reality with at least some measure of forgiveness and compassion.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Something every woman should read
Dr. Herman opens the door to trauma and its causes in easy to understand, non-medical language. From child abuse to rape to combat trauma, she discusses each type of trauma in... Read more
Published 9 days ago by Elizabeth A. Ashton
Answers
I suffer from PTSD complicated by not one, but multiple life traumas. My therapist recommended this book, and I can't say enough about its value in my therapy. Read more
Published 11 days ago by Jude
This book works and gives you light where others do not.
One of the reasons I found this book so appealing right off the bat was that it was the first book I had read that didn't just go through your trauma with you (in a detailed and... Read more
Published 16 days ago by Abrinskele
Trauma and Recovery
THe product was in excellent condition and was received in a timely matter as promised. I would defiantly purchase from this person again. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Trice
Interesting and Disturbing
This is an excellent book on understanding trauma. I especially like how it explains Stockholm syndrome and how it applies to battered women and answers the question: why do women... Read more
Published 6 months ago by Danielle Shook
From a Survivor.
As a survivor, I am thankful almost every day that this book was put in my hands. It has done more for me towards understanding myself and all those "missing" links, or missing... Read more
Published 7 months ago by Chase Williams
excellent
This book should be required reading for all persons involved in trauma studies. It is comprehensive deals with the history of trauma, deals with both trauma on the level of... Read more
Published 9 months ago by amadeus
The best and most comprehensive book on trauma
I survived child abuse in a lawless third world country and have had a hard time finding books on trauma or child abuse that truly understand the scope of the problem. Read more
Published 10 months ago by BO Books
A masterpiece of compassion.
This book saved my life. Not in the suicidal "saving my life" kind of way, but in the realizing my capacity to heal and be happier than I ever thought possible kind of way. Read more
Published 10 months ago by Dara
This book should be required reading for everyone
By far, one of the best books I've ever read . This should be required reading for everyone. If you have not personally suffered trauma, then this book will help you to develop... Read more
Published 11 months ago by JGM
Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
THE STUDY OF PSYCHOLOGICAL TRAUMA has a curious history-one of episodic amnesia. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
new diagnosis, healing relationship, chronically traumatized people, constrictive symptoms, single acute trauma, traumatic transference, uncovering work, combat neurosis, trauma story, inner badness, severe childhood abuse, intrusive symptoms, traumatized person, traumatic syndromes Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Nazi Holocaust, Forgotten History, Second World War, Child Abuse, Vietnam War, American Psychiatric Association, Ken Smith, United States, Abram Kardiner, Yael Danieli, First World War, Third Republic, Leonard Shengold, Virginia Woolf, Richard Rhodes, Linda Lovelace, Lenore Terr, Michael Norman, Sharon Simone, Richard Mollica, The Aetiology of Hysteria, Sylvia Fraser, Terence Keane, Tim O'Brien, Traumatic Disorders New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
THE STUDY OF PSYCHOLOGICAL TRAUMA has a curious history-one of episodic amnesia. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
new diagnosis, healing relationship, chronically traumatized people, constrictive symptoms, single acute trauma, traumatic transference, uncovering work, combat neurosis, trauma story, inner badness, severe childhood abuse, intrusive symptoms, traumatized person, traumatic syndromes Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Nazi Holocaust, Forgotten History, Second World War, Child Abuse, Vietnam War, American Psychiatric Association, Ken Smith, United States, Abram Kardiner, Yael Danieli, First World War, Third Republic, Leonard Shengold, Virginia Woolf, Richard Rhodes, Linda Lovelace, Lenore Terr, Michael Norman, Sharon Simone, Richard Mollica, The Aetiology of Hysteria, Sylvia Fraser, Terence Keane, Tim O'Brien, Traumatic Disorders New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 95
books:
See all 95 books this book cites
100
books
cite this book:
See all 100 books citing this book
- Post-Traumatic Stress (Clinical Insights) by van der Kolk on 6 pages
- Men Under Stress by Roy R. Grinker on 5 pages
- Psychological Trauma by Bessel A. van der Kolk on 5 pages
- Father-Daughter Incest (with a new Afterword) by Judith Lewis Herman on 4 pages
- Trauma and Its Wake (Brunner Mazel Psychosocial Stress, No. 4) by Charles R. Figley on 4 pages
See all 95 books this book cites
- Trust After Trauma: A Guide to Relationships for Survivors and Those Who Love Them by Aphrodite Matsakis PhD on 7 pages
- "Not to People Like Us": Hidden Abuse in Upscale Marriages by Susan Weitzman on 7 pages
- Demons of the Modern World by Malcolm McGrath on 7 pages
- Achilles in Vietnam: Combat Trauma and the Undoing of Character by Jonathan Shay on 5 pages
- Broken and Battered by Muriel Canfield on 5 pages
See all 100 books citing this book
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