You do not currently have permission to view the full text for this document. Please sign in to an account with an active subscription or contact support.
As a psychoanalyst and psychotherapist for some forty years, I approached this book eagerly seeking explanations for numerous experiences I have had with patients trapped in catastrophic, unthinkable traumas, ranging from those involved in the Nazi Holocaust—who would lose consciousness in my presence rather than recall the tortures and humiliations they had suffered—to, more recently, those who experienced trauma through the tragedies of 9/11 and the aftermath of devastating hurricanes. Newspapers suggest that every day severe traumas are present, occurring increasingly more frequently. Less than 50% of homicides are solved, and many seem to involve torture and mutilation, as well as often unspeakable cruelty to young children. One whole page of a newspaper I recently read was devoted to a list of multiple killings, tortures, and mutilations that had been visited on ordinary citizens.
Boulanger's book is not about rare occurrences, then; it describes everyday reality. It is sobering to consider that perhaps violence has increased due to the widening economic disparity between the rich and the poor, and the desperation of those used to