Trauma and world literature: The War that Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley – Howard Lipke, PhD

by ISTSS Blogs | Dec 13, 2023 | StressPoints, Trauma and the Arts

During of a conversation with a children’s librarian I asked about her favorite books. Her top choice was, The War That Saved My Life, which turned out to be (with or without its sequel), not only a beautifully told story, but a work that could be a supplemental...

Trauma and world literature: Blume Lempel: Survival and stimulus barrier – Michelle Kwintner, PhD, LCSW-R

by ISTSS Blogs | Sep 28, 2023 | StressPoints, Trauma and the Arts

I was not born mute. My silence is not genetic. Something jammed up inside me and I stopped speaking - when and why, I no longer remember. I listen to what people say, but I cannot answer them. In my mind, I speak to the shadows that populate my world, to the wind and...

Trauma and world literature: ‘The No-No Boy’ by John Okada – Howard Lipke, PhD

by ISTSS Blogs | Jun 28, 2023 | StressPoints, Trauma and the Arts

“No-no boys” were Japanese American young men who, after being drafted to enter the US military during WWII, answered “no” to two questions about their willingness to serve. They were imprisoned until the end of the war and then resumed their...

Trauma and World Literature: Approaching the War in Ukraine Through Poetry on the Eve of its First ‎Anniversary – Harold Kudler, MD

by ISTSS Blogs | Mar 30, 2023 | StressPoints, Trauma and the Arts

February 24, 2023, marked one year since Ukraine was last invaded. I’m still trying to come to grips with this as a mental health professional who has spent his career working with combat veterans and other survivors of psychological trauma.   One can...

Trauma and World Literature: Look Both Ways by Jason Reynolds – Howard Lipke, PhD

by ISTSS Blogs | Feb 23, 2023 | StressPoints, Trauma and the Arts

Widely praised children’s author Jason Reynolds’ collection of linked short stories, Look Both Ways, a Coretta Scott King Honor Book, is featured in this column. As is made clear in the author biography, Reynolds was inspired by his own childhood...

Media Matters: Can we talk about how villains are made? Trauma and origin stories in popular media – Josianne Lamothe, MSW, PhD

by ISTSS Blogs | Feb 23, 2023 | StressPoints, Trauma and the Arts

Superhero stories have come a long way since their first appearance in comic books. Their universal appeal is made evident in their box office dominance, with the Marvel franchise accounting, on its own, for almost half of the ten highest-grossing movies of all time...