Truth and Repair

A powerful exploration of what justice truly means for survivors of sexual violence, abuse, and trauma.

Part manifesto, part exploration of what justice truly means for survivors of trauma and abuse, Judith Herman forces us to reconsider our perspective on victims, revealing uncomfortable truths about our justice systems and proposing new ways to implement justice. A follow-up to the bestselling Trauma and Recovery the book is divided into three parts, Part One :Power, examines the structure and nature of tyranny, patriarchy and white supremacy; Part Two: Visions of Justice, reveals how our current system is woefully ill-equipped for victims and corrects our misguided assumptions about what survivors need in the aftermath of violence, and finally in Part Three: Centring Survivor Justice, Herman proposes alternative methods of justice, offering hopeful new ways to think about its meanings and possibilities.

Truth and Repair is a profound and timely commentary that lies at the intersection of several cultural moments including the #MeToo movement, a resurgent interest in trauma, and the global movements focusing on racial injustices and abuses of power towards people of colour. Thoughtful, visceral and moving, Truth and Repair is a necessary call to action that invites us to envision a new approach to justice-one that centres on healing and solidarity to stand with survivors everywhere.

About the Author

Judith L. Herman, MD is a Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, and co-founder of the Victims of Violence Program at The Cambridge Hospital, MA. She is the author of two award-winning books: Father-Daughter Incest and Trauma and Recovery. Considered one of the world's leading experts in the field of psychological trauma, Herman has lectured widely on the subject of sexual and domestic violence. She has received numerous awards including: a Guggenheim Fellowship, Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, the Woman in Science Award from the American Medical Women's Association, and was named a Distinguished Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association.