Community Trauma

In the shadowed hollows of 1890s Ashe County, North Carolina, the enigmatic Melungeons—descendants of African, European, and indigenous blood—face a world of whispers and prejudice. Sensationalized by journalist Will Allen Dromgoole, their myths of shifting skin tones and exotic origins ignite public fascination, while census takers label them "free persons of color" amid flickering illusions: blue eyes and high cheekbones that shimmer like holograms under mountain light. But as racial reclassification laws tighten and discrimination bites deeper, a darker horror stirs—people ...

The Commons calls her salvation. The outside world calls it control. Lucy Elowen Vale has always belonged to Solista: a secluded mountain community where every song has a purpose, every grief is witnessed, and every girl learns the cost of being needed. Raised beneath antlers, winter rites, and old stories, Lucy is treasured for her gift as a mediator—the one who can turn fear, shame, and rebellion back into peace. When the elders send her beyond the ridge to college, Lucy is supposed to learn the outside world’s language without forgetting her own. But freedom arrives in unsettlingly ...

A memoir of sex, angst, and rocks, Turn to Stone chronicles one woman’s ascent—on walls of stone and within herself—as she faces her demons and finds freedom and power in the raw and wild adventure of rock climbing. Down on the ground, it was hard to connect, hard to attach, hard to...

The Black community has been suffering from racial discrimination for centuries, and the death of George Floyd sparked a rallying cry that traveled to every corner of the world.

An original and groundbreaking examination of the psychological devastation of war through the lens of Homer’s Iliad in this “compassionate book [that] deserves a place in the lasting literature of the Vietnam War” (The New York Times). In this moving and dazzlingly creative book, Dr...

What if the villain was never the enemy? What if the villain was the part of you that learned to survive before it learned how to live? The Gospel According to the Villain is a raw, adult, and provocative exploration of power, desire, kink, culture, shadow, shame, and transformation. Joseph Crown takes the familiar idea of the villain and turns it inward, not to excuse harm, but to understand the cognitive machinery behind it. The Tyrant wants order. The Addict wants relief. The Seducer wants proof. The Trickster wants freedom. The Martyr wants control without looking controlling. The ...

A stunning, complex narrative about the fractured legacy of a decades-old double murder in rural West Virginia -- and the writer determined to put the pieces back together. In the early evening of June 25, 1980 in Pocahontas County, West Virginia, two middle-class outsiders named Vicki Durian...

From bestselling author Lisa Graff, this important coming-of-age story follows a thirteen-year-old with a mysterious scar on her face—and a big secret she feels pressured to keep. Fallon Little has a secret—and it’s not how she got the enormous scar that divides her face in two...

During and after a traumatic experience, survivors experience a cascade of physical, emotional, cognitive, behavioral, relational, and spiritual responses that can make them feel unbalanced and threatened. The second edition of Building Resilience to Trauma explains common responses from a biological perspective, reframing the human experience from one of shame and pathology to one of hope and biology.

A “vital, life-saving must-read” (Nora McInerny, author of Bad Vibes Only) manifesto for communal resilience based on in-depth investigations into history, social science, and psychology, from the bestselling author of Rage Becomes Her. We are often urged to rely only on ourselves for...

Have you ever wondered how someone ends up handing over their life to a leader behind the guise of enlightenment - and how they claw their way back out? In Cult Chaos, step inside six chilling first-person accounts from people who thought they had found purpose, belonging and salvation - only to discover they were trapped in systems of psychological control, coercion and fear. A yoga studio that demanded devotion and debt. An Instagram “mentor” who monitored every decision. A spiritual commune where leaving meant death. A corporate “family” built on silent obedience. A political ...

An immersive account of a commercial fishing disaster at sea whose repercussions haunt its survivors to this day, lauded by New York Times bestselling author Ron Suskind as “an honest and touching book, and a hell of a story.” In March of 1984, the commercial fishing boat Wind Blown left...

Embrace your innate power and find growth from trauma with this essential guide filled with groundbreaking solutions and strategies for your healing journey. Amid collective trauma, it helps to know that our bodies are built to respond to stress and what we might do to shift those reflexes...

At once a cold case investigation and self-help memoir, The Trauma Monster follows retired trauma therapist Barb Dorrington as she investigates the unsolved 1968 murder of her childhood friend, Scott Leishman. She meets many survivors during her search for clues. Their stories of abduction, sexual assault, and home invasion are terrifying, but they also serve as catharsis for those who have kept their stories secret for far too long.

Discover the power of collective healing in this research-based and real-world guide to moving past trauma and adversity—together. Adversity comes in many forms, and can make us feel alone in our pain, even years after the fact. But as wellness coach and licensed therapist Minaa B. observes...

How do we do effective, sustainable social change…without burning out, internalizing systemic toxicity, or replicating urgency culture? A trauma-informed anthology with contributions from 13 activists and community organizers—for readers of adrienne maree brown, Staci K. Haines, and Ejeris...

A love letter to the healing power of collaboration and feeling seen, The People's Purge: Words of a Goat Princess Vol II is a must-read for anyone looking to rid themselves of the guilt of existing and get lost in the razor sharp mind of Jessie Reyez. Born from a popular long-running series on...

An epic novel of a mother and daughter wrestling with the aftermath of a murder, set against the backdrop of a tightknit, working-class barrio in Puerto Rico—from the Whiting Award-winning author Jaquira Díaz. When Maricarmen meets Rey el Cantante, beloved small-time Robin Hood and local...

The Connected Classroom: Building Belonging and Community for Every Student A practical guide to creating an inclusive, safe, and engaging classroom culture Academic success begins with one essential component: a strong sense of community and belonging. The Connected Classroom offers educators easy-to-implement strategies to foster a classroom environment where students feel safe, valued, and ready to engage. From the first day of school to sustaining community all year, this book provides daily routines, inclusive activities, and relationship-building practices that strengthen student ...

In this electrifying novel, Richard Price, the author of Clockers and a writer on The Wire, gives us razor-sharp anatomy of an ever-changing Harlem. "Novelist Richard Price has as fine an ear for American speech as anyone writing today..."—AudioFile East Harlem, 2008. In an instant, a...