Trauma is Really Strange by Steve Haines

 
Trauma is Really Strange by Steve Haines
My Rating: ★

This short graphic novel explains what trauma is, how it works, and how it can inwardly and outwardly present itself. The book really had me going with how well it simplified what dissociation is and how it works. I’ve never seen dissociation explained so well in such a simplified way. I’m impressed that it was done so well here since this is such a short graphic novel.

Sadly, I was not impressed by the rest of the book. I understand that it’s hard to simplify the different aspects of trauma, especially for a short graphic novel, but it ultimately came off insulting rather than an informative little guide. By the end, it makes it sound like we’re all built to overcome trauma and we’re not trying hard enough if we fail to overcome it. That’s just not how it works and I’m not sure if that’s the message they intended to give since it starts out as a simplified guide with some great info before it started to sour itself.