Archives de catégorie : Anthropology/Sociology

THE ANSWER IS IN THE WOUND de Kelly Sundberg

Sundberg focuses on the longer-lasting effects of trauma and PTSD on survivors, challenging a culture in which violence against women is normalized and illuminating the nonlinear, complex nature of recovery. For readers of In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado and The Empathy Exams by Leslie Jamison, this is a beautiful, devastating, and nuanced examination into embracing a new reality after trauma and finding power and beauty in it.

THE ANSWER IS IN THE WOUND
by Kelly Sundberg
Roxane Gay Books/Grove Atlantic, August 2025

The trauma of surviving an abusive marriage didn’t make Kelly Sundberg stronger. In fact, it nearly broke her. But leaving the abuse behind was not the end of the story, it was the beginning of a new one. In that journey, Sundberg learned in ways both good and bad, that one doesn’t necessarily get to leave abuse behind. Sometimes, everywhere you go, the memories of the abuse go with you.

THE ANSWER IS IN THE WOUND begins with the invocation “May this book be an exorcism.” Learning to coexist with her rage and then to turn that rage into strength, Sundberg’s journey to alchemizing her suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder into post-traumatic stress growth was neither easy nor simple. Far from bleak, her story provides vital insight into the little-known recovery process, and how healing is possible.

A narrative following a process of discovery as Sundberg’s personal story is juxtaposed against established research, The Answer is in the Wound offers a redemptive arc for trauma survivors, arguing for healing through an acceptance of their new state of being. Sundberg uses metaphors like the act of erasure—shown in erasure poetry created from her abusive ex-husband’s apologetic emails—and includes theories from psychiatrists and researchers like Judith Herman, Bessel van der Kolk, and Peter A. Levine to construct a balanced meditation on trauma and the imprint it leaves.

Kelly Sundberg is the author of Goodbye, Sweet Girl: A Story of Domestic Violence and Survival, published by Harper in 2018. Her essays have appeared in the New York Times Modern Love column, Alaska Quarterly Review, Guernica, and elsewhere. Her essays have been published or selected as notables in Best American Essays four times. She has a PhD in creative nonfiction. She lives, writes, and edits in Columbus, Ohio.

WEISE FRAUEN de Miriam Stein

The first accessible, non-esoteric book about traditional female knowledge.

WEISE FRAUEN
by Miriam Stein
Goldmann/PRH Germany, October 2024

Healers, shamans, priests, midwives, soothsayers: in antiquity, female communities and networks exchanged valuable, even life-saving, knowledge about nursing, healing, spirituality and sexuality. But in our patriarchal societies with their male-dominated academic discourse, female knowledge was often dismissed as irrelevant or un-serious and esoteric.

In her new book, culture journalist and bestselling author Miriam Stein goes in search of the forgotten heroes of our past, whose work still shapes our lives and thoughts today. It is a very personal journey, on which she talks to the modern heirs of our wise foremothers, including sex workers and shamans. She invites us to rediscover traditional female knowledge, and use it to live a feminist life of modern, empowered sisterhood.

Miriam Yung Min Stein is a journalist and author. She was born in South Korea in 1977 and adopted by a family in Osnabrück, where she grew up. She has performed on stage with Christoph Schlingensief and Rimini Protokoll, and published several books, including the bestselling Die gereizte Frau (‘The Irritated Woman’).

THE BRIGHT SIDE de Sumit Paul-Choudhury

In the bestselling tradition of Steven Pinker’s Enlightenment Now and Yuval Noah Harari’s Homo Deus, an engaging and interdisciplinary look at the history, philosophy, and psychology of optimism, and why being optimistic is a moral obligation—even in the face of seemingly insurmountable challenges.

THE BRIGHT SIDE:
Why Optimists Have the Power to Change the World
by Sumit Paul-Choudhury
Canongate, January 2025
(via Randle Editorial & Literary)

Scrolling through our daily newsfeeds we see war, political unrest, the swift rise of artificial intelligence, and a looming climate crisis – just a few of the tragedies fostering pessimism. So, in the face of such glum events, how do we stay optimistic? And, more important, why should we?

In THE BRIGHT SIDE, Sumit Paul-Choudhury tackles these pressing questions, arguing that optimism is not only essential for overcoming the obstacles ahead but also fundamental to human resilience and progress. Drawing on a wide array of evidence across diverse fields, Paul-Choudhury delves into the underappreciated philosophical roots of optimism, examines its impact on mental health and professional success, and discusses how an optimistic outlook supports a scientific and rational world view.

Beyond theoretical discussions, THE BRIGHT SIDE shows how we can apply the principles of optimism to address complex challenges, particularly the environmental crisis. Through visits to innovative projects like the futuristic LINE city in Saudi Arabia, the Faslane Peace Camp in Scotland, initiatives related to the New Green Deal, and anecdotes covering everything from Ernest Shackleton to Bitcoin mania, the book illustrates optimism in action.

A salve for dark times, THE BRIGHT SIDE is a lens through which we can identify and solve the problems we face and create a better future for ourselves and generations to come.

“An expansive tour de force that … helps readers understand what drives us to imbue ourselves with optimism and how to use it to create a better future. Paul-Choudhury’s own voice shines through – he is witty, empathetic and a beautiful writer… We’re born optimists, Paul-Choudhury argues; if you’re no longer one, this title will give you a way back – and a lot more besides.” — The Observer

Sumit Paul-Choudhury writes, thinks, and dreams about science, technology, and the future. He is the former Editor-in-Chief of New Scientist, a trained astrophysicist, and a former business journalist covering financial engineering and technology. Currently, he devotes most of his time to his creative studio Alternity, developing speculative histories and social experiments. A Sloan Fellow at London Business School and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, he lives, works, and problem solves in London with his wife and young twins.

THE GOOD MOTHER MYTH de Nancy Reddy

Blending history of science, cultural criticism, and memoir, THE GOOD MOTHER MYTH pulls back the curtain on the flawed social science behind our contemporary understanding of what makes a good mom.

THE GOOD MOTHER MYTH
Unlearning Our Bad Ideas About How to Be a Good Mom
by Nancy Reddy
St. Martin’s Press, January 2025

When Nancy Reddy had her first child, she found herself suddenly confronted with the ideal of a perfect mother—a woman who was constantly available, endlessly patient, and immediately invested in her child to the exclusion of all else. Nancy had been raised by a single working mother, considered herself a feminist, and was well on her way to a PhD. Why did doing motherhood “right” feel so wrong?
For answers, Nancy turned to the mid-twentieth century social scientists and psychologists whose work still forms the basis of so much of what we believe about parenting. It seems ludicrous to imagine modern moms taking advice from mid-century researchers. Yet, their bad ideas about so-called “good” motherhood have seeped so pervasively into our cultural norms. In THE GOOD MOTHER MYTH, Nancy debunks the flawed lab studies, sloppy research, and straightforward misogyny of researchers from Harry Harlow, who claimed to have discovered love by observing monkeys in his lab, to the famous Dr. Spock, whose bestselling parenting guide included just one illustration of a father interacting with his child. This timely and thought-provoking book will make you laugh, cry, and want to scream (sometimes all at once).

Nancy Reddy‘s previous books include the poetry collections Pocket Universe and Double Jinx, a winner of the National Poetry Series. With Emily Pérez, she’s co-editor of The Long Devotion: Poets Writing Motherhood. Her essays have appeared in Slate, Poets & Writers, Romper, The Millions, and elsewhere. The recipient of grants from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts and the Sustainable Arts Foundation and a Walter E. Dakin Fellowship from the Sewanee Writers’ Conference, she teaches writing at Stockton University and writes the newsletter Write More, Be Less Careful.

NO ONE LEFT de Paul Morland

Why we face population collapse and what to do about it.

NO ONE LEFT
Why the World Needs More Children
by Paul Morland
Forum Press, September 2024
(via Randle Editorial & Literary Consultancy)

A population calamity is unfolding before our eyes. It started in parts of the developed world and is spreading to the four corners of the globe. There are just too few babies being born for humanity to replace itself. Before the end of the current century at the latest, and probably much sooner, the world’s population will start to decline.

Leading demographer Paul Morland argues that the consequences of this promise to be calamitous. Labour shortages, pensions crisis, ballooning debt: what is currently happening to South Korea – which faces population decline of more than 85% within just two generations – threatens to engulf us all, and sooner than we think. In time a ballooning number of elderly people will simply be left to their own devices as there will not be enough people of working age to meet all needs. Whole settlements will start to be abandoned. Social collapse may ensue.

NO ONE LEFT will chart this future, explain its causes and suggest what might be done. We can and must rise to this challenge.

Paul Morland is the UK’s and one of the world’s leading demographers. He has been an Associate Research Fellow at Birkbeck, University of London and a Senior Member at St Antony’s College, University of Oxford. His previous books include The Human Tide: How Population Shaped the Modern World and Tomorrow’s People: The Future of Humanity in Ten Numbers.