Traumatized: The New Politics of Public Suffering

by Catherine Liu

How trauma became a weapon, by highly-acclaimed author of Virtue Hoarders

Traumatized traces the emergence and triumph of the concept of trauma in public life. From shell-shock and PTSD to the power of Oprah Winfrey and the authentic personal brand, Liu weaves together the history of this now ubiquitous idea and explains what it all means for our society.Trauma culture speaks to our current moment - the demise of liberalism, the expansion of social media, and the rise of surveillance capitalism. Trauma culture promised liberation from repression and oppression but has never delivered. Instead, it has been made into a weapon to individualise suffering, promoting a politics of false consensus. It undermines solidarity and eviscerated the foundations of liberal politics by demanding submission to a regime of vulnerability and accommodation. When suffering is all we have in common, what are we to do when we are all too traumatised to resist?

Genres: Nonfiction, Sociology

Kindle Edition

Expected publication September 29, 2026

About the author

Catherine Liu is the director of the University of California Irvine’s Humanities Center, a professor in Film and Media Studies, and the coeditor of The Dreams of Interpretation: A Century Down the Royal Road. She is the author of Oriental Girls Desire Romance (a novel), Copying Machines: Taking Notes for the Automaton, and American Idyll: Academic Antielitism as Cultural Critique.

Reviews

[Krystelle (based on the novel by Stephen King) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

This is a fascinating book that reads as somewhat more so of a long form essay, exploring the tokenisation and alteration of trauma in the public consciousness and how we have commodified it. I found it to be somewhat alarming, but also remarkably interesting.

So often we are caught up in the narrative of suffering- what it means to have ‘lived experience’ of something versus being educated but not having actually experienced it. This leads to a concept that is, perhaps, more interesting than all others- the idea that we have invalidated research and data in favour of anecdotes.

This book goes aways to explaining this, and more. I think the part I found most interesting was the segment on Oprah and her business modelled off trauma. We have seen the rise of this even more sharply on the internet in recent years, and it’s got an undertone of ill-will underneath.

I think as the world develops further into comfort and we see the rise of a specific narrative in relation to technology, we are going to only see more of this kind of thing. I do wish that we got a little bit more about the advent of the internet in this book, but with that said, it was definitely more than fascinating.

[Edie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I finished the last page of the book and felt that despite the best of intentions since the 19th Century, great harm continues.

An individual’s best of intentions can be debated because the author makes a solid case that the practitioners and lay people were/still are ill-prepared. At worst, too many in history had the intent to do further harm.

The depth of the research done in each of the chapters could be a separate book itself. For that reason, I felt it would be best served as a text in the curriculum for an undergraduate degree. It belongs with students in the social science or practicing clinicians.

I felt that it wasn’t well-suited for the casual reader. It also left a sense that trauma continues to run rampant and we aren’t any better served in present day.

I thank NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

[MM Stormbird · Rating 3 out of 5]

What I initially thought was a book, is in reality more of a scholary essay. The first section is almost entirely inaccessible to anyone who isn't steeped in the modern college vernacular. That's not inherently a bad thing but it did catch me off guard and make the content a bit dry for my personal taste. The second section improves a bit, delving into the history of psychology as it pertains to PTSD. I really enjoyed learning about some of the early interpretations of trauma induced symptoms. The third section about Oprah really shines. I would love an entire book about daytime talk shows and the way they've shaped modern views of trauma and recovery. Absolutely fascinating. Overall this feels a bit unpolished. While it might get an A in a classroom, it doesn't quite reach that mark as a casual interest reader. The author has some great insight though and it was definitely worth the read.

[Venneh · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I know that this wasn't the intent of the author, the tone she ended up writing this in ended up coming off to me as super judgemental that trauma victims are sharing their stories publicly and incredibly dismissive. I get that she is trying to assess this trend from a Marxist point of view and to showcase it as a dark element of capitalism (especially with the Oprah chapter), but she isn't able to fully disengage her own personal bias. Better luck next time.

[Louise Colclough · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely in awe of this - one of the best non-ficton books ive ever read. So well researched!