Trauma: A Collection of Short Stories

by Elizabeth Jaikaran

A collection of true and extraordinary stories that speak of the abuse suffered by Guyanese women, girls, and members of the LGBT community both in their native country and after having emigrated to the United States. Through carefully crafted prose and poetic undertones, the author, Elizabeth Jaikaran, reveals accounts of the horrific violence and trauma through the lens of Guyanese culture and history. Along with these stories are points of fact, gathered from newspapers, agency studies, and governmental records, that illustrate the far-reaching existence and impact of violence and strict cultural norms. Also on display in these stories is the strength and resilience of Guyanese women as they have struggled to survive and flourish. This story of a small and often overlooked culture has needed to be told, and Jaikaran tells it with amazing courage and grace.

132 pages, Paperback

Published August 1, 2017

Reviews

[yashoda amrita · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first book I've ever read that was written by a Indo-Caribbean author about Guyana and Guyanese women. I wish I could say I was happy I related to this book, but sadly the reasons why I relate to it are nothing to be happy about. The stories that Jaikaran write about opened my eyes up to trauma that many Caribbean women face. Which is sad. For all my life I viewed domestic violence and alcoholism as a normality when it came to Guyanese or West Indian people, mainly because that's how it was and still is treated whenever talked about.

A great read that tells the story of many women from different generations and a brief history of the problems that occur in Guyana even today.

[nik · Rating 5 out of 5]

This piece was truly so beautiful. I cried in the middle of a coffee shop (so cliche) reading the last story, which happened to be Elizabeth's. In such an underrepresented group of people, Elizabeth does an amazing job of capturing the uncut perspectives of the indo-caribbean women before us. We owe so much to them! I can't imagine how much research must've gone into a project like this. The stories were heart-wrenching and captivating, but also emulated the immense strength of the indo-caribbean identity. The history portions of Guyana were incredible to read, mostly because I have always learned through word of mouth, and is definitely something I will be looking into even more. Guyanese history dating back as far as in this book can only really be done through word of mouth stories, and it truly is so cathartic to read it all in one place. I will definitely be sharing this with my family, it's the kind of piece that I hope to see more of in the future. The difficult topics handled in this piece were beautifully written. 5/5 for sure!

[Narise · Rating 2 out of 5]

I initially really liked how this book was organized: first you are presented with a short story that highlights a specific aspect of the Guyanese experience, and then the author provides a small informative section afterwards that educates the reader on that specific topic. I learned a lot about Guyana through this. However, as I progressed through the book, I liked this format less and less. I felt like the balance between educating the reader and telling a story to the reader was lost. The author was treading a fine line between teaching about a concept based on characters experiences and having characters exist just to teach a concept, and I found by the end she was constantly stumbling towards the latter. The stories eventually felt more like vignettes or case examples written purely as a vehicle to get to the educational/informative section at the end, and not for the purpose of telling someone's story. These stories, which were inspired by real people, consequently felt less real by the end. The lives of the characters were intertwined, but it felt like nothing was added through this. Overall, the dialogue felt clunky and unnatural. And, as a nitpick: sometimes Guyanese people spoke in patois, and sometimes they didn't; why was this? The author admitted she wrote this collection in anger, anger surrounding the violence and mistreatment many Guyanese women face, and this is truly valid and justified to me. However, I felt that the author could have benefitted from just taking a step away from that anger to work through some of the stories again, because this anger ended up overpowering the narratives for me. The last two stories didn't seem thought out at all to me, they were disjointed and aimless, and the author's final reflection and mini autobiography landed similarly. I hate to rate this collection 2 stars, but it just felt like a rough draft.

[Khemnauth · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Trauma”, by Elizabeth Jaikaran, profoundly brings a completely different disposition that has always been taboo in Guyanese Culture. Jaikaran explains the “Trauma” that our Guyanese women face every day, from raising children on their own, absorbing physical and mental abuse, and being discriminated against because of whom they love. It is difficult for a modern writer to explain what it was like to live in the past, however, Jaikaran makes the reader feel as if they are in that bar, where we can smell the stench of stale liquor, where we can feel every emotion, every tear, and every bit of abuse that our protagonists’ feel. I highly recommend this book, if not to gain a new perspective on how we should treat our Guyanese women, then to understand how “our” past actions can shape our future.

[A'idah · Rating 5 out of 5]

The most important book I’ve read this year. Whether you are part of the South Asian diaspora or an outsider seeking to understand, this book is a celebration and a reality of check on where we come from and where we can go.

[Amanda Singh · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was incredible! I couldn’t put it down! As an American Guyanese woman, I felt connected to each woman; as if each were my own aunt, cousin, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, or that aunty that isn’t technically blood, but still family. Each woman’s story pained me, yet inspired me with their resilience and bravery. This book honors the women who raised us and the women who raised them, and reminds us that we carry pieces of them in our own stories.

[Tiara Chutkhan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this collection! Elizabeth tells each story with detail and care, illustrating the different traumas that are often faced by Guyanese women. The book isn't very long and I flew through it in one day (I couldn't put it down either.) Highly recommend to anyone looking to further explore the different traumas in Caribbean culture.

[Amelia Badri · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a hard to read book only because it touches on exactly what it is that a lot of women in Guyanese culture go through. I felt closely connected to many of the stories. It was well written, informational, and definitely a great and necessary read for Caribbean women and beyond.

[becca · Rating 5 out of 5]

A series of attention grabbing stories of women and their lives leading up to trauma. Being Guyanese, I saw representations of myself and my family through these stories. There is very heavy material that could be triggering and some parts were hard to get through for me, but overall a great read and would definitely recommend!