Aftershock: Confronting Trauma in a Violent World: A Guide for Activists and Their Allies

by pattrice jones

Aftershock is about the real war against terror―the struggle for a world in which nobody lives in fear of atrocities perpetrated by human beings. Every day, people who push against violence and injustice or pull for peace and freedom must face their own fears. Many activists also must struggle with "aftershock," the physical and emotional reverberations of frightening, horrifying, or otherwise traumatizing experiences endured in the course of their activism. This book is for aftershocked activists and their allies, as well as for people and organizations that practice high-risk activism. It includes practical tips for individuals, organizations, and communities, as well as information about how traumatic events affect our bodies and abilities. Aftershock explores the culture of trauma that people have created through our violent exploitation of the Earth, other animals, and one another. As long as we continue to perpetrate such violations, we will never fully heal our own traumatic injuries. This book, therefore, is for survivors of all kinds of trauma, for therapists who treat trauma, and for anyone who hopes to reduce the amount of terror in the world.

Genres: Activism, Psychology, Nonfiction, Social Justice, Vegan, Mental Health, Environment

264 pages, Paperback

First published January 31, 2007

About the author

Queer eco-anarcha-feminist educator and activist. Cofounder of VINE Sanctuary. New book, Bird's-Eye Views: Queer Queries About Activism, Animals, and Identity, collects 33 essays and chapters from 30 years of writing within various activist movements.

In addition to the books listed below, jones has contributed chapters to the following edited volumes: The Good It Promises, The Harm It Does: Critical Essays on Effective Altruism (Oxford UP, 2023); Animaladies: Gender, Animals, and Madness (Bloomsbury, 2018); Animal Oppression and Capitalism (Praeger, 2017); Mourning Animals (Michigan State UP, 2016); Ecofeminism: Feminist Intersections with Other Animals and the Earth (Bloomsbury, 2014); Sister Species: Women, Animals and Social Justice (University of Illinois Press, 2011); Contemporary Anarchist Studies (Routledge, 2009); Igniting a Revolution: Voices in Defense of the Earth (AK Press, 2006); and Terrorists or Freedom Fighters?: Reflections on the Liberation of Animals (Lantern, 2004).

Reviews

[Dr. Breeze Harper · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am going to comment A LOT about this book. I loved this book. It was extremely excited when I heard that pattrice was coming out with a book, back in 2007. I say this because I first ran across pattrice's amazing "consciousness", while looking for resources that address the interconnectedness of all oppressions. Though I can't tell you the exact URL of the interview of her that I read, I remember being absolutely elated by being exposed to her thinking process!

"Aftershock" taught me a lot about the concept of "trauma", from an "individual occurrence," to trauma at the "systemic level." Until I had read this book, I had really only thought of trauma as something at the "micro" level. It never occurred to me that we, here in America, live in a systemically "traumatized/ trauma" society, by virtue of living in a society that has institutionalized sexism, racism, classism, ableism, American nationalism, as well as speciesism.

I was emotionally "numb" for the first 25 year of my life. I never knew that this could quite potentially come from existing in a society in which I was constantly being "traumatized" from "every angle" possible. So, at a very young age, I simply shut down and detached myself away from people. On page 76, pattrice writes about emotional numbness: "This may take the form of feelings of detachment or estrangement, loss of interest in usually enjoyable activities, lack of positive feelings, or lack of any feeling at all." Yup, until around the age of 25, that was me!!! And simultaneously, I was always bummed and stressed out about my very real and ongoing experiences as a survivor of [c]overt racism and expected to perform "whiteness" as a working class black girl from rural New England. I think this is how I dealt with the ongoing traumas in the USA, that "punished" me for not being the "right" color, class, gender, and sexual orientation. When I would try to talk to my Dad about the "isms" I had been dealing with, since the age of 12 (well, I was "conscious of it as 12"), he would always just tell me to forget about it and try to "assimilate"; I wasn't supposed to let it "bother me" that, on my first day of junior high in an all white high school, someone called me, "Skinny little n*gger." I know he was trying to "protect" me, but it never worked. pattrice writes on page 78, "Most often, uncomfortable friends and family members encourage trauma survivors to forget." Yup, that was my dad!

Also on page 78 pattrice writes, "Groups of people may experience trauma collectively, as when a community is polluted by an industrial accident or an organization is subjected to repressive police actions..." Has anyone read Dr. Joy Degruy Leary's Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome? Read it!!! She talks about black collective on-going trauma from chattel slavery. It's really intense. She also hints in the book that it just isn't black identified demographic that have been traumatized; so have the "descendants of the colonizer." I think she is working on a book that is about the trauma that is suffered from being the "colonizer". Frantz Fanon speaks of how the colonized AND the colonizers were severely traumatized during the Algerian war (check on his book, Wretched of the Earth).

pattrice writes of the need for "testimony" therapy. I have found that that most traumatized experiences are also the most taboo to speak of. I think of how many of my friends have been silent about being sexually abused and/or raped. It was "taboo" and "shameful" to talk about these subjects with their family and/or communities-- especially in the black community. (God forbid if we admit that these things HAPPEN amongst black folk!). They were never allowed to voice their "testimony" (a voice/ unsilence) of their experiences. Though I have not personally been a survivor of rape and/or sexual abuse, I have found great "healing" in journaling, writing novels, and singing as a way to "voice" other traumatic and taboo experiences I have had. Pages 78-80, pattrice talks about the power of narrative therapy, poetry, and other "Creative" expressions as a way of testimony therapy.

What a love about pattrice's book is that she talks about how diet can greatly affect how we deal with the stresses of trauma. She writes "diet and rest a particularly important. Some vitamin deficiencies can cause depression and almost certainly will exacerbate it. Eating poorly can also interfere with energy. People struggling with depression should take particular care to get enough folic acid (from sources such as dark green leafy vegetable), niacin (from sources such as legumes), vitamin C (from sources such as citrus fruits) and Omega-3 fatty acids (from sources such as flax seed oil or algae), because deficiencies in these can cause or worse depression) ...I recommend a completely vegetarian diet." Page 89. I love how her passage makes it clear that it isn't "being a vegan" that necessarily makes dealing with trauma, better. It's WHOLE foods veganism (not junk foods) that will help one's spirit and body deal with this better. I have to admit that the Omega 3-6-9 fatty acids and DHA I have been taking have made my brain and moods (and PMS and period by the way) feel MUCH better. So, when something racist, sexist, speciesist, etc., happens with me, I have found that I can definitely handle the stress better!


On page 96, pattrice writes, "In addition to restoring connections within ourselves and with other people, I believe that trauma survivors also need to reestablish severed connections with out nonhuman kin and the ecosystems on which our lives depend." (page 96). This makes total sense to me, personally, as I don't know how one can "heal" by just having relationships with humans, only. I think healing takes place by reconnecting with Earth and all her inhabitants as well. This is what makes her book so unique, in my opinion: the anti-speciesism philosophy that I have never seen, in other books about trauma. How does one become whole again, after trauma? She writes, "to become fully whole, they must reclaim their animal selves and tear down the walls between themselves and their extended family of animals." Page 105.

On page 111, she asks a very deep question that I struggle with on a daily basis: "Suffering surrounds us. How can we feel our feelings about that without being overwhelmed or immobilized by them?" I have found great strength and answers, by reading and learning from Buddhism monk, Thich Nhat Hanh. Try reading his wisdom. He's a must!!! But pattrice's book, which I do not find to be "white" and "elitist", really helped me connect and heal with the ongoing trauma of racism and systemic whiteness in the USA. She is one of the few white identified AR folk that are serious about incorporating anti-racist strategies and critical whiteness studies into animal rights and vegan philosophies.

pattrice talks about how she has learned very much, living with birds in her sanctuary. She has an animal sanctuary for birdies. She talks about the trauma that these animals had gone through, before arriving to her home. She tells us how, when the birds first arrive to her home, they are terrified and simply not used to being in an environment in which they are NOT being traumatized all the time. You can feel her connect with the suffering of the birds while, throughout the book, she also connects to the suffering of human beings who are part of marginalized groups, including those suffering from racist and being "punished" for not assimilated into USA whiteness.

On page 146, she tells us, "Often, it's neglecting our natural animal emotions that gets us into trouble." It's so true. Once again, in m personal experience, I tried to detach myself from my emotions, for 25 years. It did NOT help my healing process.

"People who eat mass-produced meat, milk, and eggs derive sensual pleasure from the products of a process of exploitation performed by others on their behalf. Just as with child pornography, the body of an innocent young animal is violated for pleasure and profit. Given its detrimental impact on the planetary resources upon which all beings depend, consumption of such animal products might be calculated to be even more ethically objectionable than the consumption of child pornography." pg 163... Hmm, am not sure how I feel about this passage, as I don't want to fall into the trap of quantifying "what is more ethically objectionable." I could argue that they are both equally harmful, but it's the child pornography that is constructed as "evil" in our society (USA) because animal exploitation has been constructed as "common sense" and "necessary for humans to survive."

All in all, I truly enjoyed this book. I personally did not find it to be offensive, "white", or "downplaying racism" at all, as some reviewers have indicated. I say this as black female, born in a working class rural white town in which I experienced racism on a weekly basis. I also say this as PhD student at UC Davis, focusing on the intersections of critical food studies, critical race theory, and postcolonial studies.

I hope to meet pattrice in person one day!

[Colin · Rating 1 out of 5]

Quite possibly the whitest book i have ever read. I got to page 80, and could NOT bring myself to finish it. One of my "favorite" quotes from the book: "none of us are free while some of us are caged." Pure white-ass vegan propaganda right there. In attempting to argue an animal rights/environmental perspective, Jones manages to belittle and minimize racism to an incredibly offensive degree while trying to use the cultural resonance of racism to legitimize animals as human beings and bring "us"--by which she clearly means white people-- to care about their plight--it's a book-length echo of Inga Muscio's "housecats as slavery" argument. Ugh, ugh and more ugh. Too bad too, because there is some good mental health info in here, written in an accessible way, with an interesting critique of the medical model of disability. But I *hated* it.

[DJ · Rating 2 out of 5]

there are many important insights addressed here that i don't often see in published work on trauma.

here's why i gave it two stars, though. first, fairly late in the book there's an extremely transphobic remark that comes out of nowhere- she suggests that trauma is the reason that people (like me) assigned female at birth to transition to male. that type of thinking is so ignorant, callous, and harmful to trans survivors that i really hesitate to recommend the book as a result.

in addition, i think the focus on envirionmental and animal rights activism, including direct action, comes without sufficient analysis or thought about race, class, oppression, and really significant differences among social and revolutionary movements. i'd argue this book may really only be for some (white, cisgender, educated) activist and their allies.

[Shel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love the style and content: personable, straightforward, and thoughtful as well as useful and helpful.
I was highlighting passages left and right throughout.

I added this book to my to-read list after hearing the author speak at a conference at which she was vehement and thought-provoking. I quickly read her case study "The Oxen at the Intersection".

At that time, I did not think I needed "Aftershock," but now that I am working in animal rescue and in the middle of a global pandemic and national anti-racism movement, it seemed ripe for reading.

And, yes, fruitful. Aftershock includes simple (?), but effective ideas for developing resilience for difficult work: talk to other people about your feelings, hang onto to happiness as long as it lasts, and care for your body. It also includes a synthesis of systemic struggles, thoughts on "hope," and tips for activists and the organizations that support them.

Recommend for activists and allies and those confronting trauma — at present, an especially wide circle. If you are concerned about and affected by what's going on in the nation and in the world right now, this is probably you. You will find some comfort and assistance here. You are not alone.

Publisher Lantern Publishing & Media is a great resource for books on animal advocacy and social justice.

[Peacegal · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am glad I read this book. While a lot of the information on trauma and depression was information I already knew, I did learn some new things as well, so it gave me a lot to think about.

I also like that the author was very inclusive, speaking to activists involved in many different causes. She reminds of Zoe Weil in that way.

Some symptoms of depression and trauma are, I think, unique to activists, while others are more general across the population. For example, for decades I have struggled with nightmares about animal cruelty. In these nightmares, I either discover a place in which animals are being tortured or I find an animal who is injured in some very gruesome way. I also have, less often, dreams like this involving dead or injured human beings. I am always helpless to do anything or are prevented in some way. I hate these dreams but I have just learned to live with them, because I know I cannot make them stop. I suppose this is why I should treasure the fun or beautiful or amazing dreams when I have them.

[Gemini · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a combination of different topics. It basically discussed the difficulties of being an activist & how to prepare yourself for encounters & how to deal w/ the emotional toll it takes on you. There are other portions of the book that have to do w/ other kinds of trauma, like abuse & how that effects your mental health & outlook when dealing w/ certain issues. The way she wrote the book it can be read cover to cover or by the chapters that interest you. I guess I could relate to certain aspects to the book as an activist but not other portions of it. Violence is all around us & being able to handle it emotionally can make or break your mental health. When you believe in something so strongly & fighting for those who don't have a voice (like animals) makes it hard for you not to stand on a soapbox & preach. There will always be setbacks in whatever issue you are fighting for but victories do come along as well. This is worth reading even if only parts of it but I recommend all of it.

[Rachel Harlich · Rating 2 out of 5]

oh please white masc person (and co-author of SISTAH VEGAN, wtf) tell me again how if i don't stop eating animal products i will never fully recover from my trauma. thanks that was good for some lols.

[Tinea · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very useful book that I strongly recommend to other activists. My review is long because I feel like the information in Aftershock is so sorely absent from activist discourse that I wanted to share as much of it as I could.
==
EDITED TO ADD:
I don't think I was critical enough of the political standpoint that frames this book.
Please check out this comment from a friend that calls out this book's transphobia and 'animal lib shame train': "fuck a book about healing trauma that re-traumatizes people."
==

At a recent Street Medic training, a trainer called post traumatic stress the hidden scourge of the street medic movement. I'd expand that to include social justice movements in general. The symptoms of post-traumatic stress are typical amongst those who worked in New Orleans after Katrina; those who have worked on environmental & animal liberation direct action campaigns; those who have supported survivors of sexual assault; those who have done solidarity work in Palestine or researched malnutrition in Mali; those who have participated in summit protests and the street medics who were there to keep them safe, just to name a few. Unacknowledged and untreated post-traumatic stress leads to burnout which weakens the movement, and has a serious impact on activists' emotional, mental, and physical health. And yet despite how common it is and how devastating it can be, there is a general refusal amongst activists to engage their own trauma, take it seriously, and treat it. Trauma is a cruel joke that comes with the work, and the best way to deal is to shut up about it and drink.

That is the (perhaps tiny) niche this book is aimed towards: activists, support people (legal, medical, & victim advocates), and researchers/witnesses. The main premise of the book is that the work that activists do is often traumatic. Some level of trauma should be expected when we engage in activist work and therefore we need to learn ways to prepare for, cope with, and eventually heal our stress responses. Jones coined the term "aftershock" as an inclusive word for the variable ways that post-traumatic incident stress manifests itself in activists. "Aftershock" is her response to PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder), with its rigidly defined medical definition that requires months of expressing a minimum number of traumatic reactions for diagnosis and treatment. The term "aftershock" normalizes the stress: Why should emotional reactions to slaughterhouses or police brutality be considered a disorder?

The first part of the book lays out background on psychology and how animals (including people) react to stress. Next, Jones explains why activism can be both empowering and traumatic. Trauma isn't caused by specific events necessarily, but by the experience of a loss of power and agency. That's why those who witness and choose to fight injustice can also be traumatized, even if the actual injustice (the hurricane, the pepper spray, the rape) wasn't directed at them: they can still experience the impotency of being unable to do anything to (really) help. Couple that powerlessness in the moment with a solid critique of the larger structures of oppression at play and perhaps identification with the oppressed person (and maybe throw in some direct stressors like police surveillance or overwhelming responsibilities like legal advocacy, too), and one can really end up feeling at a total loss. Note though that Jones holds onto activism as a way to heal trauma, too: taking concrete steps to correct injustice reclaims power and proves that one isn't helpless.

The heart of Aftershock is divided into practical steps to address activist trauma, geared towards activists, supporters, therapists, and movements-- that is, how movements can create a culture that heals trauma. Trauma is disconnection. The mind will take traumatic memories and basically box them off, hide them; aftershock reactions are those memories surfacing unexpectedly. For example, seeing blue flashing lights in a safe environment can bring on sweats and intense fear as suppressed memories of police repression break out and surface. Healing trauma, then, is about reconnecting.

First, reconnect the memories of trauma into your life story. The steps to do this may begin with simply remembering what happened. Then, by telling someone who will listen without judgment (say a friend, comrade, support group, or therapist) integrate those memories into a narrative that connects them to your past and future. Take it further and place your experiences into the larger narrative of structural oppressions and social justice struggles. Make sense of them through your politics and realize yourself as an active agent participating in a struggle that is bigger then you but incorporates you. Share this story, perhaps by writing a zine or article or speaking out.

Next, deal directly with your emotions and the physical ways they manifest themselves. This may be the hardest, most often ignored, and most important step. Jones writes:

Conscious effort may be required to achieve ... integrity. That means listening to, rather then brushing aside, those uncomfortable feelings that come when our actions are not exactly in line with our beliefs. That may also mean summoning the courage to ask: "What was that about?" when an unbidden thought, surprising feelings, or kneejerk reaction arises [triggers:]. At its most profound level, authentic integrity means being who you purport to be and taking responsibility for your behavior, even when it is rooted in trauma. If you have found yourself doing things that "aren't me" when you are sleepy, drunk, dissociated, or in the grip of strong emotion-- and especially if those things are in any way hurtful to others-- you will need to make material lifestyle changes to make sure you don't do those things again and then figure out what you will need to do to heal whatever internal ruptures led to the uncharacteristic behavior.

The last three steps to healing that Jones writes about are to foster connections between people, animals, and your ecosystem. Trauma isolates, so reaching out to others-- literally, asking for help and acknowledging that you cannot heal yourself alone-- is a necessary step to integrating yourself back into your human community. Coming to understand your emotions as a natural and mundane part of being an animal can also help you deal with them. This means cultivating relationships (not just intellectual ones!) with animals, learning to identify on an emotional level with non-human animals. Finally, "making connections is not done if we feel apart from, rather then a part of, the quivering living biosphere to which we belong. ... Traumatized people often feel notably lonely. Many times, people seem too dangerous to trust. At such times, communion with nature and other animals can offer genuine relief."

Aftershock offers many more details and specific steps to take to heal trauma. Jones includes extensive notes and references for further study. I really feel this book is worth it and plan to push it on my friends and comrades. We're activists, after all, and should be able to actively address the trauma in our own lives even as we focus outwardly on the world around us.

Final note: Many readers may have a hard time swallowing the first few chapters and the last chapter of this book, and Jones' consistent elevation of speciesism and ecocide as equivalent oppressions to patriarchy and white supremacy. Jones comes from an animal rights background that necessarily shows itself in her work. Unfortunately, she doesn't have enough room in "Aftershock," which she mostly dedicates to practical advice on treating trauma, to explain an entire expanded theory of intersectionality. And honestly, I found the theoretical parts of this book kind of intellectually lazy, filled with gaps and manipulated facts. But before you dismiss her entirely, I urge you to check out Derrick Jensen for a better articulated understanding of life and oppression as a wholly connected ecosystem.

[Kat · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was extremely excited to read this book as I cross a lot of subject matter in my activism and worklife; having over 25 years of feminist activism and scholarship myself. The idea of blending a feminist perspective with psychology and activism seemed an idea whose time had come! While much of the book was compelling and informative, it was equally charge with Jones' particular flavor of eco-feminist perspective. If you are in agreement with her politics and are philosophically alligned with her - then this is a fabulous read! However, I found myself disappointed - over and again - thinking that Jones' thesis (as I understand it) relates to the connection between psychological trauma and activism. Her eco-feminist politics so very much overshadow the main thrust of the thesis that at times it felt like reading a self-congratulatory master's project rather than a serious effort to cross bridges of difference in academic and theoretically divergent structural forums. I am loathe to state that I did not like this book when in fact, I really enjoyed it very much! So you can imagine my disappointment when in attempting to describe the work and theory to friends - I was left with a struggle to seperate her overt animal rights politics from the overarching idea that trauma in activism experiences can create long-term effects for activists. I thought about how I could use this text across all kinds of activism efforts and wondered many times (quite honestly - too many) if Jones' politics would 'turn off' some activists who might genuinely need to read such an important treatise on self-care for better and long-term involvement, yet disagree with her radical stance on animalism and human-animal connections.[return][return]Overall, I think Jones' efforts to write a politically personal text about the psychological impact on activists is an intriguing and innovative project. Her revelations and connections to theory and practice certainly elicit provocative responses for the reader. Yet I fear that her personalization ultimately taints the overall text in establishing a perfected tool for supporting activists across a lot of leftist communities that will sympathize with her personal experiences to varying degrees. Her accounts in activism and eco-relations were incredibly interesting and poignant read, but I would be hard-pressed to use the text in its entirety for educating activists and that's where I find I am so struck by the seeming overuse of her personal philosophical/political agenda.[return][return]I would strongly recomend this book, with the caveat that one should take and use what is best and enjoy the rest.

[Lio · Rating 2 out of 5]

Two things:

As an activist with trauma experience, this book helped me to see where I'm stuck at when I read the begining of the book about how certain situations affect people/activists and that there are not enough opportunities to help activists get help or being taken serious, even on a professional level.

However, thee are other things I didn't like at the end of the book:

- transphobia ("gender is a social construct", "some women try to escape the violence by literally becoming men")

- demanding to be non-violent to end violence in combination with white saviour complexe ("just find your inner peace and everything will work out" kinda only works when you're privileged enough)

- when listed the different kinds of how different cultures deal with "trauma society" there should be more on who the perpetrators of the crimes are. They should never be taken out of the equation. They are invisible enough at it is. This way you're belitteling the traumatized people and their experience by instrumentalizing them to make a point.

- gross over-generalizations towards the end of the book ("truth against terror" chapter): for example 'puppies and children retain the ability to love, even when badly beaten by the persons who should take care of them'. no word about the huge impact abuse has on them, no word about having people face responsibility for their actions, no words of different effects abuse has on them, not to mention that not all abused will be able to love. As a therapist, I'd thought she'd be a lot more sensitive about this topic.

I intended to gift this book to a friend but I'm glad I kept it to myself.

[Frances · Rating 1 out of 5]

this book is full of some second wave, borderline transphobic stuff towards the end. i remember taking it on a camping trip and underlining pages of things i disagreed with. there are better books about confronting trauma.

[mad mags · Rating 5 out of 5]

The REAL ‘War on Terra’

(Full disclosure: I received a free copy of this book for review at the publisher's invitation.)

AFTERSHOCK: CONFRONTING TRAUMA IN A VIOLENT WORLD -> A GUIDE FOR ACTIVISTS AND THEIR ALLIES is psychotherapist/radical progressive activist pattrice jones's gift to her fellow activists and allies. In it, she imparts her plans for the REAL 'war on terror' - "the struggle for a world in which nobody lives in fear of atrocities perpetrated by human beings." This involves healing those activists who have suffered (and continue to suffer) from "aftershock," a phenomenon that jones describes as "the physical and emotional reverberations of frightening, horrifying, or otherwise traumatizing experiences endured in the course of their activism." On a larger scale, we must also work together to heal our "trauma culture," which consists of a society that is both traumatized and traumatizing and is characterized by deep divisions, such as those between groups of people, between humans and non-human animals, and between people and nature.

In the "User Guide," jones suggests specific sections that may be especially helpful to aftershocked activists, friends and allies of those suffering from aftershock, and therapists working with activists. However, I urge everyone to read AFTERSHOCK in its entirety. jones is a gifted and accessible writer, so this is hardly a chore! Even when discussing complex psychological theories, jones manages to keep the conversation friendly and interesting, with little jargon. Occasionally she'll wander off on a slight tangent - such as when discussing the rise of patrism, pastoralism, and the patriarchy - and you'll find yourself wishing she'd expounded on the idea rather than guiding you back to the issue at hand. As a result, AFTERSHOCK is filled with all sorts of intriguing ideas and theories.

Much of AFTERSHOCK addresses the activist community directly. jones begins by tackling what is perhaps the deepest division traumatizing our culture today - the artificial wall that's been erected between human and non-human animals. jones explains the physiological processes from which our "animal emotions" originate, and stresses that we cannot suppress, ignore, and neglect our bodies, our feelings, and ourselves without suffering from deleterious consequences such as burnout. Nor will ignoring a trauma make it go away; rather, doing so could exacerbate or cause aftershock. The first action we must take against trauma and aftershock is to confront and embrace our animal selves.

jones then fleshes out her concept of "aftershock." Because of the trauma they've faced, aftershocked activists may suffer from clinically diagnosable post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and/or depression, as well of symptoms of each. Here, jones takes on some controversies within the psychological community, such as "shadow syndromes," gender bias in clinical syndromes and diagnoses, and the nature of normality. She also describes some unique symptoms of aftershock; because of what they've experienced in the course of their activism, PTSD and depression may manifest uniquely in aftershocked activists.

jones concludes her discussion of trauma in individuals with advice for combating and preventing aftershock. For individuals, healing involves sanctuary (creating safe spaces); memory and mourning (remembering and retelling the traumatic event so that it can be integrated into your memories, and grieving the person you were before the trauma, for the "old you" is gone forever); connection (with other humans, other animals, and your environment/ecosystem); and making peace (between "your wishes and the world"). Friends, allies, therapists, organizations, and the community can all help aftershocked activists by providing sanctuary, encouraging remembrance, and facilitating connections. Perhaps more importantly, we can all work together to prevent aftershock (or at least lessen its impact) in our most vulnerable activists.

This section on "Action against Fracture" is a must-read for those working within the framework of an organized, action-centered group. Speaking from experience, jones lays out a coherent action plan for making activist organizations safe spaces for their volunteers and employees. Pay extra-special attention to the discussion of sexual harassment and assault within organizations - as jones notes time and again, an individual may hold progressive ideas on one subject, but still be an agent/tool of the patriarchy when it comes to gender issues (just visit any large, liberal, male-dominated blogging community and see how teh wimmins are treated!).

The last portion of AFTERSHOCK deals with our "trauma culture." Though it does follow from the preceding chapters, its macro focus almost makes it seem like a whole new book. For me (a non-aftershocked armchair activist), this was the most stimulating section of AFTERSHOCK. Throughout the text, jones raises the issue of parallel (or intersecting) oppressions - racism, sexism, homophobia, classism, speciesism, etc. - and in discussing our fractured culture, this topic truly comes to the fore. jones cautions, "feminists ought not to be eating hamburgers and animal liberationists ought not to be wearing shoes sewn in sweatshops." A sentiment with which this fellow green / veg*n / feminist / GLBT ally / animal advocate couldn't agree more! However, many progressive social movements seem, to some degree, to be separated from one another - and ALL share a common disdain for us 'crazy animal rights fanatics.' jones entreats us to BE bridges (a step beyond merely building bridges, I guess) between movements - an admirable goal, to be sure, but I'm still left wondering how you ally yourself with movements that you may agree with, but who don't exactly sympathize with you? Speciesism is the last "ism" that's still deemed acceptable by the whole of society. Sure, we might be able to rally support on some weak animal welfare measures, such as a ban on foie gras or cockfighting, but the total liberation of animals? Fugeddaboutit.

If only there were more existentialist / eco-anarchafeminist / lesbian / dreamer-blamers like pattrice jones in the world - then I think this whole building bridges/being bridges business would be a (patriarchy-) smashing success!

In the meantime, get yourself a copy of AFTERSHOCK. Read it, share it, do it. Keep on agitating, progressing, and protesting. We're all foot soldiers in the war on the War on Terra - so let's keep one another safe and healthy!

http://www.easyvegan.info/2007/06/04/...

[美音]

I don't want to give a rating because I don't know what I would rate it on. In terms of having some great insights, I really gained a lot, but in terms of being a guidebook for confronting trauma in a violent world, I'm not sure. First of all, this was directed towards more direct action activists, like people going undercover on factory farms and getting arrested. At times I felt perhaps the trauma I've felt as an activist is less legitimate because it wasn't really covered in this book, even though I do identify as an activist and I feel my work is important. Second, the author devotes quite a lot of pages to her ideologies, and while interesting (especially as I share most of her views), it felt a little like opening the wounds, when I came to this book already knowing about the wounds and simply wanting to fix them. I think her meandering style leads to some repetition, and also vague passages that could have been cut down or cut out.

So in that sense, I'm not sure how I feel about this book--but I hesitate to give it a rating, because I also really enjoyed parts of the book, and I also really like the author. I think she's a really thoughtful, intelligent, and just downright good person. I came away thinking more critically about the inherent speciesism in "dehumanization," and how to visualize trauma in its impact on our activism.

[Mica Doria · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book discussing some intersections of activism in the woman’s rights, lgbt movement, race issues and animal liberation in how to focus on yourself as a activist. I loved how it discusses the self care needed to get through trauma as an activist. Highly suggest for activist and people experiencing trauma and burnout

[Ellen the Herbivore · Rating 2 out of 5]

As someone who has fought for animals and dabbled in several other social justice issues, I was very excited about this book. It's tough to keep activism going sometimes. But this book was exceptionally non-rigorous in its approach, and that wasn't what I needed. Lots of good intentions, but really only enough substance to fill a moderately long magazine article,

[Sarai Garcia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is pretty much my bible. I have read it several times and use it as a coping tool.

[Wendy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read Aftershock in the hope of finding some magic resolution to the issue of activist burnout. When it became apparent that that was not going to happen, I would have settled for some gem or nugget of A-Ha! That’s what I need to be doing (or not doing, as a situation warrants). But while I may have found some reinforcement or snippets of legitimizing my down time from activism, or giving myself permission to laugh (at other things in life) despite the horrors of animal cruelty, most of that has come from years of personal therapy and applying that to activism on some level, or through the death of my parents several years ago which profoundly affected me – and from which I thought I would never recover. And while I don’t think “recover” is exactly what I have done, I have been able to move forward.

I have been working on this review for a while, and I can’t say exactly what bothers me about this book, although part of it is what struck me as a condescending tone of voice from the first page. I understand that, even more now than when jones wrote the book, things are really speeding us toward the brink of planetary destruction and that jones is trying to be emphatic. We are running out of time. Literally. So why wouldn’t you be emphatic? Well, possibly because this is kind of an activist self-help book., and for people who have never had therapy before for whatever reason, I feel the tone could make them just shut the covers and toss the book to the side, losing any of the good parts to be found here. But as I continued to write and edit and pause and think and look through the book (because it has been several months since I finished the book) – what sticks with me is what jones writes on page 176: “Nowadays, more and more young women – having learned what happens to girls in today’s world – are literally turning themselves into men to protect themselves from violation.” That is probably the sentiment that has stuck with me the most, and been so offensive I don’t even know that I want to go back through and find the places where I agree with jones, appreciate her work, her commentary (ie, this helpful claim: “When the physiological and psychological effects of traumatic experiences lessen productivity or lead to burnout, what seemed like self-sacrifice can turn out to be hurtful to others.”) Like jones, I am a cisgender lesbian, but JFC, I know enough to understand that: 1. First of all, it is not just in today’s world that women have been treated like shit smeared into the bottom of running shoes but also that, 2. Transgenderism happens for other reasons, I imagine none of them having to do with protection since violence against transgender people – though more towards women – is extremely high compared to violence against cisgender people. So, for all of jones’ good work, her reminders to get plenty of sleep, and that activists need support from other activists, and, my favorite part of the book – that part geared toward therapists, which I think every therapist should read (I have had my share of stupid therapists who do not understand why animal activism is important and who have told me to focus on what I can do when I talk to them about climate change, rather than society being the problem) -- this unfortunate assertion by jones has stuck out so badly and is so wrong that I cannot write a really decent review, as this is all I really think of when I think of this book. Of course, I would not recommend this to anyone. Unless maybe you are a therapist and you read the section geared toward therapists.

[Spicy T AKA Mr. Tea · Rating 5 out of 5]

A remarkable book! I read this at a really shaky time in my life. I felt validated by her words and concepts. I was also able to reconceptualize my own trauma in order to find a way to heal what had been shattered. It was so refreshing, inclusive, and accessible. pattrice jones is awesome and I highly encourage activists or their allies to pick this book up and read it!

[Bart · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aftershock is a powerful look at trauma and healing in activist communities. pattrice jones addresses these issues with an ecofeminist perspective, one that delves into uncomfortable but necessary issues for activists to confront.

[Sarahjane]

I found a lot of peace from Aftershock, and appreciate the heart that went into it. It's insightful and brilliant.

[Dayna R · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book. Made me reconsider a lot of how I interact with and judge other activists.