In The Man Made of Smoke, the protagonist, Dan Garvie, is a forensic psychologist, driven to understand what turns men into monsters. When he was a child, Dan had his own encounter with a killer and failed to help a little boy who went on to become the man’s victim. Dan’s whole life has been a way of processing the shame and guilt he carries with him because of that.
As a writer, I’ve always been fascinated by the way that people cope with trauma—or don’t. How our histories shape our present, no matter how hard we might try to run from them. And how we can find the strength to not only overcome those experiences but use them to face challenges still ahead of us. With that in mind, here is a list of five brilliant but very different books about dealing with trauma in all the forms it takes.
The Midnight King by Tariq Ashkanani
To the outside world, Lucas Cole was a bestselling crime writer, but his son Nathan has known the truth about him since he was a boy: His father was a killer, and Nathan never had the strength to stop him. After Lucas’s death, Nathan returns to his childhood home and finds the box of souvenirs his father kept from his victims. He also discovers an unpublished manuscript, The Midnight King, along with evidence that a final victim, abducted only days earlier, could still be alive. If Nathan can find the child in time, might it offer some kind of redemption? Possibly. But as his father’s manuscript reveals its secrets and Nathan’s search for the missing girl takes him to the dark places inside himself, you’ll find yourself reading between your fingers all the way to the shocking conclusion.
A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness
One of the ways we make sense of the bad things that happen is to tell stories, and A Monster Calls is a powerful novel about just that. The protagonist is 13-year-old Conor O’Malley. It’s clear to the reader, if perhaps not to him, that his mother is terminally ill. One night, Conor is visited by a monster in the shape of a yew tree, which promises to tell Conor three stories in exchange for a fourth by Conor himself. But rather than the familiar fairytale accounts of right and wrong we might expect, the monster’s stories point to the complexities and contradictions of life, ultimately giving Conor the courage to tell his own. And like the monster’s stories, it’s not quite what we think. This is a wise and beautiful book. It’s also extremely moving. I was out in public when I read the ending for the first time, and I don’t advise it.
Into the Forest and All the Way Through by Cynthia Pelayo
This list wouldn’t be complete without The Philadelphia Story, even if I wasn’t obsessed with it to a medically concerning degree. As the only film starring Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant, and Jimmy Stewart together — directed by the iconic George Cukor, no less — it has a special place in film history. The entire story unfolds over the 48 hours leading up to a big society wedding. If you haven’t seen this classic, do yourself a favor and watch it tonight. To quote the wonderfully wise Liz Imbrie, “We all go haywire at times, and if we don’t, maybe we ought to.”
Both Sides of the Couch by Anna Wickins and Paddy Magrane
A memoir. Paddy Magrane is a writer and therapist; Anna Wickins, a former client and now a therapist herself. When they first begin their sessions together, Anna is barely able to talk about the sexual assault she suffered years earlier at university. But as they establish trust, the work begins to affect Paddy too, raising uncomfortable memories from his own past. Written from their alternating perspectives, and building to the two of them visiting the scene of Anna’s trauma together, Both Sides of the Couch offers a unique insight into the therapeutic process. It’s also a moving account of facing up to the pain of the past, an exploration of the unexpected ways in which people can help and heal each other, and as gripping in its own quiet way as any globe-trotting thriller.
My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece by Annabel Pitcher
Ten-year-old Jamie Mathews is living with a great deal of trauma, but little of it is his. Five years earlier, his older sister was killed in a terrorist attack. Now, his parents are divorced, and Jamie has moved with his alcoholic father and other sister to the Lake District in England. The sadness and suffering in the house is palpable. The problem is that Jamie barely remembers his sister at all: it’s the pain of those around him that shapes and defines his existence. When he bonds with a Muslim girl in his new school over a shared love of superheroes, it forces the family towards a reckoning. The writing is superb, and Jamie is wonderful company. This is a lovely novel. Full of grief, of course, and bleak at times, but also funny, heartwarming, and ultimately hopeful.
