Aftermath: Violence and the Remaking of a Self

On July 4, 1990, while on a morning walk in southern France, Susan Brison was attacked from behind, severely beaten, sexually assaulted, strangled to unconsciousness, and left for dead. She survived, but her world was destroyed. Her training as a philosopher could not help her make sense of things, and many of her fundamental assumptions about the nature of the self and the world it inhabits were shattered. In this bravely and beautifully written book. Brison examines the undoing and remaking of a self in the aftermath of violence. At once a personal narrative of recovery and a philosophical exploration of trauma. Aftermath offers imaginative access to the experience of a rape survivor and a reflective critique of a society in which women routinely fear and suffer sexual violence.