Truth and Repair

How Trauma Survivors Envision Justice

By: Judith Lewis Herman MD

Narrated by: Stacey Glemboski

From one of America’s most influential psychiatrists, a powerful manifesto for reimagining justice, based on the testimony of trauma survivors

The #MeToo movement brought worldwide attention to sexual violence, but while the media focused on the fates of a few notorious predators who were put on trial, we heard far less about the outcomes of those trials for the survivors of their abuse.

The conventional retributive process fails to serve most survivors; it was never designed for them. Renowned trauma expert Judith L. Herman argues that the first step toward a better form of justice is simply to ask survivors what would make things as right as possible for them. In Truth and Repair, she commits the radical act of listening to survivors. Recounting their stories, she offers an alternative vision of justice as healing for survivors and their communities.

Deeply researched and compassionately told, Truth and Repair envisions a new path to justice for all.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2023 Judith Lewis Herman, MD (P)2023 Basic Books

Critic reviews

“Through masterful storytelling, Judith Herman charts the course from trauma to justice and compels us to follow it. An inspiring and practical call to action, Truth and Repair celebrates survivors’ wisdom and their power to heal themselves and the world we live in.” —Anita Hill

“Three decades after the publication of her foundational Trauma and Recovery, Herman brilliantly confronts us with another vital, but much ignored, aspect of recovery: social justice. Justice is an essential component for healing the godforsaken sense of humiliation and abandonment so central in traumatizing experiences. When justice is denied, trauma’s imprint is likely to fester in the form of helpless rage. A magnificent and inspiring contribution with profound implications for the healing professions and for society at large.”—Bessel van der Kolk, MD, author of the #1 New York Times bestseller The Body Keeps the Score

“Herman has written some of the most seminal, life-changing books on violence against women. Here in her new book, Truth and Repair, she does something even more radical. She listens to the survivors themselves and skillfully shapes their voices and wisdom into a practical and truly enlightened road map for our future. Every word rang true and essential.”—V (formerly Eve Ensler), playwright of The Vagina Monologues

Another classic by a pioneer

Dr. Herman is a pioneer and protector of the abused. In this inspirational book she describes the next steps to protect and prevent tragedies in the vulnerable

As a survivor, I co-sign

Anyone that cares about uterus haves need to read this! We want support, safety, repair and accountability for those complicit. This books does a great job of understanding where we need to look for change/to change.

A desperately needed reimagining of justice

This update to Herman’s work is a refreshingly honest look at the state of our current cultural stance towards victims of sexual violence. She uses current research and initiatives to paint a map of what movement towards actual justice might look like. This well informed perspective is desperately needed in today’s climate.

Anger and agenda overrides the science

Compared to her previous book "Trauma and Recovery," this book is disturbing. The unresolved anger and pain of the author pours from the pages. At times, her hatred of men is blatant and almost blind with statements such as “all men use their penises to oppress all women.” The harm done to many women by many men is a great tragedy, but to place blame on all is harmful and increases the wounds of those who have been harmed.

A key question that shows this book to be harmful is this: If no men can be trusted to be supportive and trustworthy, how can a badly wounded woman recover if half of society is so dangerous?

Second, the science of the book is poor. The author pushes unproven research if it fits her agenda and disparages well documented and established research that does not fit her anger.

I was surprised by this very poor presentation of “restorative justice” and her unsubstantiated claims which diminish the progress made in the field of Trauma and PTSD research and treatment. After finishing this book, I immediately re-listened to "Trauma and Recovery" to see if this previous book was what I remembered. There was in fact a lot of excellent information on state-of-the-art Trauma and recovery science.

I still recommend "Trauma and Recovery" as a core PTSD and Trauma book, especially as it relates to women who have a higher prevalence than men. Although anger and the agenda driven analysis of research can be heard in this otherwise excellent book, it is less present and is outweighed by the benefits of the book.

Sadly, “Truth and Repair” is horrible.

No es lo que esperaba, más si brinda la posibilidad de aprendizaje

Tenía la expectativa de que la autora ampliara el modelo trifásico; sin embargo, este no fue una meta del libro. Considero que el libro es más un acercamiento experiencial que académico, aspecto que resulta importante en el sentido de tomar en consideración lo que para algunas sobrevivientes puede ser la necesidad de Justicia y favorecer que no se convierta en un obstáculo para el tratamiento.

Not helpful to victims

This book is mainly about SA on college campuses and barely mentioned DV/IPV. The main focus is on Restorative Justice, which the author aknowledges doesn't work unless there is a genuine apology which almost Never occurs. This book is a lot of circle talk about humanizing abusers, devoting more resources to keeping them out of jail and rehabilitating them. It's pointless and triggering to abuse survivors.
What victims need are real resources and protections so we can rebuild our lives, not more hand holding for abusers.