Summary Paragraph

Rather than addressing what goes wrong when people are traumatized, Survivors: What We Can Learn from How They Cope with Horrific Tragedy takes a positivist approach. Filled with stories of people who overcame seemingly unbearable events, the book examines the details of their traumas to explain what combination of factors enabled them to thrive despite their experiences. Survivors studies men and women, adults and children, Americans and those from other lands. It encompasses victims of the Nazi Holocaust, survivors of spinal injury, victims of violent crime, adult victims of child abuse, and survivors of the Rwandan genocide. Author Gregory K. Moffatt, a psychologist and counselor, looks at all of these cases in the light of research regarding post-traumatic growth and clinical implications. He explains the combination of social context and protective and personal factors identified as prime agencies for resilience, drawing lessons that can prepare us, not only for extreme trauma, but to deal with the everyday traumas that affect us all.

Title Features:• Includes a chronology of the events pitting Tutsis and Hutus in Rwanda, as well as a chronology of the 1994 Rwanda genocide • Presents photographs of subjects in each case study• Provides an extensive bibliography, including research on the Holocaust, genocide in Rwanda, trauma, post-traumatic growth, and trauma treatment

Table of Contents

-- Acknowledgements
--Preface
--Chapter One: Trauma and Resiliency
--Chapter Two: Arbeit Macht Frei - Surviving the Holocaust
--Chapter Three: Another World - Surviving Spinal Injury
--Chapter Four: Dangerous Houses - Surviving Abuse
--Chapter Five: I Refuse To Die - Surviving Violent Crime
--Chapter Six: Ubuzima Bufite Impavnu - Genocide in Rwanda
--Chapter Seven: The Breaking Point - Protective Factors and 7 Lies That Prevent Recovery
--Chapter Eight: Hope for Survival - Treating Trauma and Fostering Resiliency
--Chapter Nine: Meaning of Life