The writers of this book conceptualize emotional resiliency as something to build up and work on collectively, to take inventory of, to find respite in and something to call on as a set of guiding strengths and principles when responding to trauma. Our conceptions are informed by what we know of trauma, PTSD, PTSC and the characteristics of each, which is related in the following pages. We believe it is useful to ground our collective knowledge of trauma in its own particular conceptual and ideological history; integral to our purpose is an alternative to the widely popularized neoliberal notions of self-care that are as disempowering and isolating to us as they are reinforcing to the hegemonies of capital and state power. We aim to propagate resiliency as a methodology to counter the traumas weaponized by the various oppressive forces that divide and diminish us, thereby building our long-term capacity for rebellion against them.

Read the PDF version