Truth and Repair

This book is not purchasable in your country. Please select another book.

Listen to a sample

What to expect

A powerful exploration of what justice truly means for survivors of sexual violence, abuse, and trauma.

Part manifesto, part exploration of what justice truly means for survivors of trauma and abuse, Judith Herman forces us to reconsider our perspective on victims, revealing uncomfortable truths about our justice systems and proposing new ways to implement justice. A follow-up to the bestselling Trauma and Recovery the audiobook is divided into three parts, Part One: Power, examines the structure and nature of tyranny, patriarchy and white supremacy; Part Two: Visions of Justice, reveals how our current system is woefully ill-equipped for victims and corrects our misguided assumptions about what survivors need in the aftermath of violence, and finally in Part Three: Centring Survivor Justice, Herman proposes alternative methods of justice, offering hopeful new ways to think about its meanings and possibilities.

Truth and Repair is a profound and timely commentary that lies at the intersection of several cultural moments including the #MeToo movement, a resurgent interest in trauma, and the global movements focusing on racial injustices and abuses of power towards people of colour. Thoughtful, visceral and moving, Truth and Repair is a necessary call to action that invites us to envision a new approach to justice-one that centres on healing and solidarity to stand with survivors everywhere.

(P) 2023 Hachette Audio

Critics Review

  • 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 . . . 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 No. 1 New York Times bestseller THE BODY KEEPS THE SCORE
  • Through masterful storytelling, 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, lawyer, educator and author
  • Herman has written some of the most seminal, life-changing books on violence against women. [Truth and Repair] does something even more radical. She listens to the survivors themselves and skilfully 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
  • For thirty years, every single book written about the impact of trauma has stood on the shoulders of Herman’s groundbreaking book Trauma and Recovery. Now, thirty years later, we receive a bookend to that masterpiece, examining how survivors of gender-based violence seek justice and healing. Truth and Repair is a deeply researched and thought-provoking book offering hope and healing for victims of violence

    Michelle Bowdler, author of IS RAPE A CRIME?
  • Herman’s earlier studies of abuse of women and children recast our understanding of trauma. Now, in Truth and Repair, she comes full circle in describing how initially powerless victims can, through innovative social arrangements, achieve hard-won survivor justice. In the process, we learn much about what justice really means for traumatized people. Herman’s perspective is deeply humane and grounded in historical and political reality. Her work stands alone in its arc and originality

    Robert Jay Lifton, MD, Columbia University
  • This book is a revelation. With careful precision and dogged research, Herman offers us not only a diagnosis of our most pressing social ailments, but a prescription for healing. Rarely does a book offer this level of insight, hope and remedy

    Rachel Louise Snyder, author of NO VISIBLE BRUISES

Subscribe to our newsletter

Sign up to get tailored content recommendations, product updates and info on new releases. Your data is your own: we commit to protect your data and respect your privacy.