Welcome GuestRegister/Login? View CartCheckout

Main : colonisation, human rights, Indigenous, non-fiction


ISBN: 9781876756222
0.320 kgs
226 x 150 mm
400 pp
Share this on Facebook     Add to Librarything.com  Add to Goodreads.com
Trauma Trails, Recreating Song Lines: The Transgenerational Effects of Trauma in Indigenous Australia
Judy Atkinson

I was running a workshop in the Kimberleys, and in the circle a woman began to speak from a place of deep pain and despair. She described herself as bad, dirty, ugly, words she had taken into herself from childhood experiences of abuse. I lent forward and sang her a song. 'How could anyone ever tell you, you are anything less than beautiful?' While sitting with her, as the words settled into her soul, another woman said to the circle: you are re-creating song lines - from trauma trails. I was honoured by this description of my work.

Providing a startling answer to the questions of how to solve the problems of generational trauma, Trauma Trails moves beyond the rhetoric of victimhood, and provides inspiration for anyone concerned about Indigenous and Non-Indigenous communities today. Beginning with issues of colonial dispossession, Judy Atkinson also sensitively deals with trauma caused by abuse, alcoholism, and drug dependency.

Sharing their stories, contributors also demonstrate the Aboriginal gift to the nation - Dadirri: listening to one another, and the way in which it provides a way forward. By inviting Non-Indigenous people to sit with them in the circle, sharing stories, listening to and learning from each other, song lines emerge of a courageous journey, pointing us in the direction of change and healing.

Judy Atkinson is of Jiman and Bundjalung descent as well as having Celtic-German heritage, and is Professor of Indigenous Australian Studies at Southern Cross University. She has worked within areas of Aboriginal community health and welfare for many years.

In stock.
Ships in 1-2 business days.
$29.95

Awards
2003 Shortlist, The Australian Awards for Excellence in Educational Publishing
Reviews
Write a review.

I recommend this complex, well-composed and emotionally satisfying book to anyone who has an interest in improving the quality of Australian psychological work.

Craig San Roque, Aboriginal History 2004, Vol 28

'Trauma Trails is a remarkable book by any standards … [it has] much to say about diagnosis and treatment, of individuals and whole social groups. It is a substantial reconciliative achievement and should encourage others to bridge the cultural divide in imaginative ways.'

Antonia Esten, Journal of Australian Studies
Out Now
Town of Love

Town of Love


Anne Ch. Ostby

Now Available

They call them ‘women of love,’ but the lyrical beauty of the term has a hidden dark side: a workforce of...

Blue and Other Stories

Blue and Other Stories


Suniti Namjoshi

Suniti Namjoshi, internationally acclaimed fabulist and poet, brings both depth and lightness of touch to Blue and Other...


The Fabulous Feminist

The Fabulous Feminist


Suniti Namjoshi

It was on a sabbatical in England in the late 1970s that Suniti Namjoshi discovered feminism – or rather, she discovered...

Making Peace with the Earth

Making Peace with the Earth


Vandana Shiva

In her new book, Making Peace with the Earth, Sydney Peace Prize recipient Vandana Shiva explores the basis of human life...

Content © Spinifex Press • Terms & ConditionsContact UsAbout Us