DISRUPTING DENIAL, analysing narratives of invisible/visible violence & trauma

288pp., paperback, No Place, 2018

Foreword by N. Chabani Manganyi.

A collection of short life histories by over 40 South Africans who have experienced trauma and violence.

"In this book we tell our stories to contribute to truth-telling from the standpoint of descendants of colonised, oppressed and enslaved people. Breaking silence is an act of self-determination. In the process, we seek to heal ourselves and to contribute in small measure to personal and structural healing in society...The goal of this book is to disrupt denial in the course of introducing a testable mind map to raise awareness and consciousness about what oppressed people already 'know' to be true." from the author's introduction

"This collection is essential reading for anyone interested in understanding the contemporary decolonial moment in South Africa. It is also the book that many of us, as descendants of enslaved and oppressed peoples, have been waiting for. It offers a rich, compelling collection of narratives and analyses of violence, from the structural and symbolic to the material and physical. This highly original work that engages with the fields of trauma, narrative, memory and violence is what decolonial work looks like in practice." Associate Professor Floretta Boonzaier, Deputy Dean, Humanities, UCT

Dr Sarah Henkeman is an independent conflict and social justice researcher and practitioner.