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Post-Traumatic
In this “deeply original” (Elif Batuman) and “violently funny” (Myriam Gurba) story, a young lawyer finally confronts her dark past so she can live in a more peaceful future.
To the outside observer, Vivian is a success story—a dedicated lawyer who advocates for mentally ill patients at a New York City psychiatric hospital. Privately, Vivian contends with the memories and aftereffects of her bad childhood—compounded by the everyday stresses of being a Black Latinx woman in America. She lives in a constant state of hypervigilant awareness that makes even a simple subway ride into a heart-pounding drama.
For years, Vivian has self-medicated with a mix of dating, dieting, dark humor and smoking weed with her BFF, Jane. But after a family reunion prompts Vivian to take a bold step, she finds herself alone in new and terrifying ways, without even Jane to confide in, and she starts to unravel. Will she find a way to repair what matters most to her?
A debut from a stunning talent, Post-traumatic is a new kind of survivor narrative, featuring a complex heroine who is blazingly, indelibly alive. With razor-sharp prose and mordant wit, Chantal V. Johnson performs an extraordinary feat, delivering a psychologically astute story about the aftermath of trauma that somehow manages to brim with warmth, laughter, and hope.
To the outside observer, Vivian is a success story—a dedicated lawyer who advocates for mentally ill patients at a New York City psychiatric hospital. Privately, Vivian contends with the memories and aftereffects of her bad childhood—compounded by the everyday stresses of being a Black Latinx woman in America. She lives in a constant state of hypervigilant awareness that makes even a simple subway ride into a heart-pounding drama.
For years, Vivian has self-medicated with a mix of dating, dieting, dark humor and smoking weed with her BFF, Jane. But after a family reunion prompts Vivian to take a bold step, she finds herself alone in new and terrifying ways, without even Jane to confide in, and she starts to unravel. Will she find a way to repair what matters most to her?
A debut from a stunning talent, Post-traumatic is a new kind of survivor narrative, featuring a complex heroine who is blazingly, indelibly alive. With razor-sharp prose and mordant wit, Chantal V. Johnson performs an extraordinary feat, delivering a psychologically astute story about the aftermath of trauma that somehow manages to brim with warmth, laughter, and hope.
320 pages, Hardcover
First published April 5, 2022
501 people are currently reading
33421 people want to read
About the author
Chantal V. Johnson
3 books208 followersChantal V. Johnson is an attorney and writer whose debut novel, Post-Traumatic, was long-listed for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize and selected as a New York Public Library book club pick. She has received fellowships and support from The Center for Fiction, the Djerassi Resident Artists Program, the Kimmel Harding Nelson Center for the Arts, and the Arizona Commission on the Arts.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 997 reviews
February 7, 2023
Oh wow you all, this gusty searing novel has saved 2023 for me. Post-Traumatic follows Vivian, a Black Latinx lawyer who advocates for mentally ill patients at a psychiatric hospital in New York City. Even though she seems ambitious and put-together on the outside, in private she struggles with intrusive memories and overwhelming emotions from her dark and difficult childhood. For years Vivian coped with these difficult thoughts and feelings through obsessive infatuations with men, relentless dieting, dark humor, and smoking weed with her best friend Jane. But when Vivian takes a scary, bold step in relation to her family, all the other parts of her life start to crumble, forcing her to decide just how much she wants to try and heal from her past.
This freaking book. So sad, so dark, and yet so funny at the same time. Vivian, our protagonist, makes the wittiest observations. The book’s official blurb accurately describes Chantal Johnson’s prose as “razor-sharp” which makes Vivian’s humor land like that of a lovingly neurotic yet self-aware friend. Vivian is so problematic throughout most of the novel too; she constantly compares herself to other women and critiques other women’s bodies (even while fiercely identifying with feminist politics on an intellectual level) and does everything she can to appeal to the (often white) male gaze. I imagine readers will feel frustrated with her, like with this passage: “Vivian felt rapturous in Matthew’s bed, high on a drug that couldn’t be bought, only earned: oxytocin! His attention gave her permission to exist. She was desperate not to lose it.” And yet, she’s such a compelling character and Johnson’s writing is so precise I couldn’t stop reading. As a reference point, Vivian’s wit is similar to that of the television show character Fleabag.
I marked over ten passages where I either laughed out loud or smiled and giggled to myself. Here’s one from page 14, when Vivian reflects on not receiving male attention:
“Ambiguity, though central to aesthetic greatness, was horrifying in real life. When a man inflicted it upon you in a romantic context, it highlighted his cowardice and your abjection. They did it casually, like flinging a toddler into a body of water and walking away, insisting calmly that it will swim. Huey Lewis was right, man – if loss of interest is inevitable, just get it over with and leave me, already.”
(The “flinging a toddler into a body of water” literally made me lol. So good, and there are so many other examples!)
At the same time, Chantal Johnson does an excellent job of showing how Vivian’s problematic, women-hating and self-hating tendencies stem from her trauma. Through vivid flashbacks and non-sentimentally heart wrenching conversations with the people in her life, we see how Vivian has suffered through her constantly critical mother and her constantly critical mother’s abusive boyfriends, her sibling who died and her currently-living sibling who faces severe mental illness exacerbated by anti-Black racism, and her attempts to set boundaries and how her family tries to trespass them anyway. All of these personal stressors intersect with Vivian’s identity as a Black Latinx woman residing in the United States. Again, Johnson really shows Vivian’s hypervigilance and the dysfunctional ways she tries to protect herself. I felt right there with her, entertained by her wit while also hoping and hoping for her healing.
And the best part: there is hope at the end of this story, and Vivian does grow as a person. She hits her rock bottom and decides to pursue therapy and make amends with her best friend. Also, can I just say as a former recipient and current provider of therapy, the therapy scenes in this book are so freaking well-written! You may think that an author writing about a character talking to another person about her feelings would be boring, but Johnson’s prose is so impressively taut that she makes those scenes feel so alive and gripping. I’m so grateful that Johnson didn’t just portray Vivian’s suffering and that this book can join the slowly growing set of books that describe therapy both accurately and enthrallingly, like the memoirs What My Bones Know and I’m Glad My Mom Died .
Anyway, wow, 2023 really made me wait for over a month for a five-star read and yet it feels so worth it. As a survivor of trauma and PTSD I resonated with Vivian a lot, not all the specifics of course but the planning, perfectionism, and emotion dysregulation – I’ve been there too! Some of those therapy scenes felt lifted right from when I sat on my first long-term therapist’s couch circa 2015-2017, lol. Johnson disclosed about coming from a violent home in an interview and I’m so grateful to her for writing this book. I wouldn’t be surprised if other PTSD survivors feel the same. Vivian has already secured her place as one of my favorite protagonists ever: her sharp wit, her big heart, and her growth. I get teary-eyed and feel warm and hopeful just thinking about her.
This freaking book. So sad, so dark, and yet so funny at the same time. Vivian, our protagonist, makes the wittiest observations. The book’s official blurb accurately describes Chantal Johnson’s prose as “razor-sharp” which makes Vivian’s humor land like that of a lovingly neurotic yet self-aware friend. Vivian is so problematic throughout most of the novel too; she constantly compares herself to other women and critiques other women’s bodies (even while fiercely identifying with feminist politics on an intellectual level) and does everything she can to appeal to the (often white) male gaze. I imagine readers will feel frustrated with her, like with this passage: “Vivian felt rapturous in Matthew’s bed, high on a drug that couldn’t be bought, only earned: oxytocin! His attention gave her permission to exist. She was desperate not to lose it.” And yet, she’s such a compelling character and Johnson’s writing is so precise I couldn’t stop reading. As a reference point, Vivian’s wit is similar to that of the television show character Fleabag.
I marked over ten passages where I either laughed out loud or smiled and giggled to myself. Here’s one from page 14, when Vivian reflects on not receiving male attention:
“Ambiguity, though central to aesthetic greatness, was horrifying in real life. When a man inflicted it upon you in a romantic context, it highlighted his cowardice and your abjection. They did it casually, like flinging a toddler into a body of water and walking away, insisting calmly that it will swim. Huey Lewis was right, man – if loss of interest is inevitable, just get it over with and leave me, already.”
(The “flinging a toddler into a body of water” literally made me lol. So good, and there are so many other examples!)
At the same time, Chantal Johnson does an excellent job of showing how Vivian’s problematic, women-hating and self-hating tendencies stem from her trauma. Through vivid flashbacks and non-sentimentally heart wrenching conversations with the people in her life, we see how Vivian has suffered through her constantly critical mother and her constantly critical mother’s abusive boyfriends, her sibling who died and her currently-living sibling who faces severe mental illness exacerbated by anti-Black racism, and her attempts to set boundaries and how her family tries to trespass them anyway. All of these personal stressors intersect with Vivian’s identity as a Black Latinx woman residing in the United States. Again, Johnson really shows Vivian’s hypervigilance and the dysfunctional ways she tries to protect herself. I felt right there with her, entertained by her wit while also hoping and hoping for her healing.
And the best part: there is hope at the end of this story, and Vivian does grow as a person. She hits her rock bottom and decides to pursue therapy and make amends with her best friend. Also, can I just say as a former recipient and current provider of therapy, the therapy scenes in this book are so freaking well-written! You may think that an author writing about a character talking to another person about her feelings would be boring, but Johnson’s prose is so impressively taut that she makes those scenes feel so alive and gripping. I’m so grateful that Johnson didn’t just portray Vivian’s suffering and that this book can join the slowly growing set of books that describe therapy both accurately and enthrallingly, like the memoirs What My Bones Know and I’m Glad My Mom Died .
Anyway, wow, 2023 really made me wait for over a month for a five-star read and yet it feels so worth it. As a survivor of trauma and PTSD I resonated with Vivian a lot, not all the specifics of course but the planning, perfectionism, and emotion dysregulation – I’ve been there too! Some of those therapy scenes felt lifted right from when I sat on my first long-term therapist’s couch circa 2015-2017, lol. Johnson disclosed about coming from a violent home in an interview and I’m so grateful to her for writing this book. I wouldn’t be surprised if other PTSD survivors feel the same. Vivian has already secured her place as one of my favorite protagonists ever: her sharp wit, her big heart, and her growth. I get teary-eyed and feel warm and hopeful just thinking about her.
July 15, 2022
Chantal V. Johnson is giving GENIUS with this debut. This novel literally has everything I’m looking for in fiction, the book I’ve been searching for! A thinky lawyer reckoning with her past? Hell yes. But first: Earlier this year, critic Parul Sehgal published a piece in The New Yorker titled “The Case Against the Trauma Plot,” which has had me in a chokehold since reading it. I’ve been consumed with thinking about the icy, removed, murky novels with traumatized characters published in recent years, books that hold readers at arm’s length to establish plot, making me question my compulsion to read them and the reasons why they sometimes (or, rather, often) fail.
Johnson’s debut feels like a necessary response to the discourse around trauma narratives, presenting a wholly original examination of an adult woman navigating continued pain. Most notable are Johnson’s use of humor and psychological astuteness that always feels one step ahead of the reader. Johnson, through our main character Vivian, reveals how aware she is of the thought patterns, stereotypes, and truths associated with living with trauma, and each chapter presents a pivotal or revelatory moment in Vivian’s adult life to expose the fault lines of trauma and identity. As a result, the novel rings so true - Vivian is a droll, intelligent, intriguing character that I already miss. Further, the portrayal of friendship added levity and further stakes to the narrative. Vivian’s questioning of assumed familial loyalty, especially to a family that has committed violence against you, was written with nuance and candor. The discussions of disordered eating and anxiety around consumption hit close to home. The autofictional sensibility had me smirking throughout, and as a cherry on top, there is tons about music as escapism and joy, Puerto Rican food, and I love a book with a great karaoke scene (The Life of the Mind by Christine Smallwood comes to mind!). Overall, I absolutely adored this novel and can’t wait to see what Johnson cooks up next.
Johnson’s debut feels like a necessary response to the discourse around trauma narratives, presenting a wholly original examination of an adult woman navigating continued pain. Most notable are Johnson’s use of humor and psychological astuteness that always feels one step ahead of the reader. Johnson, through our main character Vivian, reveals how aware she is of the thought patterns, stereotypes, and truths associated with living with trauma, and each chapter presents a pivotal or revelatory moment in Vivian’s adult life to expose the fault lines of trauma and identity. As a result, the novel rings so true - Vivian is a droll, intelligent, intriguing character that I already miss. Further, the portrayal of friendship added levity and further stakes to the narrative. Vivian’s questioning of assumed familial loyalty, especially to a family that has committed violence against you, was written with nuance and candor. The discussions of disordered eating and anxiety around consumption hit close to home. The autofictional sensibility had me smirking throughout, and as a cherry on top, there is tons about music as escapism and joy, Puerto Rican food, and I love a book with a great karaoke scene (The Life of the Mind by Christine Smallwood comes to mind!). Overall, I absolutely adored this novel and can’t wait to see what Johnson cooks up next.
April 11, 2022
Chantal V. Johnson’s debut's a convincing account of dealing with the aftermath of trauma: as an individual but also as part of the legacy of growing up a Black Latinx woman in a white-centred society. Vivian’s a New York lawyer who works as an advocate for people who’ve been forcibly institutionalised, trying to find ways to set them free, all too aware of the racist assumptions underlying the white mental health system and its damaging impact on Black communities. Outside of her job she’s essentially a loner but shares an intimate bond with Jane, both survivors of dysfunctional families and male violence, self-proclaimed feminist killjoys, attempting to reinvent themselves despite their sense that the odds are stacked against them.
Johnson’s style’s cool and markedly detached, its near-forensic precision mirroring Vivian’s state of mind, her obsession with projecting a carefully-curated, image of control that extends to her own inner narrative. Vivian uses her analytical skills as a tool to negotiate her work and social life, adopting a series of rigid rituals as a means of staving off chaos, the impact of racism, casual misogyny, and the ever-present threat of male violence. At one point Vivian boasts that she knows how to escape a locked car boot, escape handcuffs and survive live burial. But these rituals play out through oppressively rigid forms of self-policing, reflecting wider cultural expectations placed on women; and the ways in which women of colour are pressured to objectify themselves in order to conform to white ideals - from modifying their speech to the cultivation of a bodily self that fits with white notions of what’s desirable. But her constant state of hyper vigilance makes it clear that Vivian’s strategy for living has left her far from okay, as it spills over into fantasies that lead to a series of disastrous relationships with unsuitable men. And when Vivian finally decides to cut herself off from her overwhelming family, it’s rapidly clear things are about to get messy.
Johnson set out to explore what it’s like to survive trauma without resorting to what she’s termed “traditional versions of trauma fiction—the sentimental family saga, the book of lyrical fragments, the ghost girl narrative, and the graphic, harrowing coming-of-age novel.” She deliberately avoids replicating conventional tropes or lapsing into detailed “trauma porn.” She’s particularly keen not to reproduce figures who reinforce all-too-familiar stereotypes, such as “the white girl who can’t make eye contact, speaks in a whisper, and hides behind cardigans.” And, overall, she achieves her goals. Vivian may be afraid but she’s also strong and vocal, capable of working out a way forward that works for her. Johnson’s analytical perspective can be a little wearying at times but that distanced approach also adds to the intensity of her central character’s journey. Along the way, there are some satisfying nods to women who’ve strived to achieve similar things in their own work on gender and violence, in particular artists like Nan Goldin and Ana Mendieta, echoed in Jane’s visual projects. Johnson’s story may have been labelled as yet another in a subgenre of ‘women on the edge’ books tapping into current trends but it’s far from derivative. Admittedly I had some qualms about the ending but other than that I found this a deeply compelling, frequently powerful read.
Thanks to Netgalley and publisher Dialogue Books for an ARC
Rating: 3.5
Johnson’s style’s cool and markedly detached, its near-forensic precision mirroring Vivian’s state of mind, her obsession with projecting a carefully-curated, image of control that extends to her own inner narrative. Vivian uses her analytical skills as a tool to negotiate her work and social life, adopting a series of rigid rituals as a means of staving off chaos, the impact of racism, casual misogyny, and the ever-present threat of male violence. At one point Vivian boasts that she knows how to escape a locked car boot, escape handcuffs and survive live burial. But these rituals play out through oppressively rigid forms of self-policing, reflecting wider cultural expectations placed on women; and the ways in which women of colour are pressured to objectify themselves in order to conform to white ideals - from modifying their speech to the cultivation of a bodily self that fits with white notions of what’s desirable. But her constant state of hyper vigilance makes it clear that Vivian’s strategy for living has left her far from okay, as it spills over into fantasies that lead to a series of disastrous relationships with unsuitable men. And when Vivian finally decides to cut herself off from her overwhelming family, it’s rapidly clear things are about to get messy.
Johnson set out to explore what it’s like to survive trauma without resorting to what she’s termed “traditional versions of trauma fiction—the sentimental family saga, the book of lyrical fragments, the ghost girl narrative, and the graphic, harrowing coming-of-age novel.” She deliberately avoids replicating conventional tropes or lapsing into detailed “trauma porn.” She’s particularly keen not to reproduce figures who reinforce all-too-familiar stereotypes, such as “the white girl who can’t make eye contact, speaks in a whisper, and hides behind cardigans.” And, overall, she achieves her goals. Vivian may be afraid but she’s also strong and vocal, capable of working out a way forward that works for her. Johnson’s analytical perspective can be a little wearying at times but that distanced approach also adds to the intensity of her central character’s journey. Along the way, there are some satisfying nods to women who’ve strived to achieve similar things in their own work on gender and violence, in particular artists like Nan Goldin and Ana Mendieta, echoed in Jane’s visual projects. Johnson’s story may have been labelled as yet another in a subgenre of ‘women on the edge’ books tapping into current trends but it’s far from derivative. Admittedly I had some qualms about the ending but other than that I found this a deeply compelling, frequently powerful read.
Thanks to Netgalley and publisher Dialogue Books for an ARC
Rating: 3.5
November 20, 2022
Where do I begin!!! I fucking hated this book. I did. It was torture to read.. to be trapped in the author's mind like that.. with this woman.. this fake-confident woman who hates herself, is an educated fool, is neurotic, a misogynist, unprofessional, delusional, and in a perpetual state of self-harm and down talk…
To be trapped in the author’s mind with this woman.. this “main character”, Vivian.
To be trapped with her, in this story without nary a warning in sight was something else! There were no trigger warnings, no warning about the body dysmorphia, the child abuse, discussions of sexual trauma, physical violence, internalized self-hatred, and rage.. listen… it was a lot. Take all these warnings and apply them... if you’re reading this review before reading the book.. apply these warnings.
I almost gave up on this book several times.
I almost gave up at 18%. I almost gave up at 25%. I almost gave up at 37%. I had to come to Goodreads to see what the hell was going on. Several times. Somehow, I kept going. Why? I don’t know. I think I was hoping for some redemptive arch or something because I had watched the author in a few interviews with folks whose judgment I trust, and I couldn’t believe they were leading me astray like this. It threw into question everything I thought about what they read/suggested.
And then something happened at 50%.
Something happened that pulled all the frayed threads of this main character's life together and a picture started to form. It was like one of those dot/hidden portraits that everyone can see except you and you spend so much time staring at it, scratching your head and being like what the fuck.. I can’t see shit!! After days and days of returning to this image, this nonsensical experiment of a blank image — you start to see the shape of a head, you start to see people staring at each other and you’re like: OMG, there’s a photo in thereeeeeee!
That’s what reading this book felt like.
Chantal V. Johnson does something magical in the middle of this book and for the rest of the book if you can bare the beginning of it. If you can move through the misogyny, if you can stomach the rampant fatphobia and disordered eating, the constant emotional highs, and lows — if you can get through the process of standing in a store with the main character for a few pages as she decides what low-calorie snack she wants to purchase so that her tired and weary body can have some nourishment so she can stay thinner than all the women around her, as she mentally flips through cutting off everyone she knows... you will be rewarded towards the end. You have to fight your way there with the main character though. It won’t be easy.
Chantal V. Johnson is a great writer, outside of the lack of trigger warnings. Those trigger warnings are so necessary because imma tell you right now — the content of this book, experienced with little to no warning can be incredibly detrimental to one’s mental health especially if any of the multitudes of circumstances touches your life, and there are a MULTITUDE that can touch any readers’ life in this book. From family members with mental health issues to those that are institutionalized, racism in the workplace and dating, misogyny, kids in care, and abandonment, there are so many issues weaved into this book that it NEEDS those trigger warnings on it. It is a rollercoaster of emotions and trauma. Again, it isn’t an easy read. The text fights with you. It’s a book that fights you on every page. It’s a book that challenges you. It’s a book that forces you to observe a situation and the lead-up to situations faced by high-functioning adults with severe issues and how things can explode if left untreated/unexamined.
Honestly, this is one of the best books I’ve read this year. It’s cynical. Funny. Original. Unique. Enraging. It has so many great musical references, which I enjoyed. The depiction of the insecure, snobby, jazz-loving, culture-vulture white boyfriend was so on the money that I literally screamed while reading it. That taxi cab, auto-repair shop moment was a whole, very memorable, mess.
All things considered, the most important element of the book is that it grapples with a very salient question and experience for many survivors of childhood violence:
It’s a 5-star read. It had a Joaquin Phoenix The Joker-like quality about it. However, even those who saw The Joker knew what they were in for with the trailer. The lack of warning and the author’s overreach in trying to fight the reader for what feels like no reason (at the beginning) was a different approach to engaging the reader. I saw some 1-star reviews and I totally get it because that approach is polarizing as fuck, but the wrap-up, Chantal V. Johnson ate ate ate. It very much gave: She’s Gotta Have It meets The Joker meets New Animal or Milk Fed.
To be trapped in the author’s mind with this woman.. this “main character”, Vivian.
To be trapped with her, in this story without nary a warning in sight was something else! There were no trigger warnings, no warning about the body dysmorphia, the child abuse, discussions of sexual trauma, physical violence, internalized self-hatred, and rage.. listen… it was a lot. Take all these warnings and apply them... if you’re reading this review before reading the book.. apply these warnings.
I almost gave up on this book several times.
I almost gave up at 18%. I almost gave up at 25%. I almost gave up at 37%. I had to come to Goodreads to see what the hell was going on. Several times. Somehow, I kept going. Why? I don’t know. I think I was hoping for some redemptive arch or something because I had watched the author in a few interviews with folks whose judgment I trust, and I couldn’t believe they were leading me astray like this. It threw into question everything I thought about what they read/suggested.
And then something happened at 50%.
Something happened that pulled all the frayed threads of this main character's life together and a picture started to form. It was like one of those dot/hidden portraits that everyone can see except you and you spend so much time staring at it, scratching your head and being like what the fuck.. I can’t see shit!! After days and days of returning to this image, this nonsensical experiment of a blank image — you start to see the shape of a head, you start to see people staring at each other and you’re like: OMG, there’s a photo in thereeeeeee!
That’s what reading this book felt like.
Chantal V. Johnson does something magical in the middle of this book and for the rest of the book if you can bare the beginning of it. If you can move through the misogyny, if you can stomach the rampant fatphobia and disordered eating, the constant emotional highs, and lows — if you can get through the process of standing in a store with the main character for a few pages as she decides what low-calorie snack she wants to purchase so that her tired and weary body can have some nourishment so she can stay thinner than all the women around her, as she mentally flips through cutting off everyone she knows... you will be rewarded towards the end. You have to fight your way there with the main character though. It won’t be easy.
Chantal V. Johnson is a great writer, outside of the lack of trigger warnings. Those trigger warnings are so necessary because imma tell you right now — the content of this book, experienced with little to no warning can be incredibly detrimental to one’s mental health especially if any of the multitudes of circumstances touches your life, and there are a MULTITUDE that can touch any readers’ life in this book. From family members with mental health issues to those that are institutionalized, racism in the workplace and dating, misogyny, kids in care, and abandonment, there are so many issues weaved into this book that it NEEDS those trigger warnings on it. It is a rollercoaster of emotions and trauma. Again, it isn’t an easy read. The text fights with you. It’s a book that fights you on every page. It’s a book that challenges you. It’s a book that forces you to observe a situation and the lead-up to situations faced by high-functioning adults with severe issues and how things can explode if left untreated/unexamined.
Honestly, this is one of the best books I’ve read this year. It’s cynical. Funny. Original. Unique. Enraging. It has so many great musical references, which I enjoyed. The depiction of the insecure, snobby, jazz-loving, culture-vulture white boyfriend was so on the money that I literally screamed while reading it. That taxi cab, auto-repair shop moment was a whole, very memorable, mess.
All things considered, the most important element of the book is that it grapples with a very salient question and experience for many survivors of childhood violence:
“What does an adult child in a toxic family system owe that system? For Vivian, the answer was “nothing.” — Excerpt from Post-traumatic by Chantal V. Johnson, 70%
It’s a 5-star read. It had a Joaquin Phoenix The Joker-like quality about it. However, even those who saw The Joker knew what they were in for with the trailer. The lack of warning and the author’s overreach in trying to fight the reader for what feels like no reason (at the beginning) was a different approach to engaging the reader. I saw some 1-star reviews and I totally get it because that approach is polarizing as fuck, but the wrap-up, Chantal V. Johnson ate ate ate. It very much gave: She’s Gotta Have It meets The Joker meets New Animal or Milk Fed.
March 13, 2022
Post-Traumatic by Chantal V. Johnson is a 2022 Little, Brown and Company publication.
The synopsis for this book is quite compelling, but I couldn’t have guessed the type of novel I was about to experience.
The story is hyper-focused on Vivian, a young woman who is a ball of live wires. Her backstory is – as you may have guessed- traumatic. As an adult, Vivian is trying to cope with issues stemming from her family, both past and present, as she navigates her friendships, romantic encounters, and her career.
Vivian is funny- despite the pressures bearing down on her, but I had to wonder if her sense of humor was more of a coping mechanism. Vivien is a sympathetic character, but could also be challenging and not especially likeable at time- and full on contradictions. I tried to understand and connect to Vivien, but the writing style made me feel like I was watching things unfold from the cheap seats instead of up close and personal.
As the story deepens, Vivien’s issues edge closer to the surface, and she spirals further into her anxieties and insecurities- fracturing the fragile grip she has on her life.
At the end of the day, I wasn’t quite sure how to feel about this novel. On one hand, I think I get what the author was going for, but on the other hand, I'm not sure the execution fully succeeds, or if a broader, mainstream audience will grasp it or embrace the writing style... Or it could just be me.
*The novel deals with self-esteem, mental health issues, and body image concerns.
2.5 rounded up
The synopsis for this book is quite compelling, but I couldn’t have guessed the type of novel I was about to experience.
The story is hyper-focused on Vivian, a young woman who is a ball of live wires. Her backstory is – as you may have guessed- traumatic. As an adult, Vivian is trying to cope with issues stemming from her family, both past and present, as she navigates her friendships, romantic encounters, and her career.
Vivian is funny- despite the pressures bearing down on her, but I had to wonder if her sense of humor was more of a coping mechanism. Vivien is a sympathetic character, but could also be challenging and not especially likeable at time- and full on contradictions. I tried to understand and connect to Vivien, but the writing style made me feel like I was watching things unfold from the cheap seats instead of up close and personal.
As the story deepens, Vivien’s issues edge closer to the surface, and she spirals further into her anxieties and insecurities- fracturing the fragile grip she has on her life.
At the end of the day, I wasn’t quite sure how to feel about this novel. On one hand, I think I get what the author was going for, but on the other hand, I'm not sure the execution fully succeeds, or if a broader, mainstream audience will grasp it or embrace the writing style... Or it could just be me.
*The novel deals with self-esteem, mental health issues, and body image concerns.
2.5 rounded up
January 2, 2025
#5 in my top ten books of 2024 list
https://youtu.be/zJyzeRjxsxM
This book took me on a journey. Our protagonist Vivian is a lawyer, unlucky in love, but with a buzzing social life and strong ideological beliefs. Vivian fights with everything in her to project an image of health, wellness and confidence, a woman thriving in the aftermath of a traumatic childhood. Beneath it all Vivian is spiraling, her life and mental state in utter free fall as she descends further into her paranoia, her disordered eating, and her need for male validation.
Her mental landscape is hectic and full of contradictions. Yet, I loved her, I felt an urge to embrace her as a sister and to soothe that pain that informed her. I think this is necessary reading for all black women as it navigates trauma particularly in the black family structure and poses the gorgeous question of “What does an abused child owe to an abusive family system?”. So many black women and children suffer and are taught to make light of it or to set aside their trauma to go on and excel and achieve at all cost. Bottled emotions and old pain will resurface, and this book asks you to excavate it before it consumes you
CW: discussions of disordered eating, child abuse, sexual assault, kidnapping, and graphic descriptions of violence (some real and some imagined). Stay safe
https://youtu.be/zJyzeRjxsxM
This book took me on a journey. Our protagonist Vivian is a lawyer, unlucky in love, but with a buzzing social life and strong ideological beliefs. Vivian fights with everything in her to project an image of health, wellness and confidence, a woman thriving in the aftermath of a traumatic childhood. Beneath it all Vivian is spiraling, her life and mental state in utter free fall as she descends further into her paranoia, her disordered eating, and her need for male validation.
Her mental landscape is hectic and full of contradictions. Yet, I loved her, I felt an urge to embrace her as a sister and to soothe that pain that informed her. I think this is necessary reading for all black women as it navigates trauma particularly in the black family structure and poses the gorgeous question of “What does an abused child owe to an abusive family system?”. So many black women and children suffer and are taught to make light of it or to set aside their trauma to go on and excel and achieve at all cost. Bottled emotions and old pain will resurface, and this book asks you to excavate it before it consumes you
CW: discussions of disordered eating, child abuse, sexual assault, kidnapping, and graphic descriptions of violence (some real and some imagined). Stay safe
September 16, 2023
a darkly funny and smart novel about a young lawyer in new york reckoning with her past trauma. it’s a refreshing and raw take on what has become known as the ‘trauma plot’ novel, full of intelligence and nuanced explorations of familial loyalty, abuse, disordered eating, mental illness, and the hyper-vigilant anxieties stemming from trauma.
i believe from interviews with the author that some of this book is auto-fictional, and the vulnerability really is what makes this novel so powerful - along with vivian as a character, who is just so compelling and one of the most developed characters i’ve read in a while.
i believe from interviews with the author that some of this book is auto-fictional, and the vulnerability really is what makes this novel so powerful - along with vivian as a character, who is just so compelling and one of the most developed characters i’ve read in a while.
February 10, 2025
3.5/5
- What does an abused child owe an abusive family system? How does trauma fester when we try to shove it down instead of working through it? This book dives deep into those questions and really makes you think!
- This character was SO unlikable. Truly. The worst. Really makes me think about all of the people I’ve met in my life that haven’t been so kind. You really never know what someone is going through in their own mind.
- Wanted to give this character a big hug. Getting in her mind and seeing how she thinks really made me have so much empathy for her and what she’s been through.
- What does an abused child owe an abusive family system? How does trauma fester when we try to shove it down instead of working through it? This book dives deep into those questions and really makes you think!
- This character was SO unlikable. Truly. The worst. Really makes me think about all of the people I’ve met in my life that haven’t been so kind. You really never know what someone is going through in their own mind.
- Wanted to give this character a big hug. Getting in her mind and seeing how she thinks really made me have so much empathy for her and what she’s been through.
October 8, 2022
This is one of the worst novels about mental health/trauma/familial dysfunction that I have ever read. It felt like a long unfiltered journal entry that I wish no one had to read.
The writer tried to cover every topic imaginable including children at borders/racism/racism in psychiatry/eating disorders/interracial dating/familial dysfunction/ptsd and many more. I got a sense that the writer had many ideas and wanted to flex her left leaning politics in the midst of the protagonist’s most troublesome thoughts.
I got the sense that this was autobiographical and it made me even more uncomfortable because there is a trend of publishing books with non-white — especially Black writers — with this same subject material without any regard or care for the story outside of exploiting the trauma. And without the care of a fellow Black editor who understands the nuances of the material, it comes off as contrived. This contrivance plays out in forgotten plots, scattered and especially random stories and poor written prose.
The main character Vivian is a lawyer and writer of Black & Latinx decent who is struggling with intrusive thoughts, fatphobia (it’s presented as an eating disorder and I disagree because fatphobia is the leading cause of disordered eating) and PTSD. Vivian’s fatphobic thoughts are violent and sometimes unbearable to read through. I am in awe that I finished this book. Many parts were redundant and went on for much too long. I didn’t see the point of exposing these harmful and sometimes violent thoughts only to be forgotten and never picked back up in a meaningful way. I am not looking for perfect story arches. This felt careless.
I was blindsided by the ending because the big event that finally caused Vivian’s breakdown was anticlimactic which made the ending feel unearned. The jump from having seriously harmful fatphobic thoughts, impulsive behavior and immense PTSD to being in therapy and magically healing felt ridiculous. I wanted the writer to show us how Vivian’s thoughts transitioned and not tell us in 4-7 pages. The readers have earned that after sitting through this scattered mess of a book.
I am truly appalled that anyone praised this book.
Additional thoughts:
I had a conversation with someone who works in the publishing world about how/why contemporary lit by Black and non-white people is suffering because the
book industry is trying to hide their racism by handing out book deals to Black writers without giving them
the care and guidance they need to see their stories through. I also think there's a trauma dumping phenomenon. People who need to be in a loving community or therapy are writing books that should have been journal entries. It's so dangerous because
while it may be cathartic to share about one's trauma so publicly, it is dangerous on this scale especially
when most of the writers haven't yet processed what happened to them with people who love them or alone
or with a licensed professional
The writer tried to cover every topic imaginable including children at borders/racism/racism in psychiatry/eating disorders/interracial dating/familial dysfunction/ptsd and many more. I got a sense that the writer had many ideas and wanted to flex her left leaning politics in the midst of the protagonist’s most troublesome thoughts.
I got the sense that this was autobiographical and it made me even more uncomfortable because there is a trend of publishing books with non-white — especially Black writers — with this same subject material without any regard or care for the story outside of exploiting the trauma. And without the care of a fellow Black editor who understands the nuances of the material, it comes off as contrived. This contrivance plays out in forgotten plots, scattered and especially random stories and poor written prose.
The main character Vivian is a lawyer and writer of Black & Latinx decent who is struggling with intrusive thoughts, fatphobia (it’s presented as an eating disorder and I disagree because fatphobia is the leading cause of disordered eating) and PTSD. Vivian’s fatphobic thoughts are violent and sometimes unbearable to read through. I am in awe that I finished this book. Many parts were redundant and went on for much too long. I didn’t see the point of exposing these harmful and sometimes violent thoughts only to be forgotten and never picked back up in a meaningful way. I am not looking for perfect story arches. This felt careless.
I was blindsided by the ending because the big event that finally caused Vivian’s breakdown was anticlimactic which made the ending feel unearned. The jump from having seriously harmful fatphobic thoughts, impulsive behavior and immense PTSD to being in therapy and magically healing felt ridiculous. I wanted the writer to show us how Vivian’s thoughts transitioned and not tell us in 4-7 pages. The readers have earned that after sitting through this scattered mess of a book.
I am truly appalled that anyone praised this book.
Additional thoughts:
I had a conversation with someone who works in the publishing world about how/why contemporary lit by Black and non-white people is suffering because the
book industry is trying to hide their racism by handing out book deals to Black writers without giving them
the care and guidance they need to see their stories through. I also think there's a trauma dumping phenomenon. People who need to be in a loving community or therapy are writing books that should have been journal entries. It's so dangerous because
while it may be cathartic to share about one's trauma so publicly, it is dangerous on this scale especially
when most of the writers haven't yet processed what happened to them with people who love them or alone
or with a licensed professional
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 24, 2024
Oh, Vivian. The main character in this book reminds me of the friend we all have—the one who is high-functioning and scarily smart, but who you sense (or you know, because they've told you) is underneath it all a smoldering cauldron of unresolved issues and barely manageable trauma. The one who is perhaps one crisis away from having it all unravel. Well, that's Vivian, the woman we come to know and love in 'Post-Traumatic'. She spends an extraordinary amount of time constructing an external image of someone polished and confident, funny and capable. So much time constructing it, that she scarcely realizes that she actually is all those things. And then she goes to her thankless job as a patients' rights attorney at a public mental hospital and helps her clients establish that despite their mental illness, they deserve to be treated as self-determining humans.
Meanwhile, Vivian herself is trying to become a self-determining human, struggling mightily against the scars left by her dysfunctional family, and against daily panic attacks which have her seeing every man as a predator. Well, not every man. With some men—mostly white, accomplished and artistic men—she is the one doing the preying, making dates then prowling through their social media to figure out what kind of woman they may want her to be, and then trying for a time to become that thing, whatever it may be. Just as Vivian fears being objectified, it escapes her that she has made these men objects, accomplishments, but doesn't quite see them as people. But none of it—not her job, not the men—help Vivian find any semblance of peace. And they certainly don't help on her quest to find her authentic self.
This book felt almost too true to be fiction. Vivian's thoughts—by turns funny, poignant, petty and downright sad—read like the inner soundtrack that might play in our own heads, and certainly in the heads of those of us who are deeply unhappy and even know why we're unhappy, but have no clue how to address it. Vivian looks at the world and decides she doesn't measure up, but at the same time has a deep conviction that she is unique in some way, with insights that no one else could possibly have about life, politics, art and the human condition. She lives very much in her head, but often outside of her body, hyperaware of every move she makes, especially if there is a man watching. She views other women—especially white women—with suspicion and as competition, even while telling herself she is an ardent feminist. She overthinks everything, but tells herself she wants to live a life of passion over thought. She is a contradiction.
I loved this book for its amazing wit and insight. Through Vivian, it challenged me to think differently about everything from race and relationships to the politics of straightening ones hair. But it was also an almost flawless character study of someone who is stronger than she believes herself to be, crawling on hands and knees toward a new and better way to live her life. I hope there's more from this author, but she's got her work cut out for her to top this one.
My rating:⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑+
Meanwhile, Vivian herself is trying to become a self-determining human, struggling mightily against the scars left by her dysfunctional family, and against daily panic attacks which have her seeing every man as a predator. Well, not every man. With some men—mostly white, accomplished and artistic men—she is the one doing the preying, making dates then prowling through their social media to figure out what kind of woman they may want her to be, and then trying for a time to become that thing, whatever it may be. Just as Vivian fears being objectified, it escapes her that she has made these men objects, accomplishments, but doesn't quite see them as people. But none of it—not her job, not the men—help Vivian find any semblance of peace. And they certainly don't help on her quest to find her authentic self.
This book felt almost too true to be fiction. Vivian's thoughts—by turns funny, poignant, petty and downright sad—read like the inner soundtrack that might play in our own heads, and certainly in the heads of those of us who are deeply unhappy and even know why we're unhappy, but have no clue how to address it. Vivian looks at the world and decides she doesn't measure up, but at the same time has a deep conviction that she is unique in some way, with insights that no one else could possibly have about life, politics, art and the human condition. She lives very much in her head, but often outside of her body, hyperaware of every move she makes, especially if there is a man watching. She views other women—especially white women—with suspicion and as competition, even while telling herself she is an ardent feminist. She overthinks everything, but tells herself she wants to live a life of passion over thought. She is a contradiction.
I loved this book for its amazing wit and insight. Through Vivian, it challenged me to think differently about everything from race and relationships to the politics of straightening ones hair. But it was also an almost flawless character study of someone who is stronger than she believes herself to be, crawling on hands and knees toward a new and better way to live her life. I hope there's more from this author, but she's got her work cut out for her to top this one.
My rating:⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑+
July 22, 2022
The “mentally ill 20 something literary fiction” boon has evidently lost its veneer for me. After being so captivated by the premise, I was eager to see how Vivian grapples with her unresolved familial trauma while navigating the vicarious trauma/burnout that comes with working in a frontline public service career. Disappointingly, the novel veers more into Milk-fed adjacent territory, meticulously documenting Vivian’s disordered body image and fixation with the bodies of others. I admittedly found some of this dialogue triggering and had to set the book aside for a few days before continuing.
The most perplexing aspect for me, was the divergence in tone and style near the end, after Vivian makes some drastic life changes and spends her days writing and going to therapy. Perhaps this was an intentional shift to indicate that her thinking and mood had stabilized as she focussed on healing, but I got the sense that the latter quarter of the book became a cathartic opportunity for Johnson to express her own personal struggles and experiences while writing a novel, losing Vivian’s viewpoint in a winking auto-fiction murk. The tonal side step was confusing to me, and Post-Traumatic tried a bit too earnestly to wrap everything up with a bow. Having never written a novel I can only imagine how hard writing an ending must be, but I wish Johnson had resisted the pull of tidy resolution after such a messy, complex story.
The most perplexing aspect for me, was the divergence in tone and style near the end, after Vivian makes some drastic life changes and spends her days writing and going to therapy. Perhaps this was an intentional shift to indicate that her thinking and mood had stabilized as she focussed on healing, but I got the sense that the latter quarter of the book became a cathartic opportunity for Johnson to express her own personal struggles and experiences while writing a novel, losing Vivian’s viewpoint in a winking auto-fiction murk. The tonal side step was confusing to me, and Post-Traumatic tried a bit too earnestly to wrap everything up with a bow. Having never written a novel I can only imagine how hard writing an ending must be, but I wish Johnson had resisted the pull of tidy resolution after such a messy, complex story.
January 29, 2023
I wanted to like this so much more. I’m a leftist and appreciate more diversity and representation in literature. But this book was like trying so hard to get every single liberal buzzword in there with the most pretentious writing imaginable. The premise was so promising and i just wish the writing could’ve been more subtle; instead it came of as a mockery more representative of what the right imagines “woke” to be. I think it was more harmful to the representation of disadvantaged peoples than intended
May 29, 2022
Talk about making lemonade!
October 6, 2022
A novel about the “long-lasting cognitive effects of traumatic overwhelm. It’s a comedy.”
Here’s another new voice and another ARC I was lucky enough to receive from the publisher but failed to ever pick up. Then it was announced as a contender for the Center for Fiction’s Debut of the Year and that was finally enough to get my ass in gear.
Post-Traumatic is, you guessed it, about a woman who has some severe PTSD stemming from an abusive childhood. The book follows Vivian along as she attempts to overcome her past in order to be a functioning adult in the present. It’s heartbreaking at times and also brutally and darkly funny . . .
“White people loved this book . . .”
“How is it?”
“Well, I was kind of into parts of it but then the narrator said something like ‘The worst thing about child abuse is empathizing with your abuser’ and I got annoyed. I’m like, no. The worst part about child abuse is being the only girl in your kindergarten class with HPV.”
This one won’t be for everyone. You have to be okay with a broken person and truly bleak subject matter. It definitely comes off as a debut at times when Johnson veers away from her characters’ voices and leans into the territory of . . . .
But she has something to say and I’m here for it. 3.5 Stars and rounding up because fresh is fabulous.
ARC provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Here’s another new voice and another ARC I was lucky enough to receive from the publisher but failed to ever pick up. Then it was announced as a contender for the Center for Fiction’s Debut of the Year and that was finally enough to get my ass in gear.
Post-Traumatic is, you guessed it, about a woman who has some severe PTSD stemming from an abusive childhood. The book follows Vivian along as she attempts to overcome her past in order to be a functioning adult in the present. It’s heartbreaking at times and also brutally and darkly funny . . .
“White people loved this book . . .”
“How is it?”
“Well, I was kind of into parts of it but then the narrator said something like ‘The worst thing about child abuse is empathizing with your abuser’ and I got annoyed. I’m like, no. The worst part about child abuse is being the only girl in your kindergarten class with HPV.”
This one won’t be for everyone. You have to be okay with a broken person and truly bleak subject matter. It definitely comes off as a debut at times when Johnson veers away from her characters’ voices and leans into the territory of . . . .
But she has something to say and I’m here for it. 3.5 Stars and rounding up because fresh is fabulous.
ARC provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
January 17, 2025
3.5! I was quite surprised by how little attention this book received when it first came out; I felt it was a pretty strong debut novel! It definitely falls into the "unhinged" category, and reading it gave me a lot of anxiety. I should have known that reading a book called "post-traumatic" would lead to unsettling moments. I genuinely cared about Vivian, and despite her many flaws, I liked her as a protagonist and was eager to find out what happened next. We got so deep inside her psyche, finding that she was self-hating, judgemental, and mean. But she was also really hilarious, relatable, and a bit lost.
She wasn't an outstanding friend, but when you're dealing with mental health issues, especially PTSD, you're battling your own mind and trauma, and it's difficult to always think of others. This novel would have been much more difficult to read if it hadn't been for the dark comedy and her connection with her friend Jane. This book was a bit of a balancing act, with a lot of chaotic parts and then other points where I grew bored, but then it would build up and I'd be invested again. This one comes with a strong trigger warning (see the storygraph). This was an enjoyable book to read, although it was not my favourites. I can’t wait to read more from Chantal V. Johnson!
She wasn't an outstanding friend, but when you're dealing with mental health issues, especially PTSD, you're battling your own mind and trauma, and it's difficult to always think of others. This novel would have been much more difficult to read if it hadn't been for the dark comedy and her connection with her friend Jane. This book was a bit of a balancing act, with a lot of chaotic parts and then other points where I grew bored, but then it would build up and I'd be invested again. This one comes with a strong trigger warning (see the storygraph). This was an enjoyable book to read, although it was not my favourites. I can’t wait to read more from Chantal V. Johnson!
Read
August 26, 2022Loved the conversations in this. Had some issues still
April 2, 2024
Like if Milk fed and luster had a baby.
May 20, 2022
BAPC x Chantal V. Johnson
YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAAL1...
Spotify
https://open.spotify.com/episode/6dOP...
YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAAL1...
Spotify
https://open.spotify.com/episode/6dOP...
January 16, 2023
I didn't only love the cover. Chantal V. Johnson really delivers on the title.
May 20, 2022
I got 53% into the audio and I had to quit. I know you are probably thinking that’s over halfway, why not just finish? But this is not an entertaining book and has such an unlikable narrator (not the actual speaking narrator - the written prose). I’m fine with an unlikable narrator in a book, but I don’t like someone who is outright cruel to their friends. I don’t like someone who changes themselves to be what they think is what their significant other wants and drones on and on for minutes (probably would equate to pages) of trying to figure what that is exactly. Finally, I’m not okay with someone who is so fatphobic and judges themselves and others by their size. I realize eating disorders are a thing - recovering from my ED is something I’ll always have - but this lawyer who wants to help mental patients needs to step away and get help with herself first before she helps her clients. Maybe I’m not the right audience for this, but this was not enjoyable and each chapter became less and less enjoyable until I finally gave up.
Content warnings up until 53%: fatphobia, eating disorders, familial death, forced institutionalization, drug use, child abuse, sexual assault, parental abandonment, homelessness - check your triggers, there’s a lot. I’m sure I missed some.
Thanks Hachette Audio for the gifted audio.
Content warnings up until 53%: fatphobia, eating disorders, familial death, forced institutionalization, drug use, child abuse, sexual assault, parental abandonment, homelessness - check your triggers, there’s a lot. I’m sure I missed some.
Thanks Hachette Audio for the gifted audio.
April 20, 2024
Wowwww this is absurdly good literary fiction - Chantal V. Johnson is such an astute writer. An original take on the messy-young-woman-having-a-crisis-in-a-big-city novel, Post-Traumatic conveys very heavy themes with nuance and wit through a complex & intriguing main character. What a debut !
January 25, 2022
Pub Date: April 2022
To say I devoured this book is an understatement. Post-Traumatic is daring - risky even - challenging readers to re-think everything they know about survivors of all kinds of violences. There is so much power and humor yet somehow deep vulnerability in the narrative of our protagonist Vivian, the 30 something Black woman making her way in New York City and confronting her past. This is perhaps the greatest portrayal of intersectionality I have encountered without calling it intersectionality and thus making it even more accessible. Trigger warnings abound in this text, but also deep belly laughs - the kind you only get from connecting with someone "who gets it." This book will not be for everyone, but it's definitely for me.
To say I devoured this book is an understatement. Post-Traumatic is daring - risky even - challenging readers to re-think everything they know about survivors of all kinds of violences. There is so much power and humor yet somehow deep vulnerability in the narrative of our protagonist Vivian, the 30 something Black woman making her way in New York City and confronting her past. This is perhaps the greatest portrayal of intersectionality I have encountered without calling it intersectionality and thus making it even more accessible. Trigger warnings abound in this text, but also deep belly laughs - the kind you only get from connecting with someone "who gets it." This book will not be for everyone, but it's definitely for me.
July 3, 2022
I am listening to the final chapter as I write my review.... that is how captivating the book has been for me. The detailed delving into this single character just doesn't merit 320 very repetitive pages. I see reviews describing this book as, raw, intelligent, revelatory, and even humorous, but I found it rather boring and often felt annoyed by seemingly unrealistic scenarios and dialog. I didn't feel that the author did much with so many potentially interesting issues; perhaps the problem was just that she incorporated too many issues, and was unable to fully explore any of them. This novel just didn't do anything for me. I only finished it because it was a book club selection.
July 16, 2025
the ENTIRE time i was reading this, i kept thinking “this is so similar to mariah stovall’s style of writing” only for the acknowledgments to thank mariah stovall😭i am so grateful to be alive at a time when black stories are being told in this way.
“i survived the nuclear family and all i got was post traumatic stress disorder”
worth every damn page.
“i survived the nuclear family and all i got was post traumatic stress disorder”
worth every damn page.
April 18, 2023
I have a soft spot for unlikeable and wretched women characters in novels. I love them. Love when they are irredeemable, crass, and awful people. And, even so, the main character of this novel, Vivian, was almost too much for me to stomach. She was so...abhorrent. Judgemental, mean, so self-critical and self-hating, vindictive, selfish beyond measure and very unpleasant. But Vivian was also sharp, funny, and deeply traumatized. It was hard not to get pulled into the deepest and darkest recesses of her mind and not begin to root for her, just a little at first. And then a lot. Post-Traumatic has a meandering plot following Vivian's life as a psych ward lawyer, pothead and dating addict, but this is a character study first and foremost. The plot is really very secondary to the deep interiority of this novel.
I was struck by the writing in this novel. It is that distinctly millennial style - sharp and darkly funny, with such crystal clear and honest observations about people and relationships that it almost takes your breath away. So many moments in this novel where I'd stop and think I thought I was the only fucked up monster whose ever had a (weird/ disturbing/ bizarre/ scary/ devastating etc etc) thought like that?! In the vein of Normal People, or Luster, or Insatiable, reading this book was cathartic, frustrating, frightening, and illuminating all at once. I won't forget it any time soon.
This book is not (and I don't think it aims to be) for everyone. I think a lot of people will be really turned off by Vivian and her story (which is fair), but I also think there is so much here. So much honesty and vulnerability and risk taking that I genuinely believe should be commended. But, if you hated this novel with every fibre of your being...I get it lol.
4.5 stars.
-------------
MASSIVE TW in this book for: eating disorders, body dysmorphia, looooots of fatphobia, graphic descriptions of violence against women, sexism, emotional abuse, drug use bordering on drug abuse, prison industrial complex, forced institutionalization, child abuse, sexual assault/rape, trauma/PTSD (maybe C-PTSD? a psychologist would need to confirm that so don't take my word for it)....I might be forgetting some others, but I would not recommend this book if any of those topics are really triggering for you because this shit is DARK.
I was struck by the writing in this novel. It is that distinctly millennial style - sharp and darkly funny, with such crystal clear and honest observations about people and relationships that it almost takes your breath away. So many moments in this novel where I'd stop and think I thought I was the only fucked up monster whose ever had a (weird/ disturbing/ bizarre/ scary/ devastating etc etc) thought like that?! In the vein of Normal People, or Luster, or Insatiable, reading this book was cathartic, frustrating, frightening, and illuminating all at once. I won't forget it any time soon.
This book is not (and I don't think it aims to be) for everyone. I think a lot of people will be really turned off by Vivian and her story (which is fair), but I also think there is so much here. So much honesty and vulnerability and risk taking that I genuinely believe should be commended. But, if you hated this novel with every fibre of your being...I get it lol.
4.5 stars.
-------------
MASSIVE TW in this book for: eating disorders, body dysmorphia, looooots of fatphobia, graphic descriptions of violence against women, sexism, emotional abuse, drug use bordering on drug abuse, prison industrial complex, forced institutionalization, child abuse, sexual assault/rape, trauma/PTSD (maybe C-PTSD? a psychologist would need to confirm that so don't take my word for it)....I might be forgetting some others, but I would not recommend this book if any of those topics are really triggering for you because this shit is DARK.
May 22, 2022
The best writing was like a good friend, in the way that it gave you permission to be yourself
I will not be writing a review for this one bc it hits a little too close to home for me on the ED/dysmorphia front but what i will say is first: major trigger warnings for ED and dysmorphia and two: this is a fantastic novel.
I will not be writing a review for this one bc it hits a little too close to home for me on the ED/dysmorphia front but what i will say is first: major trigger warnings for ED and dysmorphia and two: this is a fantastic novel.
dnf
May 24, 2023I like a downer, but this is unbearably depressing, every scene, every word of it.
March 29, 2022
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the eARC.
"Post-traumatic" follows Vivian, a lawyer for a psychiatric hospital. Starting with a scene where she gets attacked by a patient, it perfectly sets out how everything's going to be for her in this book, messy.
Nothing much happens, in terms of plot, the only thing that we (could say) constantly follow is how much she was harmed by her family, them being repeatedly abusive, for sure, influenced what she is today.
One aspect that I really enjoyed was Vivian being self aware, this isn't something people talk about often but it's very common and it was nice to see how well depicted it was. I was also so intrigued to hear what she got to say, I love it when authors make their characters talk about different topics and just, be smart.
Vivian is was hard protagonist to get into, I think a lot of people are going to put her in the "dislike able mc" list but she's so much more than that.
Overall, one of my favourites character studies, or just, books where we follow a woman through her life and nothing happens, it was "realistic" and a different perspective since it always tends to be a really privileged white woman getting to hate the world with no apparent reason and yes, i do love that, but I love it more when we can get an introspective way as to why someone is the way they are.
"Post-traumatic" follows Vivian, a lawyer for a psychiatric hospital. Starting with a scene where she gets attacked by a patient, it perfectly sets out how everything's going to be for her in this book, messy.
Nothing much happens, in terms of plot, the only thing that we (could say) constantly follow is how much she was harmed by her family, them being repeatedly abusive, for sure, influenced what she is today.
One aspect that I really enjoyed was Vivian being self aware, this isn't something people talk about often but it's very common and it was nice to see how well depicted it was. I was also so intrigued to hear what she got to say, I love it when authors make their characters talk about different topics and just, be smart.
Vivian is was hard protagonist to get into, I think a lot of people are going to put her in the "dislike able mc" list but she's so much more than that.
Overall, one of my favourites character studies, or just, books where we follow a woman through her life and nothing happens, it was "realistic" and a different perspective since it always tends to be a really privileged white woman getting to hate the world with no apparent reason and yes, i do love that, but I love it more when we can get an introspective way as to why someone is the way they are.
September 11, 2025
3.25
This type of book (young liberal women with love issues spiraling in the city) that was very popular a few years is not really my thing. But I appreciated the biting satire that the author brought to it. enjoyable enough
This type of book (young liberal women with love issues spiraling in the city) that was very popular a few years is not really my thing. But I appreciated the biting satire that the author brought to it. enjoyable enough
May 17, 2023
This book gave me post-traumatic stress.
Kidding. Kinda...
‘Post-Traumatic’ by Chantal V. Johnson follows Vivian, a Black Latinx lawyer in NYC. Not only is her job stressful and emotionally draining - but so is her family, dating life, and social group.
We meet Vivian as she is working to help patients at a psychiatric hospital from varying ages and circumstances which was interesting and enlightening into the blind spots of the justice and medical system that often goes unrecognized. But we see how even though she claims to be someone who is on the other side of her traumatic childhood, she is still battling the damage it has done to her relationships with her family and her own self-view.
The toughest part of the book for me was Vivian’s inner dialogue. You know the saying, ‘You are your own worst critic’ WELL THAT COULDN’T BE MORE TRUE FOR VIVIAN. Due to this, and her actions in general, she is not very likable which did make it a bit hard to root for her as we see her life spiraling till she hits rock bottom. We see how she is forced to confront her trauma and start building a life in which she can find peace in.
My favorite parts were the conversations she has with herself and her best friend that are very relatable like the paranoia of being a woman existing in NYC, it is hard to not assume all men who stare at you on the subway are not trying to kill you!!
This book will either be something you hate or love but I honestly fell in the middle. I don’t mind watching someone self-destruct, it was entertaining watching the chaos from afar 🤣 The ending fell a little flat for me but I think it shows how there are limitations in people.
Overall, glad I read and this was our April pick for #WhatTheLitReadBookClub! (join on Geneva!)
Kidding. Kinda...
‘Post-Traumatic’ by Chantal V. Johnson follows Vivian, a Black Latinx lawyer in NYC. Not only is her job stressful and emotionally draining - but so is her family, dating life, and social group.
We meet Vivian as she is working to help patients at a psychiatric hospital from varying ages and circumstances which was interesting and enlightening into the blind spots of the justice and medical system that often goes unrecognized. But we see how even though she claims to be someone who is on the other side of her traumatic childhood, she is still battling the damage it has done to her relationships with her family and her own self-view.
The toughest part of the book for me was Vivian’s inner dialogue. You know the saying, ‘You are your own worst critic’ WELL THAT COULDN’T BE MORE TRUE FOR VIVIAN. Due to this, and her actions in general, she is not very likable which did make it a bit hard to root for her as we see her life spiraling till she hits rock bottom. We see how she is forced to confront her trauma and start building a life in which she can find peace in.
My favorite parts were the conversations she has with herself and her best friend that are very relatable like the paranoia of being a woman existing in NYC, it is hard to not assume all men who stare at you on the subway are not trying to kill you!!
This book will either be something you hate or love but I honestly fell in the middle. I don’t mind watching someone self-destruct, it was entertaining watching the chaos from afar 🤣 The ending fell a little flat for me but I think it shows how there are limitations in people.
Overall, glad I read and this was our April pick for #WhatTheLitReadBookClub! (join on Geneva!)
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