Trauma

This theme is represented throughout the memoir as the author recalls the complex psychological repercussions she endured in the year following the assault. These repercussions are typical of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a condition suffered by individuals who have endured or witnessed a traumatic event, and speak to the enormity of the impact of this incident on Miller's life. She characterizes her nightmare eloquently in the first chapter as she recalls waking up in the hospital with no memory of what happened to her: “This moment is not pain, not hysteria, not crying. It is your insides turning to cold stones. It is utter confusion paired with knowing. Gone is the luxury of growing up slowly. So begins the brutal awakening” (7).

This early terrible realization is just the beginning of Miller's trauma, however, as the psychological horror, despair, and shame reverberate through her in waves over the next...