Wow. What a difficult but fascinating read. As someone who worked in the system (but on a different side), it resonates a lot with the experience of vicarious trauma. I definitely feel the line about the weirdness of being with people through the worst day of their life.
Absolutely! For me, it's the idea that the sister will probably wonder for the rest of her life why the brother went to purchase the rope after leaving her house.
Ofcourse! But that's what's so fascinating about vicarious trauma--it works like a self-sustaining trauma machine that can hardly be slowed until we re-examine our ideas about guilt versus things we could have/not controlled. I feel like the author gives a nod to this in her line about being a catholic girl obligated to feel guilt about the dead hamster.
Wow. What a difficult but fascinating read. As someone who worked in the system (but on a different side), it resonates a lot with the experience of vicarious trauma. I definitely feel the line about the weirdness of being with people through the worst day of their life.
Absolutely! For me, it's the idea that the sister will probably wonder for the rest of her life why the brother went to purchase the rope after leaving her house.
And it may simply have been he needed to say goodbye.
Ofcourse! But that's what's so fascinating about vicarious trauma--it works like a self-sustaining trauma machine that can hardly be slowed until we re-examine our ideas about guilt versus things we could have/not controlled. I feel like the author gives a nod to this in her line about being a catholic girl obligated to feel guilt about the dead hamster.