Healing Trauma through Literature and Nature:

Abstract

This study examines the process of healing from war-related trauma through reading, writing, discussing, and interacting with literature and nature. The research will be conducted through a close reading of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Annie Barrows and Mary Ann Shaffer as a case study. Following Juliet Ashton's staggering journey, the present work seeks to examine how literature and nature can be regarded as an escape for traumatized individuals who have endured horrifying and shocking war experiences. This study will therefore utilize 'Contemporary Trauma Theory' to cast light on the effects of war on ordinary people. In addition, this study seeks to interpret the novel through an "ecocritical" prism in an effort to determine how nature can play a pivotal role in the healing process. Finally, this study will investigate how literature, through reading and writing, helps traumatized individuals to first express and then heal their psychological wounds, using the "bibliotherapy" theory to critically interpret the selected case study. Hence, this study highlights the transformative journey of Juliet and the members of the Guernsey Club through their interactions with the natural surroundings, with each other, and with literature, and how they are able to live through and overcome their past traumas. Through their shared experiences, they find solace, strength, and love, ultimately emerging as resilient individuals who have triumphed over their past and embraced their brighter future.