Trauma: A Novel

Trauma disappoints in holding only a superficial connection to the subject declared in its title. The novel’s protagonist, Carrie Bryant, is a neurosurgery resident who embodies the ideal qualities of a physician—caring, committed, intelligent, and flawlessly professional. The story starts with a tragic disruption in Carrie’s otherwise spotless and promising career: she makes a serious medical error while utterly sleep deprived and resigns, disgraced and shaken. She returns home to live with her parents and brother Adam, an Afghanistan war veteran whose life has been overtaken and arrested by the traumas that he experienced in combat. An act of serendipity propels Carrie into a new role as surgeon in an experimental deep-brain-stimulation program that the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is developing to help veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder. The program, however, proves more sinister than advertised, and Carrie is ultimately thrown into the role of detective as she tries to understand the mysterious disappearances of her first VA patients.

The context of this story is important. Many veterans and their families have been affected by the profound sense of loss, terror, and rage that can emerge in the wake of the violence experienced overseas. Unemployment, homelessness, substance use, broken relationships, and suicide are common sequelae. Adam’s character depicts this devastation with some degree of depth and accuracy. The strength of the connections in this family, which endure despite his unpredictable moods and explosive temper, are touching.

Yet the book is severely limited by the writing. The plot twists in incoherent and implausible ways. The dialogue feels forced and inauthentic. The narrator has a tiresome habit of asking rhetorical questions to build suspense. Except for Adam, the characters are flat and uninteresting, either all good or all bad. Carrie’s character in particular needs a more authentic rendering to help the reader empathize with her experiences.

Readers looking for an action novel that unfolds inside the walls of a hospital may find Trauma appealing. However, there is little here of interest to mental health service users or providers.