The Long Tail of Trauma
By Elizabeth Wilcox
2020
Reviewed by Angie Mangino
Rating: 5 stars

The prologue of this memoir begins: “This is a story of mothers. This is a story of daughters. This is a story of the trauma we carry and the trauma we tend to.”

It goes on to introduce readers to her personal story with her mother, gradually building throughout the book to her mother’s story and her grandmother’s story. The theme goes beyond the story of personal memory, to the historical events that played a key role through the generations, as well as to the impact begun by them.

In the prologue, the author explains this theme.

“It is a story buttressed by its psychological underpinnings, such as the importance of mother-child attachment and the ways in which separation and trauma can influence generations to come. It is a story of the early childhood trauma that our mothers carry, evident in my own mother’s later age as PTSD, as well as their remnants in us and in the children we bear. It is a story in which I have intentionally layered my voice with hers and with the imagined voices before us, unearthing a palimpsest of maternal history. It is what happens after the incidence of trauma has passed but its vestigial tail remains.”

Research to substantiate the author’s assessment documented in the Endnotes adds value to this highly readable and relatable story.

Readers begin in London, England in 1989 and end in Fairlee, Vermont in 2018. On the journey, however, they are transported as far back as 1904 England, as well as to Germany in the 1930’s and 1940’s, before and after World War II. They witness the trauma and its aftermath in the lives of this family, and in so many other families.

It gives a new perspective to better understand the dynamics between mothers and daughters that may prove to help others in their own familial relationships. It’s additionally an interesting story readers will enjoy.
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Angie Mangino currently works as a freelance journalist, author, and book reviewer, additionally offering authors personalized critique service and copyediting of unpublished manuscripts. www.AngieMangino.com ( )

The Long Tail of Trauma by Elizabeth Wilcox is a unique study of the deleterious impact of maternal trauma through three generations of women who suffered hardships, abuse, and abandonment. Wilcox seamlessly weaves together her own personal narrative as she cares for her elderly mother with extensive research into not only her own personal history but also the current theories on trauma and how its effects can be passed down through the generations. It is an extensive exploration into not only generational trauma but also mother-daughter relationships.

Contrary to her mother and grandmothers before her, Wilcox grew up in a loving household and while she did not suffer direct trauma, she still experienced the impact of the trauma endured by her ancestral mothers. With fierce candor, she navigates her mother’s decline as she experiences a love-hate feeling for the mother who is constantly reminding her of how awful her own childhood was.

She touches a universal chord about ultimate forgiveness and love in the enduring mother-daughter relationship.

I found her structure and her ability to correlate her current situation with previous and current literature on trauma to be fascinating. Her writing is clear and concise, leaving no doubt how she feels. Her raw honesty as reflected in her deep introspections made her a reliable narrator. I am sure it is for this reason that this memoir was endorsed by Oprah’s Pick author Susan Conley.

I highly recommend this memoir as an engaging, honest and wise exploration of the impact of generational trauma on mother-daughter relationships ( )