I loved this book! One of the best experiences of being a teacher is seeing a student going off in interesting new directions, returning to teach you. From the opening chapter with its fascinating engagement with GennaRose Nethercott’s novel, Thistlefoot with its poignant metaphor of the house on chicken legs to deal with the trauma inflicted by Longshadow Man, to conversations between Shrek and Donkey to illuminate speech act theory, Fry’s monograph Trauma Talks offers fresh perspectives on the field of trauma Hermeneutics as it intersects with speech act theory to bring to life old texts in powerful new ways. Essential reading!
— Juliana Claassens, Stellenbosch University
As much as trauma and speech act evade monosignification and stable categorization, Fry’s Trauma Talks in the Hebrew Bible presents a clear, accessible, and compassionate exposition of the two interconnected subjects, all without losing sight of their compound movements. Exchanging academic sterility for human complexity, Fry moves us through the thick traumatic contexts of the Hebrew Bible and the equally thick speech acts its traumas conjure. I echo her own invitation within the monograph: stay awhile.
— Sarah Emanuel, Loyola Marymount University
In the expanse of research concerning trauma, Fry’s contribution is one to be read beyond solely the field of biblical studies. Theologians, students, religious leaders, and trauma professionals alike will take something from this book that bravely paves the way for trauma studies. The path is not clear, its edges are not definably marked, and there may not even be a destination ahead, but Fry’s encouragement to take one foot after the other through the thickness of trauma and text is promising.
— Practical Theology