This PhD research thesis, titled Broken hearts: writing the representation of trauma and trauma recovery in a post-trauma romance novel, comprises a creative artefact and accompanying reflective exegesis. The primary aim of the thesis is to make an original contribution to the fields of literary theory, trauma theory, and literary trauma theory by formally identifying, defining, and providing an example of a new subgenre of romance coined ‘post-trauma romance’ (PTR).
The creative artefact, a novel titled The love healer, serves as an example of PTR, by combining the subgenre’s three proposed elements: trauma representation, trauma recovery representation, and a romance narrative. Narrated from a multiple first- person point of view, The love healer opens with a journal entry by trauma survivor, Neoma Alban, detailing the progress she has made on her recovery journey. The journal entry also shows her awaiting a year-long reunion with her love interest, and former trauma recovery facilitator, Emerson Novak … a man with his own traumatic past. The novel details their individual trauma experiences, post-trauma effects, and subsequent recovery journeys alongside their unfolding romance. By the end of the novel, readers will wonder who the titular ‘love healer’ is, hinting at the underlying message that there are no definitive answers on the road to trauma recovery.
The accompanying reflective exegesis investigates the writing techniques––drawn from literary theory, trauma theory, and literary trauma theory, alongside a ‘lived experience lens’ and feminist framework––employed in crafting The love healer. It also provides evidence to support the formal identification and definition of post- trauma romance as a unique and new subgenre of romance.
Several other important findings pinpointed throughout the PhD journey are also discussed, including the Vital Signs Scan, 8F/9F Trauma Response Model, and ‘Fade’ trauma response.
Here's the abstract: