Chellis Glendinning's "My Name is Chellis"

Paper Summary:

This paper reviews and critiques Chellis Glendinning's book "My Name is Chellis and I'm Recovering from Western Civilization". The paper first explains that the Glendinning sees the collective and original trauma of human domestication as an unnatural separation from the Earth. The paper further relates that Glendinning regards the original trauma as an expression of modern addiction, abuse, dissociation and other mental pathologies. The paper also includes the writer's criticisms of the book and concludes that Glendinning fails to offer a coherent vision of what this wounded humanity and ecologically ravaged planet might become.

From the Paper:

"As I read through the examples, provided by Glendinning, of trauma caused by the Nazis, technology, colonialization and the ruin of Native Americans, and others, all traceable to the original trauma, I could not help but notice the considerable use of Glendinning's personal trauma as case in point. I felt that the only time she depicted visually overt language connected specifically with female sexual trauma. ... Glendinning, although courageous at sharing her stories of childhood sexual abuse, tends to overshadow the magnitude of the pains of other groups through her use of repetition and colorful language."

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