Abstract
Being part of the continuous rise of ‘(dis)placed’ readings of Jeremiah, O’Connor applies insights from trauma and disaster studies to the text and world of the prophet. Written for a wide audience, this application refrains from the technicalities of academic discourse. Instead of insider terminology related to psychology or exegesis, the reader will encounter a more-popular-than-professional writing style, interspersed with accounts of O’Connor’s personal experience, poetic intertexts, and historical prose. As a result, the text is easily accessible and does not necessitate previous engagement with either trauma studies or the scholarly discussion of Jeremiah.
O’Connor begins to describe the challenges and problems that she had with Jeremiah, both personally and professionally. She works hard to persuade her readers to adopt her approach as the remedy to the unbearable violence, anger, and judgment that characterises Jeremiah. The thesis of her book is thus best stated in her own assertion: ‘Trauma and disaster studies save the book of Jeremiah for me’ (p. 137). To guide the reader to arrive at this conclusion, she offers a brief treatment of trauma and disaster studies and the context and difficulties of the prophetic book itself (pp. 7-34). This is followed by eight chapters that bring the work of trauma and disaster specialists into dialogue with sections from Jeremiah (pp. 35-124). In these chapters, the reader is invited to encounter Jeremiah as ‘a work of resilience, a survival manual’ (p. 135). It is not merely a documentation of the experiences of exile; rather, it functions to make sense of the traumatic event and to gain a restored perspective of self, God, and world. As such, it remains even today a ‘most effective instrument of survival and healing’ (p. 5).
O’Connor’s approach offers a new perspective on the effects and experience of judgment which is indeed frequently absent in the scholarly discussion. It is a valuable reminder that the events documented in the text concern the real suffering of fellow humans. Apart from this, however, trauma studies are not the golden key that unlocks all the complexities of Jeremiah. O’Connor seems too optimistic in this regard, suggesting for example that her application helps to explain the disregard for chronology in Jeremiah or the apparent literary ‘chaos.’ Her work is driven too strongly by the questionable agenda to ‘save Jeremiah’ for the readership of today (save it from what, exactly? From itself?). That this often happens at the expense of the text is evident in her treatment of the prose sermons, whose seemingly unbearable claim that the judgment was self-inflicted can now been redeemed by trauma studies which open our eyes to see them as what they really are, namely, works of ‘resilience and recovery’ (p. 93).
Nevertheless, Pain and Promise is a much-appreciated voice that brings to our attention the full dimension of suffering and trauma that inevitably accompanies judgment. Without ‘saving’ it and far from solving its long-standing complexities, O’Connor’s work contributes to our understanding of the multi-faceted challenge that is the Book of Jeremiah.