The Life After Tragedy

The The Life After Tragedy journal

Eight ways into the subject.

A growing editorial map for readers who want explanation, not just advice.

01Stone marking the ashes of 15,000 victims of Terezin, in the New Jewish Cemetery, Prague

The day after the cameras leave

Recovery continues long after public attention moves elsewhere. Housing, health and relationships carry the event forward.

Recovery continues long after public attention moves elsewhere. Housing, health and relationships carry the event forward. The useful question is not simply whether an idea sounds right, but when it applies, what it leaves out and whose experience changes the answer. This entry places the issue inside a wider social and practical context.

Look for observable details, trustworthy sources and language that leaves room for revision. A serious account can be clear without pretending that every person or situation follows the same path.

02Yahrzeit candles and signs entitled " לא תרצח " ( Thou shalt not murder ) at a solidarity rally at Rabin Square for the victims of the 2009 Tel Aviv gay centre shooting .

Survival is not a moral ranking

Those who survive are not more deserving than those who die. Chance, power and circumstance matter.

Those who survive are not more deserving than those who die. Chance, power and circumstance matter. The useful question is not simply whether an idea sounds right, but when it applies, what it leaves out and whose experience changes the answer. This entry places the issue inside a wider social and practical context.

Look for observable details, trustworthy sources and language that leaves room for revision. A serious account can be clear without pretending that every person or situation follows the same path.

03PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii (April 26, 2007) - Six memorial candles are lit during a Holocaust Remembrance Day ceremony at Sharkey Theater on board Naval Station Pearl Harbor. The six candles were lit during the opening remarks of the remembrance observation to commemorate the lives of more than 6 million Jews that were lost during the Holocaust. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class James E. Foehl (RELEASED)

Memory changes shape

Traumatic memory may be fragmented, vivid or difficult to narrate. Contradiction is not automatic proof of dishonesty.

Traumatic memory may be fragmented, vivid or difficult to narrate. Contradiction is not automatic proof of dishonesty. The useful question is not simply whether an idea sounds right, but when it applies, what it leaves out and whose experience changes the answer. This entry places the issue inside a wider social and practical context.

Look for observable details, trustworthy sources and language that leaves room for revision. A serious account can be clear without pretending that every person or situation follows the same path.

04Jewish grave candle

The burden of being inspirational

Survivors should not have to perform hope in order to receive attention or care.

Survivors should not have to perform hope in order to receive attention or care. The useful question is not simply whether an idea sounds right, but when it applies, what it leaves out and whose experience changes the answer. This entry places the issue inside a wider social and practical context.

Look for observable details, trustworthy sources and language that leaves room for revision. A serious account can be clear without pretending that every person or situation follows the same path.

05The candle monument in Ashdod

Communities remember together

Memorials, archives and anniversaries can protect history while also revealing whose losses remain unrecognised.

Memorials, archives and anniversaries can protect history while also revealing whose losses remain unrecognised. The useful question is not simply whether an idea sounds right, but when it applies, what it leaves out and whose experience changes the answer. This entry places the issue inside a wider social and practical context.

Look for observable details, trustworthy sources and language that leaves room for revision. A serious account can be clear without pretending that every person or situation follows the same path.

06memorial candle, Geography of Israel

Children inherit unfinished history

Displacement, silence and grief can influence later generations alongside resilience and cultural continuity.

Displacement, silence and grief can influence later generations alongside resilience and cultural continuity. The useful question is not simply whether an idea sounds right, but when it applies, what it leaves out and whose experience changes the answer. This entry places the issue inside a wider social and practical context.

Look for observable details, trustworthy sources and language that leaves room for revision. A serious account can be clear without pretending that every person or situation follows the same path.

07Pantin cimetiere parisien, Memorial des juifs d'Algerie, detail lanterne et bougies

Rebuilding is political

Insurance, law, infrastructure and public decisions affect who can recover and who remains exposed.

Insurance, law, infrastructure and public decisions affect who can recover and who remains exposed. The useful question is not simply whether an idea sounds right, but when it applies, what it leaves out and whose experience changes the answer. This entry places the issue inside a wider social and practical context.

Look for observable details, trustworthy sources and language that leaves room for revision. A serious account can be clear without pretending that every person or situation follows the same path.

08Memorial candles of Levente Riz on the stairs of Rákosmente Town Hall

The right to an ordinary future

The most radical outcome may be privacy, routine, work, friendship and a life no longer organised by catastrophe.

The most radical outcome may be privacy, routine, work, friendship and a life no longer organised by catastrophe. The useful question is not simply whether an idea sounds right, but when it applies, what it leaves out and whose experience changes the answer. This entry places the issue inside a wider social and practical context.

Look for observable details, trustworthy sources and language that leaves room for revision. A serious account can be clear without pretending that every person or situation follows the same path.