Wave

“Wave” was singlehandedly the best book I’ve read to date. I am in absolute awe of Sonali Deraniyagala's word-smithing. She told her story so beautifully and in a way that was sensitive yet accurate.

It’s difficult to understand the pain of someone who has been the victim and survivor of trauma. It’s a different kind of hurt that is inexplicable. For those of us who have never had to experience such kind of trauma, this book does a magnificent job of shedding light on the aftermath of dealing with trauma. 

What I loved about this book was how powerful yet how haunting her story was. It was a story of loss, confusion, grief, devastation, and perfectly illustrated the daunting reality of someone who's entire world was taken from them in a heart beat. 

To be quite honest, I was surprised, amazed and grateful that she was able to recall the event and the aftermath of it so vividly. Trauma can leave people mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually bruised, making it difficult to remember the specifics of the event and how it panned out over time. She reflected on these moments so beautifully, and her ability to articulate the emotional turmoil and recovery process was done in a way that serves as an incredible example of how to tell the story of trauma in the most candid and humanizing way.

I felt like I could feel her pain. She was so incredibly descriptive without being too horrifyingly graphic. I felt myself feeling her pain, reasoning with the way she reacted, relating to her difficult recovering process, wanting to badly to reach out and help. She made it more than just a story to pick up and put down- she made me want to understand trauma more, and made me want to understand in depth how to help those enduring those the difficult and aftermath of it. I will use this book as a reference when dealing with covering traumatic events in my future endeavors, as I think this was a beautiful example of how to write a narrative on trauma without glamour, over sensationalizing, or belittling the events entirely.