A Shadow at the Door How Narrative Addresses Trauma and Abuse

Abstract

This paper is an aggregate of information gained from general research, personal experience, and creative influence. We will explore the consequences of sexual assault on survivors who experienced said assault in childhood. As well as how narrative and creative media can help one come to terms with, address, and heal with the resulting trauma. To provide an example of how narrative can assist in addressing childhood trauma, I created a graphic novel titled A Shadow at the Door. The narrative follows a young black boy coming to terms with sexual assault he survived and learning to ask for help when the trauma and triggers become too much for him to bear. The purpose of this project is not to be a self-help book, or the end-all-be-all on advice as to what to do if one finds themselves a survivor of abuse, sexual or otherwise. The intent is to provide representation in terms of racial and gender demographics in a medium that would best reach out to an audience of pre-teen boys that could find use in the narrative of Nairobi.