The Burden of Heritage: Hauntings of Generational Trauma
on Black Lives is a timely addition to the literature on inter- and
transgenerational trauma. The book addresses black ancestral trauma
passed down
the generations, highlighting the ongoing impact on black lives.
Aileen Alleyne explores the unheeded dimensions of
individual and collective identity trauma, paying particular attention
to the
themes and concepts of identity shame, black identity wounding and
cultural
enmeshment.
The author expands on her striking concept, the 'internal
oppressor', that inhibits self-belief, full agency and potential. She
reworks
the psychoanalytic concept of 'hauntings', separating it from Freud's
interpretation as unconscious repression, and presents it as a living
and
conscious element of the black trauma burden. To break the cycle of
generational trauma, Alleyne suggests an active process of separation
from
archaic attachments, and engagement in intentional modes of
transformation.
Alleyne makes use of her own experiences throughout,
alongside therapeutic suggestions, approaches and theoretical handles
for
steadying the practitioner in the consulting room. The book weaves the
personal, historical, socio-political and theoretical, and includes
countless
observational examples, clinical vignettes and case material.
The Burden of Heritage offers effective tools to
practitioners who work therapeutically with black and minority ethnic
clients,
and highlights ways to strengthen critical enquiry for deeper conceptual
and
theoretical understanding of generational trauma.
