Traumatic events happen to us as individuals, but we also experience trauma as a community. How do we--individually and collectively--deal with trauma? How do we frame it within the narrative of our own stories and of our communities’ stories? How do we rebuild from traumatic fractures without leaning into the temptation to return to a false memory of a golden age that never existed in the first place?

This conversation on The Weight is built around a heavy topic, but Dr. Kimberly Wagner brings brightness, empathy, and hope to a discussion that is, well, weighty. Even though her most recent book is a resource for preaching, there’s something for everyone in this episode.

Kimberly is assistant professor of preaching at Princeton Theological Seminary and the author of Fractured Ground: Preaching in the Wake of Mass Trauma. Her doctoral dissertation centered around preaching and trauma, and she has seen first hand how disorienting mass trauma to a community and to individuals. 

Resources: 

Learn more on Kim’s website, preachingandtrauma.com.

Buy Fractured Ground.