A playwright behind the scenes of my personal struggle with PTSD, experience that caused it, and journey to healing from it. The playwright consists of deeper causes of PTSD and its effects, more than the average textbook can teach anyone. With the help of a couple people and Russ, a famous artist, I was able to grow and become stronger and show it all within my playwright. Enjoy the journey to healing of a person, a warrior who wanted to fight and made it through the night.

In the United States, the majority of the population suffers from some form of trauma. There are many ways that an individual can cope and accept their trauma, but two practices stand out as an inexpensive, flexible option for many. Bibliotherapy is the use of reading literature as a way to learn more about and understand one’s trauma through the perspective of others. Expressive writing is the practice of writing and reflecting about one’s own traumatic experiences, as well as the emotions that are tethered to it. In this paper, I explore the fields of bibliotherapy and expressive writing as forms of therapy by reviewing the history, use, goals, and effects of each in the context of mental and emotional well-being. Intertwined with the scholarship is my own self-guided bibliotherapy of reading memoirs and poetry collections related to my trauma and self-guided expressive writing in which I wrote a short collection of personal essays and poetry, finding that both fields, separately and used together, are effective avenues for trauma healing.