Trauma as Tutor: Posttraumatic Growth in the Ruth Narrative

When emotional, physical, or spiritual suffering overwhelms the ability of body and soul to handle it, we generally call that trauma (Herman, 1992, p. 33). According to Meichenbaum (2012), it would be in keeping with an Eastern cultural approach to accept trauma as a companion" that helps integrate trauma into the narrative of one's life (p. 7). The first mention of trauma in the book of Ruth comes in the first verse: there was a famine in the land" (New International Version Bible, 2011, Ruth 1:1). A growing body of research suggests that social support and safe environments generally help facilitate resilience in the aftermath of trauma (Lenore & Revenson, 2006, pp. 33-36).