This Memorial Day, The Takeaway brings you five stories that deal with trauma, survival, psychedelics, music and convalescence. The memories of three mass-shooting survivors exemplify the somber legacy of surviving an American tragedy and demonstrate how it reorients your worldview; When the brain survives a traumatic experience the toll taken has traditionally been seen as an emotional scar, but new research is helping to overturn this narrative; outside the more mainstream therapies for PTSD, there’s another class of drugs currently being tested: psychedelics; soldiers returning from Iraq faced insurmountable obstacles as they reintroduced themselves to society. Some injuries, such as burns and amputations, bore palpable signs, alerting the public to the pains rendered in the line of duty. Others scars were borne invisibly; and Singer-songwriter Mary Gauthier tries to illustrate the experience of returning to civilian life in her new album, “Rifles and Rosary Beads.”
The World is an independent newsroom. We’re not funded by billionaires; instead, we rely on readers and listeners like you. As a listener, you’re a crucial part of our team and our global community. Your support is vital to running our nonprofit newsroom, and we can’t do this work without you. Will you support The World with a gift today? Donations made between now and Dec. 31 will be matched 1:1. Thanks for investing in our work!