Trauma and Recovery in Young Adult Fiction: From “Soul Murder” to Psychological Healing in 13 Reasons Why and Speak

Abstract

This article examines the representation of adolescent trauma and the complex process of recovery in Jay Asher’s 13 Reasons Why (2007) and Laurie Halse Anderson’s Speak (1999). Drawing upon Leonard Shengold’s psychoanalytic concept of “soul murder” and Karen Duncan’s clinical model of the stages of healing, the study argues that the protagonists—Hannah Baker and Melinda Sordino—embody contrasting responses to trauma resulting from sexual assault and bullying. Shengold’s theory clarifies how abuse annihilates the victim’s sense of self, while Duncan’s model illuminates the conditions under which survivors may rebuild identity and agency. Through close textual analysis, the article demonstrates that Speak offers a narrative of reintegration made possible by internal resolve and external validation, whereas 13 Reasons Why depicts the destructive culmination of unacknowledged trauma. By situating these texts within contemporary literary trauma scholarship, the paper underscores the pedagogical and social significance of young-adult fiction as a medium for representing psychological suffering and modelling recovery. Ultimately, it contributes to literary trauma studies by foregrounding adolescence as a distinctive site where identity formation, victimization, and healing intersect.