Summary

“clocks melting on the floor” begins to catalogue the aftermath of the rape. Anderson cannot begin to grapple with what has happened, how to articulate her ordeal to others, nor how to manage the searing pain (59). “Pain management,” “buzzed,” and “ninth grade: my year of living stupid” all examine the patterns of trying to become numb to the aftermath of trauma. Recurring images of disappearing in an effort to stop feeling, punctuate the deep “untreated pain” of the rape (69). This pattern of numbing in the face of trauma ripples throughout her family as both of her parents drink to escape their pain. Yet “Salinger and me” despite its apparent bleakness, ends with a glimmer of hope as Anderson looks to her father, at this juncture, as a survivor. Despite his trials and tribulations, in the last line Anderson declares: my father “showed me...