Trauma and Treatment

In imagining the future of epigenetic research, the novel charts Dorothy’s course from despair to hope: by emphasizing the impact of inherited trauma on an individual’s life, but also the potential for the individual (with the help of scientific breakthroughs) to tap into and make positive use of their “inherent knowledge” (97). Dorothy understands that “every child ends up an amalgam of genetics and modeled behavior, nature and nurture,” but she initially focuses on the fatalistic implications of what she learns, fearing the weight of genetic determinism, rather than embracing a chance to take control of her destiny (45). The therapy she undergoes disturbs her, “all kinds of anxiety bubbling to the surface of the placid lake of remembrance,” before it can liberate her (199). Dorothy “knew that a part of her had wanted a baby so she could try to rewrite her own failed...