An important aspect of Dana Sach's "if I lived here" is the trauma and recovery that characters like Xuan Mai go through. Trauma results from an event that overwhelms the person and causes symptoms that are a response to the trauma. Recovery occurs when the life narrative is put back together so that the trauma is “part of the learning curve of the life narrative.” (Herman) The trauma and recovery of characters like Xuan Mai are important because the phase the character is going through affects their actions and attitudes towards the novel's key events. This is evident in how Xuan Mai's attitude towards Shelley's adoption of Hai Au changes based on the stage of trauma and recovery she is in. The origin of trauma is an event that “overwhelms the ordinary human adaptation to life” (Herman). The origin of Xuan Mai's trauma stems from the death of her granddaughter, My Hoa. Mai had been at the park with My Hoa and her boyfriend, Khoi. Khoi was preparing to leave Vietnam to go to America and Mai had remained in Vietnam so, while My Hoa is sleeping near the lake shore, Mai and Khoi started kissing and said goodbye. As Mai and Khoi kissed, they were so busy with each other that they became unaware of their surroundings. Then, Mai and Khoi didn't notice when My Hoa woke up and entered the lake unattended, so My Hoa drowned. Symptoms of trauma are hyperarousal, intrusion, and constriction. Trauma symptoms are “attempts to…prevent another experience as traumatic as the last one.” (Herman) Hyperarousal is a “persistent expectation of danger” (Herman). Mai's hyperarousal consists of her avoidance of anything related to Vietnam and thus may remind her of My Hoa. A specific example of Mai's hyper...... middle of paper ......ion and constriction. Mai goes through all the stages of recovery, including building safety, rebuilding trauma, and reconnecting. Mai's trauma and recovery impacts how she feels about Shelley's desire to adopt Hai Au as, as Mai recovers, Mai becomes more supportive and does more to help Shelley achieve her dream. Mai's trauma and recovery are important because they impact her attitudes and actions toward key events such as Shelley's desire to adopt Hai Au.Works CitedBraun, Bennett G., M.D. "The BASK Model of Dissociation." DISSOCIATION 1.1 (1988): 4-23. Scholars Bank. Network. April 3, 2014. Herman, Judith Lewis, MD Trauma and Recovery. New York, NY: Base, 1992. Print.Sachs, Dana. If I lived here. New York: William Morrow, 2007. Print.