Healing Rage

June 18, 2007
How to tell the difference between rage and plain, everyday anger? Anger, explains King, a life coach and management consultant, is primarily associated with a current injustice or disappointment. Rage, on the other hand, is accumulated anger from past traumas that is “locked in our bodies and minds.” Or as they say in 12-step programs: “If it’s hysterical, it’s historical.” This is essentially a workbook to unlock that childhood trauma. It includes ways to understand how rage can mask itself (dominance, depression, etc.), questions to locate the rage and exercises to help process it. The book may be a valuable first step in recognizing unprocessed childhood trauma, especially for women. King speaks with insight and empathy about her own rage, rooted in a harsh childhood in South-Central L.A., and the experiences of others. And the exercises, while not new (journaling, imagining an inner rage child), can perhaps help some readers become more aware of the triggers that ignite their rage. Some women might be well advised to seek professional help, too, but King offers a starting place for women whose lives are being distorted by unrecognized rage.