Living After

Stories of Moral Injury Among Disaster Survivors

G. C. Smith

• Publisher: Resource Publications
• Year: 2026
• Print ISBN:
  9798385285907
  9798385285914
• eBook ISBN:
  9798385285921
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

Living After: Stories of Moral Injury Among Disaster Survivors names and explores the often-unspoken reality that surviving disaster is not the end of the story. Long after the event, many carry a deeper wound--moral injury--shaped by impossible decisions, losses that defy meaning, and the collapse of what once felt trustworthy in the world or in God. The point of this book is to give language to that experience. Through narrative reflections grounded in real-world disaster contexts, G. C. Smith illuminates the emotional, ethical, and spiritual struggles survivors face--guilt, anger, silence, and the haunting question of "Why?" The purpose is not to resolve these questions but to accompany them. This book offers survivors a mirror for their experience, caregivers a framework for understanding, and communities a call to respond with honesty, compassion, and dignity. Living After ultimately invites readers into the slow work of healing--where lament is honored, stories are witnessed, and life, though changed, can still be lived with meaning.

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Introduction
• Part I. The Moment That Divides
• Part II. The Ones Who Could Not Act
• Part III. The Ones Who Lived Instead
• Part IV. The Ones Who Cannot Return
• Part V. The Ones Who Carry It Forward
• Conclusion
• Appendix: Bearing What Remains
• Acknowledgements
• About the Author