Lotus

PTSD stands for post-traumatic stress disorder, which is a mental condition that some people develop after they experience an event that threatens their life or well-being. While the characters demonstrate signs of PTSD, there is no explicit diagnosis until the end. While reviewing Oliver, his abduction, and his seeing Travis sexually abuse Clem, Sydney declares, “Everything faded away—a defense mechanism, a repressed memory, combined with years of psychological trauma, force-fed lies, and PTSD. Missing memories are common with PTSD victims, even more so if Oliver witnessed a traumatic event prior to the abduction” (547). By withholding the term until the end, the novel focuses on Oliver’s experience as an individual: He’s a character with a specific set of painful experiences that he navigates. PTSD is an applicable and real condition, and through Oliver, Hartmann explores the condition’s nuances.

The Cleveland Clinic lists many of the signs of PTSD on its PTSD information page. The signs link to Sydney’s quote, as they include anxiety, shame, guilt, “moodiness,” and “flashbacks.” The “flashbacks” are key to the story, as Oliver and Sydney’s characters regularly return to the July 2-4,1998 period to piece together what happened and why. The novel’s exploration of PTSD links to the theme of the power and elusive meaning of memories: The characters replay the memories because they impact their present, but also because the details stay out of reach.