In 'Pure,' Linda Kay Klein delves into the world of evangelical purity culture, which emerged in the 1990s within white American Evangelical Christian communities. The book exposes the harmful messages and practices of this movement, such as the use of purity rings, pledges, and balls, which portrayed girls as potential sexual 'stumbling blocks' for boys and men. Klein shares her own experiences and those of many others, highlighting the trauma, sexual anxiety, and PTSD-like symptoms that resulted from these teachings. The book is a powerful critique of shame-based sexual ethics and their broader societal implications, including the suppression of women's rights and LGBTQIA people's rights. It has been praised for its insightful combination of journalism, cultural commentary, and memoir[2][4][5].
Through deeply personal conversations, Oprah Winfrey and Dr. Bruce Perry explore how traumatic experiences in early life shape behavior and identity. The book emphasizes the importance of understanding and addressing past traumas to clear a path for future healing and resilience. Winfrey shares stories from her own past, while Dr. Perry provides scientific and emotional insights, highlighting the need to ask 'What happened to you?' rather than 'What’s wrong with you?' to foster a deeper understanding of human behavior and promote healing[1][3][5].
Rose Cartwright is a screenwriter and the author of Pure, a hugely successful memoir which was then turned into a series for Channel Four. She is also a writer and producer on Netflix’s 3 Body Problem. Pure portrayed Rose’s autobiographical account of finding that she had OCD, a “mental illness”, and the breakthrough that this medical framework provided her. This was short-lived. In her new book The Maps We Carry, she writes about the dawning realization that the “illness” story she had believed in and publicly advocated for, was wretchedly incomplete and often dangerous.
In this interview, Cartwright charts her journey of painful and lonely disillusionment with the “mental illness” framework. She talks about understanding the place of her own childhood trauma and also the limitations of simplistic trauma narratives. She speaks about the place of psychedelics and meditation in helping her uncover her disconnection, eventually to realize the importance of trusting relationships and communities. In this brutally honest book and interview, Cartwright reflects on the importance of holding all our understandings around mental health and suffering, lightly.
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Mad in America: Rethinking Mental Health 
