Trauma Industrial Complex cover art

Trauma Industrial Complex

How Oversharing Became a Product in a Digital World

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Trauma Industrial Complex

By: Darren McGarvey
Narrated by: Darren McGarvey
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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

The new book from the Orwell Prize-Winning author of Poverty Safari and The Social Distance Between Us

Today, trauma permeates media, from music and television to films and books – my own included. While the increasing openness is welcome, I’ve observed that this rise has been accompanied by a parallel explosion of disinformation and sometimes harmful guidance about how to deal with personal trauma.

In Trauma Industrial Complex, I ask the question: How did we get here? And are the stories we’re telling ourselves liberating us or keeping us trapped? In this revealing and deeply personal book, I’ll pull back the curtain, sharing the hard-won wisdom I’ve gained from the events brought on by telling my own story.

Praise for Darren McGarvey:

‘An Orwell for today's poor’ – The Times
‘The standout, authentic voice of a generation’ – Herald
‘McGarvey is a rarity: a working-class writer who has fought to make the middle-class world hear what he has to say’ – Nick Cohen, Guardian

© Darren McGarvey 2025 (P) Penguin Audio 2025

 Media Studies Mental Health Psychology Psychology & Mental Health Social Sciences

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All stars
Most relevant
Thank you Darren for sharing your being with me. I feel it in my heart and wish you well.

Thank you

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I liked everything about this book. Well researched and structured in a logical way to help the reader / listener navigate every element. Darren’s talent for delivering concise and articulate explanations makes it accessible to all. In this day and age of over sharing, this book should be compulsory reading/listening for anyone using any platform to tell their story. Think twice, post once….. or don’t post at all. As a psychotherapist counsellor, confidentiality is one of the key foundations of the healing process. Of course, there is a time and a place for sharing and helping others, but anyone using a public forum to bare their soul should consider every consequence of (over)sharing. Well done Darren, you nailed it again.

An accurate and insightful exploration of a complex subject.

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Told with characteristic bravery, Darren cautions us on the hazards of airing our trauma in public. With genuine originality and insight, he unpicks our desire to share our stories and exposes the motivations behind an industry that profits from our narratives.

It’s one of those books that reads you as you read it—forcing introspection, challenging bias, and providing a framework by which to contrast your own perspective.

His writing is both raw and unflinching, recounting much of the suffering he has endured as a result of his own trauma, yet it remains articulate, concise, and devastatingly wise. This book demonstrates again why he was a worthy recipient of the Orwell Prize for Non-Fiction.

Powerful and original

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I was really looking forward to this book having loved his first two. It wasn’t exactly what I expected but it was absolutely what I have come to appreciate from this author - there’s a brutal honesty that is his trademark and that on this occasion is unflinchingly turned inward. There are insights which I have applied to my own story. I have had a fair bit of therapeutic training and I work with young people and see how impacted they are by life today. I don’t necessarily agree with the standpoint made here on the prolific nature of the trauma conversation. That’s the thing about the world today though is that we don’t read enough opposing viewpoints from people we respect - this is the heart of debate, and I found myself wanting that discussion. The world is messy right now, and we need books like this and conversations like this.

Another powerful book from an incredible writer

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Great reflections and personal analysis on a complex subject told in very relatable and human way.

Honest and hard won truths

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