Writer Jen Soriano speaks trauma, colonization and healing ahead of ‘Nervous’ debut

Jen Soriano is a Fillipinx writer and movement builder whose debut collection of essays, “Nervous,” comes out on Aug. 22.

“I started writing because I wanted to solve a mystery,” Soriano said. But unlike many books exploring trauma, this book is not about her personal journey to diagnosis. 

“I always knew the cumulative trauma piece was the set up,” Soriano said. “I didn't want it to be one of those stories that contribute to that feeling that we should be kind of ‘over’ trauma. I think that there's sort of a trend of like, ‘No, we're not going to talk about trauma because that's been talked about too much, and it makes people stereotype us as traumatized people and label us as victims. We're more than our traumas; let’s not talk about trauma.’”