On Fragile Waves

I picked this up because I love E. Lily Yu's work, but I couldn't imagine being interested in what had to be depressing subject matter. Once I started, however, I barreled on. It proves a great writer can make any situation compelling.

Struggle is what good fiction is made of. This family not only struggles with their flight from Afghanistan, but with the trauma of the trip itself. And each family member for much of the story has only other traumatized family members to bounce up against while they're trying to deal with their feelings. It's claustrophobic and sad and real.

I'm still trying to fully understand one of the themes of the book which centers around the idea that nightmares lose their power if they're broken down into their constituent stories. And there are little stories all over this book, as each family member casts versions of themself or the others in off-the-cuff fairy tales, breaking down breaking down.

What I'm wondering is, how true is that? I'm sure telling stories helps when dealing with trauma. I've seen it. But can stories completely dismantle trauma? Can anything?