The life of the main character in Alice Walker's The Color Purple (1984) contained many examples of the traumatic events that the DSM-V lists as triggers for post-traumatic stress disorder. (APA, 2013) Celie began her story by writing a letter to God explaining the dark place she had found herself in after her mother's unexpected death. Her father expected Celie to take his place in every way, impregnating her twice and sending the resulting children away. In the first ten minutes of the film, events in Celie's life provided the catalyst for the development of PTSD: A. Exposure to actual or threatened death, serious injury, or sexual assault in one (or more) of the following ways:1. Directly experiencing the traumatic event(s).2. Witness the event(s) in person as it has happened to others.3. Learning that the traumatic event(s) happened to a close family member or close friend. In the case of the actual or threatened death of a family member or friend, the event(s) must have been violent or accidental. (APA, 2013 p 271) Although Celie had already experienced so many possible causes of PTSD, her problems only needed to intensify. Her first opportunity to leave the bleak home came when her father agreed to marry her to a local widower looking for a woman to care for his children. Her situation became even more serious as her husband also sexually abused her, but with an added physical and emotional dimension. Her husband constantly berated her and told her how worthless and ugly she was while her stepchildren were also verbally and physically abusive. All of these abusive behaviors tend to cause internalization problems for the victim. It wouldn't be surprising to find that Celie uses the defense mechanism of dissociation to end up... middle of paper... intentional. Each of these elements could not only trigger an imbalance, but provide a holding structure for PTSD to become more deeply rooted in Celie's life. Fortunately, Celie was able to combat all of these misperceptions and risk factors to keep her moral core and protective mechanisms strong. Her story of reconciliation and recovery has provided courage and determination not only to many seeking to leave abusive relationships, but also to those seeking to heal from CSA suffered as young people. They were able to see that even in the face of negativity and adversity of this magnitude there is hope…always hope! Unlike Celie who always looks forward and never backwards, our next case study will show us what happened as Evan constantly struggled to change the past rather than accept its place in his story, while also giving rise to many of the intrusive symptoms associated with post-traumatic stress disorder..