Yet using the same novel that Gladwell introduces, and considering it against what is now known about PTSD, Tom Rath can hardly be considered a person who has integrated and processed his trauma and moved on. In short, the main thrust of Gladwell’s argument is that we do not devote enough time to the process of grieving or of getting over painful or traumatic events. Gladwell further supports his argument by picking selectively from the conflicting research that has been conducted on the subject of the emotional aftermath of trauma, and concludes that our “time and culture' lack the “confidence and wisdom to understand' what he considers to be the truth: that trauma is not so traumatic after all, especially over the long term. Gladwell uses The Man in the Gray Flannel suit to render an analysis of the main character, Tom Rath, a veteran of war who has witnessed-and perpetrated-terrible violence, and whose “sometimes things just “happen”” attitude Gladwell misinterprets as healthy adjustment in the wake of dysfunctional experiences.

The title of Gladwell,’s article, “Getting Over It,' alludes to the fundamental premise of his argument, which is that trauma is “often something that people eventually can get over.' To illustrate his point, Gladwell refers to a novel that was published more than fifty years ago, thirty years before the diagnostic category of PTSD was even created (Hersen 62).

The man in the gray flannel suit novel