Shattered Minds, Silent Nights: Unveiling PTSD Narratives in Kishwar Desai’s novel “Witness the Night”

Abstract

Kishwar Desai’s COSTA first novel award winner, Witness the Night, is thought-provoking and realistic. The story unfolds into a secluded world where the major characters exhibit various aspects of PTSD. Due to gender bias, their family members ignored Sharda, and Durgaey started living in their secretive world. Understanding the magnitude and effects of childhood mistreatment, sexual abuse, and negligence is needed to curtail childhood trauma. As a result of trauma, survivors of childhood sexual abuse will also exhibit psychological, physical, and behavioural symptoms. The coping mechanisms of the characters help in the changing setup of this murder mystery, where the key suspect is a fourteen-year-old heiress.