Melville House Books

Psychiatric clinical nurse Laurie Barkin observes that “Iris Chang illuminated the lives of many people, but in the process, she lost the light of life within herself. Like the firefighters at ground zero after the Sept. 11 attacks, she sifted through the remains of tragedy without a break, without concern for her own mental health.” In a commentary for The San Francisco Chronicle, Barkin says, Chang suffered from “compassion fatigue,” or “vicarious traumatization” — traumas that happen to “people like Chang who lose their way home after bearing witness to stories of man’s inhumanity to man.” Says Barkin, “We need to nurture people like her who have dedicated their lives to seeking truth and in so doing, risk losing their way home.”

Dennis Johnson is the founder of MobyLives, and the co-founder and co-publisher of Melville House.