This session will focus on what we can learn about trauma, resiliency and the operations of social violence in literary texts (broadly defined), written by authors who self-identify as women, since 1960. There is considerable evidence, both in the cultural record and in terms of measurable social effects, to demonstrate that ideological, socio-cultural and systemic forms of violence work together to reinforce intersectional gender discipline. This session, therefore, invites scholars exploring the complex issues inherent in gender-based acts of violence and their aftermath to engage with models of human fragility and capacities for resiliency and repair, as presented through selected texts.