Adrie Kusserow is a writer, anthro-poet, anthropologist, professor.
I am a cultural anthropologist born and raised in Vermont with special interests in refugees, social inequalities, anthropology of religion/spirituality, cultural conceptions of emotions/self, illness and healing. I write about my applied ethnographic field work in these areas through creative nonfiction and ethnographic prose poetry.
The Trauma Mantras: A Memoir
Foreword by Yusef Komunyakaa
Available for Presale September 2023
The Trauma Mantras is a memoir written by medical anthropologist, teacher and writer Adrie Kusserow who has worked with refugees and on humanitarian projects in Bhutan, Nepal, India, Uganda, South Sudan and the U.S.
It is a memoir of witness and humility, and ultimately a way to critique and gain a fresh perspective on Western approaches to the self, suffering and healing. Kusserow interrogates the way American culture prizes a psychologized individualism, the supposed fragile self. In relentlessly questioning the Western tribe of individualism with a hunger to bust out of such narrow confines, she hints at the importance of widening the American self. As she delves into humanity’s numerous social and political ills, she does not let herself off the hook, rigorously reflecting on her own position and commitments. Kusserow travels the world in these poetic meditations, exploring the desperate fictions that `East’ and `West’ still cling to about each other, the stories we tell about ourselves and obsessively weave from what dominant cultural meanings surround us.
About the Cover Artist
Ang Tsherin Sherpa was born into an artists’ family in Nepal and trained as a traditional painter by his father, who was a renowned artist from Ngyalam, Tibet. He has exhibited globally and is represented in the collections of leading museums. He is one of the foremost artists from the Himalayan region in his generation. Sherpa is based in Kathmandu and engaged in bringing more visibility to the Himalayan arts.
Ethnography/ Ethnopoetry/ Memoir:
Learn more about Adrie’s writings by visiting the writings page.
“As an anthropologist and poet, Kusserow enacts and lays bare for all to see the TRUTH of this troubled, yet glorious world! Buy this book!”
-Peter Conners, Editor, BOA Editions
“Amazing and soulful - a poetic but anthropological meditation on the Western longing for the spirit of the East.”
-anonymous
"With subtle insight and a poet's eye for the telling detail, Adrie Kusserow grapples with the great hidden fact of American life: social class.”
-editorial review
Applied Anthropology: Fieldwork and humanitarian projects
Bhutan Centre for Media and Democracy, Thimphu and Paro, Bhutan
Media Nomads Youth media literacy program, Teachers Workshop on helping rural Bhutanese students critique social media (Facebook Fictions, fake news, advertisements). For more information visit https://bcmd.bt/.
Semi-structured interviews, participant observation with student focus groups centered on developing critical awareness of violence in the media, Facebook Fictions, global media stereotypes of women, advertisements and fake news. To learn more visit https://secmol.org/.
Bhutanese Elderly Refugee Wellbeing Assessment Project: Community Health Center, Burlington, Vermont, Champlain Valley Agency on Aging, conducted semi-structured interviews and life histories with a translator.
Africa Education and Leadership Initiative: Bridging Gender Gaps Through Education. Yei, South Sudan and Kampala, Uganda. Supporting refugee girls education in South Sudan/Uganda. Visit www.africaeli.org for more information.
Vermont Afghan Alliance: Welcoming and assisting Afghans arriving in Vermont.
Iowa International Writers/US Department of State,: International Writing Program organizing reading tours to countries or regions with a relatively sparse history of literary liaisons with the contemporary United States. For more information visit https://iwp.uiowa.edu/programs/reading-abroad
Mankind in Action for Rural Growth Darjeeling, West Bengal, India and Nepal Border: “Trekkers Against Trafficking Raising Awareness Tour”
Worked alongside director and case workers for local NGO (MARG) to form a Stop Human Trafficking Team that spread awareness about Human Trafficking in rural areas as we trekked along the Nepal/India border. Conducted semi-structured interviews, participant observation, art based focus groups. Visit https://www.facebook.com/IgnitingSmilesTogetherWeCan/ for more information.