Testimony and trauma

Abstract

Ellen White’s last letter to John Andrews conveyed a strong critique of his temperament, his personality and his life’s work. It induced a significant psychological trauma in the recipient. Shortly afterwards he confided to his mother and sister-in-law his profound sense of hurt: “My life has been a total failure.” Did the communication function more as a source of wounding than as a framework for healing? Or was there a larger intent? Ellen White had been uncertain either about what to say in the testimony and how to say it. Over a period of three months, she made several attempts to write it and even after she sent it, she was still unsure. This paper will explore the contextual background of the document focusing on both the author and the recipient with a view to better understand authorial intent and expected outcomes and undertake a quest for insights about Ellen White’s uncertainty. It will also compare and analyze the extant versions of this letter in a quest to better understand the content. The study will enable opportunity for reflection on issues of trauma that are raised by the episode, the ethics of confidentiality in counseling and the merit of counseling faced with the improbability of change.