The major work of the the second stage is accomplished, however, when the patient reclaims her own history and feels renewed hope and energy engagement with life. Time starts to move again. When the "action of telling a story" has come to its conclusion, the traumatic experience truly belongs to the past. At this point, the survivor faces the tasks of rebuilding her life in the present and pursuing her aspirations for the future.
--Trauma and Recovery, Judith Herman
