In her latest book, The Keloids We Heal: Trauma, Spirituality, and Black Modernity in Literature Sarah Ohmer, Associate Professor in the Department of Africana Studies and Latin American & Latino Studies, delivers a deeply personal and scholarly exploration of how literature by women of color serves as both a site of resistance and a source of healing.

Spanning works from the U.S., Brazil, and the Caribbean, the book traces the enduring impact of colonization and enslavement on Black women—and the powerful ways they’ve responded through the written word.

"The Keloids We Heal was a meaningful and emotional process for me,” said Ohmer. “I wanted to honor the legacy of my foremothers and the values my mother passed down to me about creative expression and agency. I tried to write a book my mom could read—one that speaks to our shared history, our pain, our faith, and our healing.

The book blends critical analysis with poetry, autoethnography, and memoir. Ohmer draws inspiration from activist-scholar Gloria Anzaldúa and parallels her Chican@ activism with the resistance and creative expression of Black women. She also weaves in her own family history—grounded in the legacy of her grandmother Ranokarae, a native of Madagascar, and her mother, Justine Asinina Ohmer—linking her personal narrative to a broader, transcontinental story of trauma, spirituality, and survival.

"The most rewarding part,” Ohmer added, “has been hearing from students who feel seen by this work and are inspired to write in their own voice, even if it falls outside conventional scholarly boundaries. That, to me, is the heart of what this book is about."