Trauma and Healing in Ariel Sullivan’s Beneath
Thematic Claim
In Beneath, trauma isolates survivors in cycles of self-blame and emotional numbness, but healing becomes possible through the gradual rebuilding of trust, the willingness to accept care, and the discovery that connection does not guarantee loss. Sasha Cadell’s journey from a self-described “beast” who refuses help to a woman who begins to let others in illustrates that recovery is not a clean arc but a messy, non-linear negotiation with memory and identity.
Trauma’s Roots: Family Loss and Self-Blame
Sasha’s trauma stems from the deaths of her family during the war. Flashbacks reveal the layered guilt she carries: her mother’s emotional neglect, her father’s death, her brother Eli’s murder by an intruder she could not stop, and her sister Lara’s dying request that Sasha find someone to save her. The memory of Eli’s blood soaking the pantry floor during a home invasion recurs as a trigger, causing Sasha to freeze during a training simulation. In Chapter 8, when a holographic attack triggers her, she sees “my brother’s panicked look as the man drove a knife into his side” and later confesses, “All I saw was crimson red.” Her role as a child forced to protect her siblings—and failing—cements a belief that she is fundamentally broken and undeserving of love.
This self-blame manifests as the “beast” she describes clawing inside her—a metaphor for her internalized hatred. She tells herself, “I hated myself. I carried the blame because the ones who had stripped everything from me were gone.” The beast feeds on her memories and keeps her isolated. Sasha’s early coping mechanisms include work (sitting with the dying as “Death’s Angel”) and casual encounters with Jaxon, a man who asks nothing of her. Both strategies avoid genuine connection: one numbs, the other objectifies.
The Turning Point: Unit Seven as a Container for Healing
Healing begins not with a single event but through repeated, small acts of care from Unit Seven. The first crack appears when Sasha’s medic skills are needed to save Levi’s life after a tunnel collapse. During the crisis, Sasha takes charge—setting Levi’s dislocated shoulder, directing blood transfusions, and ignoring her own IV. But when the immediate danger passes, she falls apart in a shower stall, wracked with memory and shame. This time, however, Rumi Sato silently helps her remove her gear and waits without questions. That quiet presence—expecting nothing, demanding no explanation—offers Sasha a new experience: acceptance without judgment.
Later, Tristian Hayes insists she eat and rest, overriding her self-neglect. When Damien reveals his own trauma of being abandoned by cousins who left him pinned under equipment, Sasha sees that her unit members carry wounds too. His confession—that he walked alone for a month with a broken ankle—parallels her isolation and allows her to reframe her own guilt. The unit’s mantra, “We all come back as one,” becomes a counter-narrative to her father’s lesson that she can do everything alone.
The most profound shift occurs during the run to Outpost One after Dr. Kumar’s death. Sasha experiences a breakdown where past and present merge: her father’s voice, Lara’s dying wish, Tristian’s offer to carry her hatred. Yet Levi takes her hand and says, “I’m still here, Sasha. Stay with me. Try just a little longer.” That physical connection, paired with the memory of her father telling her “it’s okay to need people,” begins to dissolve the beast’s grip. She starts to recognize that her self-hatred is a form of the same venom her mother once directed at her—and that she can choose differently.
Symbols of Trauma and Healing
Two key symbols reinforce the theme. The first is the Death’s Angel nickname, which Sasha earned through years of sitting with dying patients. The name reflects how trauma has cast her as a harbinger of loss—she expects every relationship to end in death. The second symbol is the beast, the internal creature that devours joy and connection. Sasha imagines it pacing inside her whenever vulnerability threatens. Over time, the beast grows quieter, not because it vanishes but because moments of trust starve it of fuel. The key that Kumar leaves for Sasha—worn around her neck—represents the possibility of unlocking a different future, one where she is not solely defined by past failures.
Complexity and Contradiction
Sasha’s healing is never complete. Even as she begins to accept help, she continues to sabotage herself. In Chapter 36, she confesses to switching medical charts with Levi to protect him, a self-sacrificing act born of the same belief that she is expendable. When the unit is broken by Burdon’s machinations, Tristian whispers “I love you” but Sasha does not yet know how to receive it. The epilogue shows her still haunted, working furiously in Expansion to mask her anger. Her declaration that she “now lives for others” is a step forward, but the question Kaleo poses—whether she has considered dying—remains unanswered. Healing, the novel suggests, is not a destination but an ongoing negotiation between the instinct to isolate and the courage to stay.
Study Questions and Answers
1. How do Sasha’s flashbacks to her family’s deaths function as obstacles to healing?
Each flashback reinforces her belief that she is complicit in their loss. For example, during the simulation in Chapter 8, the image of Eli’s blood triggers a freeze response that makes her doubt her ability to protect others. Until Sasha can separate her childhood helplessness from her adult competence, the flashbacks keep her trapped in shame.
2. What role does Rumi’s silent presence play in Sasha’s recovery?
Rumi offers care without expectation. After the simulation breakdown, she strips Sasha’s gear, leads her to a shower, and waits with a towel. Later, she helps remove Sasha’s radiation-exposed suit without asking questions. This non-verbal support provides Sasha a safe space to fall apart—something she has never allowed herself.
3. In what way does Damien’s story of being abandoned by his cousins challenge Sasha’s self-blame?
Damien’s confession reveals that he too was left behind by family, yet he chose to trust a new family. When Sasha hears how he walked alone for a month after his cousins abandoned him, she sees that survival and humor are possible even after betrayal. His openness invites her to consider that her own failures do not define her worth.
4. How does the symbol of the beast evolve from an expression of rage to a measure of healing?
Early in the novel, the beast represents Sasha’s consuming self-hatred—it claws and devours. By the run to Outpost One, she notices the beast remains silent during moments of connection. Its quiet becomes a gauge of her progress: the more she lets others in, the less power the beast holds over her.
5. Why does Sasha’s healing remain incomplete at the novel’s end, and what does this suggest about trauma?
The epilogue shows Sasha still wrestling with guilt and anger, and Kaleo’s question about dying lingers. The novel refuses a tidy resolution to suggest that trauma recovery is lifelong. Sasha’s progress lies in her willingness to try—taking Levi’s hand, accepting Tristian’s care, living for others—not in erasing her pain entirely.