Violence Never Heals: The Lifelong Effects of Intimate Partner Violence for Immigrant Women by Allison Bloom (review)

Reviewed by: Violence Never Heals: The Lifelong Effects of Intimate Partner Violence for Immigrant Women by Allison Bloom Caitlynn Carr Bloom, Allison. Violence Never Heals: The Lifelong Effects of Intimate Partner Violence for Immigrant Women. New York: New York University Press, 2023. 244 pp. Allison Bloom's (2023) Violence Never Heals: The Lifelong Effects of Intimate Partner Violence for Immigrant Women is a must-read for anthropologists and non-anthropologists alike. This ethnographic portrayal of Latina intimate partner violence (IPV) survivors seeking assistance from an IPVC (intimate partner violence center) in Connecticut offers an essential, yet historically overlooked account of the intersectional dynamics of health among immigrant Latina women in the United States: intimate partner violence (IPV), disability, and aging throughout the life course. Through richly detailed and poignant ethnographic portraits of Latina immigrant women's lived IPV experiences, Bloom offers a captivating, yet critical analysis of how the everlasting effects of IPV stay embedded within the physical bodies of immigrant women and interact with disabling physical health conditions. Bloom convincingly calls for a life course perspective to fully capture the multitude of forces affecting the bodies, health, and lives of immigrant women. Bloom situates both the center and participants within a larger history of IPV services in the United States, as well as IPV-related policy. By doing so, Bloom contextualizes her argument that current IPV services fall short in acknowledging and providing for clients undergoing disability and aging. As you read along, Bloom takes you on a tour of the stages of the life course as she eloquently explicates the complex, yet circuitous relationship between IPV, aging, disability, and the social roles associated with being an immigrant Latina woman in the United States. Bloom provides detailed portraits of intricate and dynamic relationships between personal [End Page 413] and societal forces and factors that could only be gathered from conducting in-depth, ethnographic fieldwork. The introductory chapter of this ethnography sets the stage for Bloom's broader argument regarding the need for increased, specialized services and attention for aging clients. Bloom briefly summarizes each chapter and clearly presents this book's overarching argument, calling for "a life course perspective on violence that incorporates an aging and disability studies perspective" (28). In Chapter 1, Bloom situates the IPVC into the broader history of the professionalization of domestic violence services in the United States, including the gains and losses associated with diverting from a historically grassroots approach, a critique of serving "underserved" communities, the social process of "professionalizing" the IPVC, as well as internal and macro-level "tensions." This historical analysis situates the services and support that women receive from the center into a larger, national initiative. In this chapter, Bloom also successfully makes the case for an intersectional vision to serve Latina immigrant clients successfully and appropriately. Chapter 2, "Salir Adelante," details the "triste historia" (sad story) of Eva, a young Guatemalan immigrant woman. In describing the life course perspective of a younger survivor, Bloom illuminates how the IPVC's professionalized services and programs are more tailored to younger survivors compared to older survivors regarding limitations and challenges that come with aging. Additionally, this chapter highlights how lived experiences and life circumstances cannot be separated from the embodied effects of violence and disability, further showcasing the importance of an applied ethnographic approach to the broader phenomena discussed in the book. Chapter 3, "'Al Medio del Océano'/'In the Middle of the Ocean:' Perspectives on Violence in Midlife," describes how Latina immigrants in midlife have experiences and needs different from those of different ages. In this chapter, Bloom offers a critical analysis of existing efforts related to women's midlife experiences and embodiment theory, as well as specific approaches related to the body at IPVC, a disability perspective of domestic violence, the intersection of illness and immigration, overlooked disabilities, and self-care frameworks. Bloom advances these theoretical frameworks and corresponding themes to call for the importance of acknowledging the entirety of a client's embodied history and adverse [End Page 414] experiences in all stages of life to recognize debilities that would not have otherwise been recognized. Chapter 4, "'Queda Como un Anciano'/'Left Like the Elderly:' Violence and Immigration...