Possessing the secret of joy

"Possessing the Secret of Joy" tells the story of Taski, a minor character in Alice Walker's "The Color Purple." Tashi has undergone female genital mutilation because she believes it will make her strong and honor her African heritage. Instead, the mutilation causes her to have Post Traumatic Stress Disorder so she must see several psychologists. Her son's birth is also traumatic because of the scars the multilation left on her and so he has a congitive disability.
As with many of her books, "Possessing the Secret of Joy" contains a love triangle and explicitly deals with violence. Readers will (rightfully) find the violence disturbing but should nonetheless read it as FGM is a serious problem in our world. From this book I learned that doctors in the US used to commit FGM against women here.