A painful memory kept poking at Trevor Noah until he turned to a unique Japanese artform — and healed himself

Trevor Noah went through a difficult period after his stepfather shot his mom in 2009. Although Patricia, his mom, survived the fatal attack, he was so disturbed by the horrifying incident that, to date, he hasn't fully recovered from it. In conversation with Steven Bartlett, entrepreneur and host of The Diary of a CEO podcast, Noah opened up about the lowest phase in his life and how Kintsugi — a Japanese art of repairing broken pottery — helped him process the heartbreaking experience.

"I don't think I would be so arrogant as to say that I have overcome it; I think I am constantly working to overcome it," he said. The incident had turned his world upside down and had shattered him to the core. Noah struggled to purge it from his system and continued to carry its weight for a very long time. However, it was only when he learned about Kintsugi that he looked at the tragedy from a new perspective. He was hurt, enraged, and overwhelmed by the trauma, but instead of running away from his feelings, Noah embraced them and validated every bit of what he was feeling. Like the Japanese art that repairs the broken pottery with lacquer dusted with gold, silver, or platinum, the stand-up comedian held his emotional fragments and jumped on a mission to become a better version of himself. "To me, it was one of the beautiful concepts and a different way to think about being 'fixed' or overcoming," Noah confessed. He said he thinks of him as a ceramic that has gone through negative experiences, carrying multiple cracks, but because of the love he experiences in life, he has been able to seal those gaps with more valuable things. "I somehow find a little more beauty in myself than I had before the thing had happened to me," Noah added.

To assess the clinical utility of the therapeutic tool Kintsugi, researchers PI Santos and AB Costa surveyed 200 participants, aged between 18 and 70 years. They found that regardless of participants’ age or gender, practicing the Kintsugi technique increased psychological well-being and decreased anxiety. They concluded that the psychotherapeutic technique is a powerful metaphor and tool in therapy that transforms trauma into beautiful opportunities for growth and prosperity. It also fosters resilience, helping people to accept their flaws and vulnerabilities instead of hiding them.

Just like Noah, netizens also loved the idea of the Japanese art, helping people overcome life’s tragedies; for instance, @shelamistry8853 commented, "Kintsugi reminds us that what was once broken can be beautiful and what we have healed can make us stronger. Embrace your imperfections with love & kindness." Similarly, @peaceharmony4254 shared, "I'm Japanese and have never thought of Kintsugi that way, and it made me cry. I have my own cracks in myself and have been struggling for a while, to be honest, but now I'll try to repair them with golden glue with my efforts and help and love from friends and family and make the cracks beautiful and be proud of them. Thank you, Trevor." 

@hotrizod777 wrote, "I’ve never had a therapist, I can’t afford one, but staring at kintsugi pottery for the first time was the best therapy I’ve ever had. Though it’s damaged, once repaired, it’s still useful and even more beautiful. We’re all damaged to a certain degree, but with damage comes wisdom and resilience."

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