This chapter outlines the key argument in the book regarding the idea of traumatic neurosis as a ‘bridge concept’ between the idea of an ‘inaugural trauma’ and that of ‘life traumas’ or ‘wounds of life’. It places this argument within the broader context of an ‘empire of trauma’, the idea that trauma is nowadays to be found everywhere and that every experience is potentially ‘traumatic’. This idea is exemplified in the emergence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and the idea that those who were once considered perpetrators of trauma, for example, in the Vietnam War, are now considered ‘victims’. There is also a discussion of the development of trauma studies as an academic discipline and its relationship with psychoanalysis. The key psychoanalytic figures and theories discussed throughout the work are briefly touched upon, including the somewhat problematic relationship between Laplanche and Lacan. The chapter concludes with a brief discussion regarding the decision to use the term ‘wounds of life’ as opposed to ‘life traumas’.