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In the introduction to his memoir, “In My Time of Dying,” which Simon & Schuster will publish on May 21, he describes his own near-drowning while surfing — the shock of being shoved underwater as if by an invisible hand, the flashbulb memory of dirty dishes in his sink, the way the shadow of death suddenly eclipsed an ordinary day.

For me, it became a flashbulb memory, a reminder that art has the power to not only divert people from their dispirited ruminations but also help them reframe their despairing mind-sets.

Although Jan. 6, 2021 did not result in a massive loss of life, the threat it posed to our government, physical and spiritual, made it a flashbulb memory just as vivid.

“I think what happens is they develop a narrative about their flashbulb memory,” he said.

In a recent study we demonstrated that for some individuals, a medical diagnosis event does create a flashbulb memory that endures for years after the fact.