“How does the patriarchy uphold standards that support and normalize abuse like this? Hamilton both asks and answers that question in her honest and eye-opening story.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“Mad Wife has stayed on my mind since I first read it and I will continue thinking about Hamilton’s ideas well into the future.”
—Roxane Gay, The Audacity Substack
“Harrowing, fierce, intimate, and ultimately empowering, Mad Wife is a brilliant memoir for our moment. A feminist must-read.”
—Kate Manne, author of Down Girl: The Logic of Misogyny
“Kate Hamilton has written a memoir that I’m dying to talk about with every woman I know. Beautifully written, unbelievably brave, unflinchingly honest, Mad Wife is an indictment of heterosexual marriage and, specifically, sex within marriage. Hamilton’s is a story of how patriarchy has designed marriage to gaslight a woman for the entirety of a relationship, to distort her understanding of consent and her own desires, and to entitle a husband to his wife’s body. This memoir will have women readers reassessing every sexual encounter they’ve ever had with a partner and wondering why it has taken so long for a book like this to exist.”
—Donna Freitas, author of Consent: A Memoir of Unwanted Attention
“Lucid, measured, searing, important. Kate Hamilton draws an intricate map of her heart-space, courageously taking us on her journey of love, heartbreak, awakening, and triumph. I am deeply renewed by her words, a beautiful reclamation of a precious life that is her own and a reminder that we belong to ourselves.”
—Beverly Gooden, author of Surviving: Why We Stay and How We Leave
“Kate Hamilton methodically parses the complexities, cruelties, and chaos of heterosexual marriage norms while somehow maintaining a sense of compassion and hope. A must-read for those seeking to understand how inequality is woven into our relationships.”
—Soraya Chemaly, author of Rage Becomes Her
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