Violation

The Millions, A Most Anticipated Book

“Groundbreaking. A career-defining book.” —The New Yorker

“Sallie Tisdale’s lovely essays shouldn’t exist given that they perfectly capture the impossibility of writing.” —Katy Waldman, Slate

“Throughout the collection, an ethos of self-effacement and clear-eyed commitment to her subjects seems to embody this tenet, even though Tisdale knows that writing and self-effacement are mutually exclusive. Nothing is objective, no matter how hard she labors to make it seem so. She is haunted by her failures of truth and objectivity. ‘Only I know how carefully I’ve held the light so that the shadows fall just so,’ she says. ‘Artlessness is one of the most difficult effects of all.'” —Katie Pelletier, The Portland Mercury

“Portland writer Sally Tisdale is one of Oregon’s true literary treasures.” —Think Out Loud, Oregon Public Broadcasting

“A Buddhist woman who’s written about porn. Do you really need another reason to read her?” —Julia Lipscomb, Inlander

“The ‘perfume’ of Sallie Tisdale’s work will be enticing to all readers enamored of the essay form.” —Lee Polevoi, Foreword Reviews


“Her sentences are astounding, somehow elegant and earthy both. An essay is a place to spend time in somebody else’s head listening to their thoughts, and Tisdale’s mind is a fascinating place to be.” —Rebecca Hussey, Book Riot

“Compassion and empathy inform these gracefully wrought essays.” —Kirkus Reviews

“Sallie Tisdale’s Violation is a writer’s bible and a reader’s best friend. Bold and wise, galvanizing and grounding, Tisdale’s essays are propulsive and frightening in their poignance and content. This is the essay collection you’ll want to have with you on that hypothetical desert island.” —Chloe Caldwell, author of Legs Get Led Astray and Women

“Sallie Tisdale is the real thing, a writer who thinks like a philosopher, observes like a journalist and sings on the page like a poet; in other words, the consummate and perfect essayist. She knocked my socks off when I first discovered her decades ago and now, reading this collection, I realize I haven’t found them since. Violation contains important work from an important writer. I’m so glad it’s out in the world.” —Meghan Daum, author of The Unspeakable: And Other Subjects of Discussion

“That Sallie Tisdale’s a treasure comes as no secret to lovers of the essay, and yet this happy gathering that spans the decades is revelatory, a fascinating look at the epic wanderings of a life mapped by curiosity.” —Charles D’Ambrosio, author of Loitering: New and Collected Essays

“I’ve long admired Sallie Tisdale’s essays, and this collection brandishes her impressive strengths: she’s complicit without being woebegone, she’s philosophical without being windy or airy, and she’s empathetic without being hand-wringing.” —David Shields, author of Life Is Short—Art Is Shorter: In Praise of Brevity