Stories of Survival and Healing for Sexual Assault Awareness Month
Healing isn’t linear, but it is possible, and the following stories are a testament. In the below list is a collection of first-person memoirs and journalist retellings of abuse and navigating the aftermath. Here, you will find harrowing true stories — from men and women — as well as the impetus for discussions on how society treats victims of abuse and how that conversation must change. Change begins with letting stories like these be told and heard, and it continues by rallying for justice for victims without excusing perpetrators or looking the other way. It begins with knowing their names.
With that said, this list contains discussions of sexual abuse, domestic violence, and rape, which may be triggering for some readers. Please proceed mindfully.
If you or someone you know needs help, consider the following resources:
National Sexual Assault Hotline (U.S.): 1-800-656-HOPE (4673)
National Domestic Violence Hotline (U.S.): 1-800-799-SAFE (7233)
1in6 (for male survivors of sexual abuse): 1-877-628-0066
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Add to BookshelfKnow My Name
by Chanel Miller
Chanel Miller’s breathtaking memoir, Know My Name, will forever transform the way we think and talk about sexual assault. Miller’s story of trauma and transformation highlights a culture biased to defend perpetrators and a criminal justice system that often fails the most vulnerable. An instant New York Times bestseller, Know My Name was picked as one of the “100 Best Books of the 21st Century” in the New York Times, while The Washington Post calls Miller’s book “a gut punch” that, in the end, is “blessedly hopeful.” Ultimately, this memoir speaks to the courage it takes to navigate suffering and live a full, beautiful life.
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$19.00Buy from Other Retailers:
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The Tell
by Amy Griffin
For decades, Amy ran. Through the dirt roads of Amarillo, Texas, where she grew up, on the streets of New York, where she built her adult life; through marriage, motherhood, and a thriving career. To outsiders, it all looked, in many ways, perfect. But Amy was running from something — a secret she was keeping not only from her family and friends, but unconsciously from herself. In her search for the truth, to understand and begin to recover from buried childhood trauma, Griffin interrogates the pursuit of perfectionism, control, and maintaining appearances that drives so many women. With hope, heart, and relentless honesty, she points a way forward for all of us, revealing the power of radical truth-telling to deepen our connections — with others and ourselves.
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$29.00Buy from Other Retailers:
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I’m Not Broken
by Jesse Leon
Born to indigenous working-class Mexican immigrants in San Diego in the 1970s, Jesse Leon’s childhood was violently ruptured. A dangerous and harrowing encounter at a local gift shop when he was 11 left Jesse with a deadly secret. Overlooked by state-sanctioned institutions and systems intended to help victims of abuse, neglected like many other low-income Latinos, Jesse spiraled into cycles of suicide and substance abuse. I’m Not Broken is the heartbreaking and remarkable story of Jesse’s journey to win back his life. Recounting the extraordinary circumstances of his life, Jesse offers a powerful, raw testament to the possibilities of self-transformation and self-acceptance.
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$19.00Buy from Other Retailers:
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On Being Raped
by Raymond M. Douglas
On Being Raped takes on the physical and psychological trauma of a crime our society refuses to talk about openly: The rape of adult men by men. Raymond M. Douglas tells his harrowing story of being assaulted by a Catholic priest at eighteen years old while living in Europe. Douglas recounts this painful event and his later attempts to find help with eloquence. He also examines the conditions society implicitly places upon men who are victims of rape, explores the reasons for society’s deafening silence around this issue, and reveals how prevalent this type of sexual violence truly is.
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$16.00Buy from Other Retailers:
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Caged Eyes
by Lynn K. Hall
Caged Eyes explores misogyny and rape in the US military and narrates one person’s extraordinary path to recovery and activism. Lynn K. Hall shares her account of joining the Air Force Academy to escape a turbulent home life and abuse, only to be abused in the military. Though Hall survived the ordeals of a first-year cadet, the Academy dismissed her after an upperclassman raped her. She left the Academy with chronic and debilitating pain as a result of the attack. Caged Eyes is Hall’s story of navigating shame and a culture that condones rape and blames victims — and highlights how it’s possible to help yourself and others after facing injustice.
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$20.00Buy from Other Retailers:
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The Secret History of the Rape Kit
by Pagan Kennedy
The Secret History of the Rape Kit is the thrilling result of a journalist’s mission to understand a monumental innovation in forensics — and the woman behind it. This page-turner by Pagan Kennedy follows Martha “Marty” Goddard, a crisis hotline volunteer in 1972 who counseled molested girls. To address the alarming number of offenders evading justice, Goddard launched a campaign to push hospitals and police departments to collect evidence of sexual assault. Along the way, Goddard designed a new forensics tool — known as the rape kit — and new evidence collection practices that spread nationwide. Kennedy’s book finally gives Goddard her rightful place in history.
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$19.00Buy from Other Retailers:
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My Broken Pieces
by Rosie Rivera
Rosie Rivera, the sister of the legendary Mexican-American singer Jenni Rivera, opens up about the trauma she endured within her family from a young age. Rivera spent her childhood living in fear, confined by painful secrets, and plagued with constant threats and confusion. After enduring abuse, Rivera also struggled with her confidence and self-worth, leading her toward damaging habits and deep depression as she got older. My Broken Pieces details Rivera’s daily struggles and how Rivera found life after her abuse, illustrating how, despite the worst of times, it’s always possible to pick up the pieces.
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Scared Selfless
by Michelle Stevens, PhD
Michelle Stevens’s childhood was stolen from her at eight years old by her mother’s boyfriend — an elementary school teacher, neighborhood stalwart, and pedophile. Stevens endured years of severe abuse. While it took time, Stevens eventually reconstructed her life, receiving her PhD in psychology and winning the university’s award for best dissertation. Scared Selfless details what happened between Stevens’s abuse and graduation, including PTSD, numerous suicide attempts, and the multiple personalities Stevens developed. One reviewer describes the book as “a riveting memoir that takes readers on a roller coaster ride from the depths of hell to triumphant success.”
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$24.00Buy from Other Retailers:
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After Silence
by Nancy Venable Raine
After Silence is Nancy Venable Raine’s profoundly moving response to her rapist’s command to “shut up,” a command far too often echoed by society and internalized by survivors of sexual assault. Raine narrates her assault by a stranger in her home in 1985 and then poignantly details the ten-year aftermath, including the long-term emotional and physical toll and society’s views on victimhood. For anyone who has suffered from or witnessed the shattering effects of sexual assault, After Silence points the way to healing, and according to one New York Times book review, it should be read by everyone.
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$19.00Buy from Other Retailers:
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10
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Survivor Injustice
by Kylie Cheung
Journalist and Jezebel staff writer Kylie Cheung reveals the insidious – and often unseen – connections among domestic abuse, state-based violence, political disenfranchisement, and the carceral state. Cheung illustrates the ways in which society criminalizes women, girls, and gender-oppressed people of color and challenges the dangerous narrative that abuse is a “private matter” perpetrated by bad actors. Cheung also explores the links between capitalism and domestic abuse, America’s implicit acceptance of sexual assault, and how intimate partner violence is used as a tool of political silence and social control. Ultimately, Cheung makes the case that we can achieve justice for survivors through organizing, abolition, and beyond-the-ballot action.
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$19.95Buy from Other Retailers:
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Rape
by Mithu Sanyal
Mithu Sanyal examines the hidden aspects of societal history to explore how we talk and think about sexual assault in Rape: From Lucretia to #MeToo. To do so, Sanyal narrates a history spanning from Lucretia — whose legendary rape and suicide were said to be the downfall of the last Roman king — to second-wave feminism, Tarzan, and Roman Polanski to demonstrate that how we understand rape has been alarmingly consistent over time. Rape: From Lucretia to #MeToo makes a bold case for launching a new and informed debate about sexual violence, sexual boundaries, and consent.
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$26.95Buy from Other Retailers:
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Little Girl Lost
by Leisha Joseph
For the faith-driven reader, Little Girl Lost is Leisha Joseph’s story of violence and trauma and how she turned to God to save her. While Leisha grew up in an upper-middle-class family and experienced a happy childhood, it all changed with the death of her father when she was eight years old. What would follow would be a string of violence and tests of faith. For years, Leisha faced a string of traumatic events, including violent encounters with loved ones and struggles with substance abuse. Little Girl Lost edifies how Leisha put trauma into God’s hands to get through it — and thrive after it.
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$15.00Buy from Other Retailers:
