To be fair, such a balancing act might not be appropriate yet. I wanted more of the poetry of creation, not just accusation, however necessary the latter is. If anything, I would have wished for more of this in Shout - not to take the place of the necessary and difficult telling of painful stories of abuse, but to offer additional ways to think about, to feel, to experience sexuality in all of its intimate, befuddling complexities. Part of what makes Shout so compelling is that Anderson gives voice to her own assault - and her attempt to recover from it - at the same time that she implicates a larger culture of patriarchal sexism in enabling such assaults. offers rich metaphors and language play to explore how someone can work through that pain - never forgetting it, never not feeling it in some way, but acknowledging it, and recognizing it in each other. These stories need to be told - and heard. If Shout only shouted, it would be sufficient as a memoir, one that is regrettably still needed today. Part of the power of Shout - perhaps the most significant contribution of any memoir of childhood sexual assault and abuse - lies in its ability to provoke of recognition among some of its readers. A New York Times bestseller and one of 2019's best-reviewed books, a poetic memoir and call to action from the award-winning author of Speak, Laurie Halse Anderson Bestselling author Laurie Halse Anderson is known for the unflinching way she writes about, and advocates for, survivors of sexual assault.
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