We've Got Some Things to Say: Reshaping Narratives Around Sexual Violence (Survivors’ Voices: Documenting the Ways that Violence Shapes the Lives of Women and Children) - Couverture souple

Simmerling PhD, Mary

Couverture souple

ISBN 10 : 199773723X ISBN 13 : 9781997737230

Editeur : Write Where We Belong Press, 2026

Synopsis

Giving survivors back their stories. In their own words.

Survivors of sexual violence often face a second trauma in the range of accusatory questions they face in the immediate aftermath. Children who are victims are often asked, Why didn't you run away? Why didn't you tell a teacher? Why didn't you tell your parents? Adult survivors are often asked questions such as, What were you wearing? Aren't you dating? How much had you been drinking? These questions redirect the shame and blame back onto already vulnerable victims.

We've Got Some Things to Say: Reshaping Narratives Around Sexual Violence begins with a simple but profound mission: giving survivors back their stories, in their own words. Building on the work of We've Been Put Through Fire & Come Out Divine: Stories of Hope & Survival, this anthology tackles some of the harmful societal questions and myths that silence and shame survivors, confronting the thinly veiled accusations that lie behind questions such as "What were you wearing?" and "Had you been drinking?"

With raw vulnerability and unflinching clarity, these writers transform their trauma into compelling narratives, using their words to challenge social and cultural assumptions and advocate for change. These pieces don't just recount pain—they explore the complex paths toward healing, resilience, and reclaiming voice.

The pieces in this anthology speak for themselves. The stories they tell have a rawness and urgency that demand not only our attention, but that we take action to make long overdue and desperately needed changes. By coming together to reclaim our stories in our own voices, we can reshape prevailing narratives around sexual violence that seek to blame, shame, and silence us.

To the survivors who are suffering in silence, feeling alone and invisible: If you find yourself reflected back in these pages, know this—we see you, we hear you, and we believe you. This book is for you. You are not alone.

It is time for change. That time is now.

About the Press

Write Where We Belong Press is an independent Canadian literary and arts organization and publishing house founded in 2023 and directed by Editor in Chief Mary Simmerling, Ph.D.—philosopher, poet, Adlerian practitioner, and survivor. The Press was created as a feminist act of resistance—to unsilence women's and other marginalized voices, to publish survivor-centered and social justice-driven work, and to challenge the systems that have—for far too long—determined whose stories are worthy of being heard.

We stand with those who write through pain, silence, and survival—not to explain, but to claim. Not to soften what happened, but to name it.

The Press collaborates with The Wrong Questions Project's art installation exhibits, extending the shared commitment to art as a form of witness, resistance, and repair.

Edited by Mary Simmerling, Ph.D., with Assistant Editor Jen Murphy.

Content note: This book contains explicit descriptions and discussions of sexual abuse, domestic violence, and rape, some of which involve minors.

Détails de l'édition

• Éditeur: Write Where We Belong Press
• Date d'édition: 2026
• Langue: anglais
• ISBN 10: 199773723X
• ISBN 13: 9781997737230
• Reliure: Taschenbuch
• Nombre de pages: 182
• Éditeur: Murphy Jen
• Coordonnées du fabricant: Printed by Amazon on behalf of the author; https://www.amazon.de/hz/contact-us; ; c/o Amazon Media EU S.à.r.l., 38 Avenue John F. Kennedy; Luxembourg; L-1855; Luxembourg