Things That Must Be Said: An Erin Moulton Book Review
According to RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National
Network), an American is sexually assaulted every 98 seconds. Every eight
minutes, that American is a child. While hundreds are affected by this on a
daily basis, six of every 1,000 abusers are imprisoned. The topic of sexual
assault has been marked as taboo for decades… until now.
In Things We Haven’t
Said, Erin Moulton dives into online sources, nonfiction titles, and most
importantly, actual survivor stories to help get the point across that time is
up not only for the abusers who have gotten away with their actions, but for
the idea that this can’t be an open topic.
Moulton opens the book with her introduction to the topic of
sexual assault. While she has never experienced it personally, she was a teen
librarian and heard a student’s story during a summer program.
“I replayed the situation in my mind and realized how
unprepared I’d been to discuss sexual violence,” she said.
Creating this book was a long time in the making for her,
but once stories started making their way to her she knew that she was onto
something.
Each person’s story is beyond heartbreaking – from Ella
Andrews’ poem about her father to Janet Goldblatt Holmes’ letter to her former
self. Attempting to walk in their shoes even for a step is something words can’t
do justice. However, their words and their stories are eye-opening in every
sense of the word.
After each author’s story, Moulton conducts a brief Q&A
to have them expand on what they’re willing to share, give advice to anyone who
may be in a similar situation and share how accomplished they’ve become after
facing the cruelest treatment.
Allison Maloney became the news and politics editor at Teen Vogue. G. Donald Gribbs published a
novel titled The Packing House and his
working on its sequel. Carrie Jones is a New
York Times and internationally bestselling author. Bryson McCrone is a
novelist and a poet. Carol Lynch Williams won the Whitney and the Association
of Mormon Letters awards for her young adult novel.
Each post-story discussion shares similar beliefs in that
recovery is, and possibly will forever be, an ongoing process. There are still
moments that they battle and moments that the memories come back full force,
but they continue with positive outlooks with the help of family, friends and
professionals.
These crimes that happened to them do not define who they
were and who they have become. They have struggled and they have survived. They
are warriors. They are inspirations. They are breaking past the wall of things
that haven’t been said.
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