Review: Not That Bad: Dispatches from Rape Culture

Not That Bad: Dispatches from Rape Culture
Edited by Roxane Gay
Genre: Non-Fiction/Essays
Publication Date: 1 November 2018
Publisher: Allen & Unwin
Source: ARC via NetGalley
 
Stars:  5 out of 5
 
Link: AMAZON (UK)

 
ABOUT NOT THAT BAD: DISPATCHED FROM RAPE CULTURE
 
In this valuable and revealing anthology, cultural critic and bestselling author Roxane Gay collects original and previously published pieces that address what it means to live in a world where women have to measure the harassment, violence, and aggression they face, and where they are "routinely second-guessed, blown off, discredited, denigrated, besmirched, belittled, patronized, mocked, shamed, gaslit, insulted, bullied" for speaking out. Contributions include essays from established and up-and-coming writers, performers, and critics, including actors Ally Sheedy and Gabrielle Union and writers Amy Jo Burns, Lyz Lenz, and Claire Schwartz. Covering a wide range of topics and experiences, from an exploration of the rape epidemic embedded in the refugee crisis to first-person accounts of child molestation, this collection is often deeply personal and is always unflinchingly honest. Like Rebecca Solnit's Men Explain Things to Me, Not That Bad will resonate with every reader, saying "something in totality that we cannot say alone."
 
Searing and heartbreakingly candid, this provocative collection both reflects the world we live in and offers a call to arms insisting that "not that bad" must no longer be good enough.
 

My Review:

This book is an excellent collection of essays, at a pivotal time.
 
Ms Gay's introduction starts:
When I was twelve years old, I was gang-raped in the woods behind my neighborhood by a group of boys with the dangerous intentions of bad men.
 
The above may be uncomfortable reading, however it gives an expectation of the contents. The essays are sad, raw, revealing, heart-breaking and they left me feeling downright angry. Having read this book in the days after Brett Kavanaugh was confirmed onto the Supreme Court, and in the words of John Oliver “We believe you [Dr Ford]— we just don’t care.” I couldn't help but think repeatedly, what madness are we living in? A world where women in spite psychical assaults, thank their lucky stars that at least they are still alive. That's the bare minimum; at least he didn't kill me.
 
The accounts will offer solidarity to survivors and relief to those who encountered near misses. It is a shame that the people who really should read this book (rape apologists, perpetrators of abuse, and aggression against women) almost certainly won't pick up Not That Bad.
 
Thank you Roxane Gay for compiling these essays. They will stay with me forever.
 
VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
 
Thank you so much the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a complimentary electronic copy in return for an honest review.