She Said

I will not presume to be in any way capable of reviewing this brilliant book because it's an extremely well written true account of the investigation and brings to light some systemic truths that we probably are well aware of, but haven't seen discussed openly a lot. Instead, I think I'll just share how I felt while reading it.

I've only lived in the US for less than a decade now and while I have a seen a Hollywood movie or two since childhood, I've never been much knowledgeable about the industry or its major players. So, when the Harvey Weinstein scandal broke out, all the names associated with it didn't mean anything to me. The significance for me was mostly about the movement it created and the outpouring of stories we got to hear after that. It reinforced the fact that sexual harassment is rampant in the world, regardless of the industry or field you are in and what age you are. It's all about power, and those who have it will exercise it in whatever way they can without fear of consequences because they know that the whole system is behind them. And while this book goes into a lot of detail about the investigation and the many women Kantor and Twohey spoke to, it also shows us the blatant disregard shown by so many other people towards these women and how all the sexual predation was just treated as matter of fact.

My singular emotion while reading this book was anger. And helplessness. Maybe some hope too, but I won't say it was a lot. The way that Weinstein used his power, bullying tactics and promises of helping their career to harass and assault and overpower so many young women is appalling to read about. I would never judge the women for not coming out and sharing their stories because it's always them who had a lot to lose and they have their right to self-preservation. It's the other people I find fault with - those around Weinstein who helped him cover up all the incidents by forcing the women with watertight settlements and NDAs, who thought his behavior was okay as long as it wasn't a liability to the company, who decided that it must be the women coming onto him for a chance to go ahead in their careers, the high profile lawyers like David Boies, Gloria Allred and Lisa Bloom who feel completely justified in the way they defended Weinstein and shamed and blamed the women and the journalists covering the story. These are people even I have admired, watched documentaries about their work on marriage equality and women's rights, and now to realize that powerful people always seem to support those in power - I just can't describe the horror I'm feeling. If you've followed any of the twitter trends on the day of this book's release, you must have seen the very enlightening (and loathsome) memo that Lisa Bloom wrote to Weinstein about how they can frame a narrative to victim blame and showcase him as an old man trying to understand the ever changing social mores. It really was an eye opener and I don't think I will ever implicitly trust any “popular” activist again, especially lawyers.

The last section of the book also goes into some detail about the Kavanaugh hearings and Dr. Ford's testimony, particularly how she felt in the weeks leading up to the day and how her life has irrevocably changed since then. It just makes me furious that nothing fundamental has really has changed since the years after Anita Hill and women have to still weigh their safety and career prospects vs the possibility of telling their story and maybe getting some vindication and justice. And I'm currently feeling even more hopeless because between the few hours when I finished this book and I'm writing this review, the New York Times published excerpts from another book with corroborating evidence for other allegations against Kavanaugh. And it's really exhausting to see that while Dr. Ford has to deal with death threats, this man will be on the Supreme Court for most of our lifetime.

To conclude, I just wanna say thank you to all the women who came forward to tell their story, putting their livelihoods and privacy on the line, Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey for their incessant desire to bring this story to light in its entirety while facing off the whole bully machine of Weinstein, and everyone else at NYT who made this possible. I highly recommend this book to everyone who wants to know more about this brilliant piece of investigative journalism and support women in their fight for equality and right to work without being harassed.

Fascinating and infuriating - I can't wait to read [b:Catch and Kill 46650277 Catch and Kill Lies, Spies, and a Conspiracy to Protect Predators Ronan Farrow https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1570798239l/46650277.SY75.jpg 72177046] to see how it compares, with two publications pursuing the same story and sources at the same time. This was very well-written and easy to follow, even with two authors and the sort of strange third-person storytelling format they devised to make it clear who was doing what when. (I can't think of a better way to do this, honestly; an authorial “we” would get very confusing very quickly, so I'm not criticizing here, just noting that this took some getting used to.) I'm not sure I can say I really enjoyed this book, since it's in large part a litany of what one very powerful man got away with doing to women for decades, and the herculean efforts it took reporters at the biggest newspaper in the world to finally bring him to some semblance of justice. I'm glad I read it, though, and it's definitely worth the time. The latter part loses a bit of focus as it moves from the Weinstein investigation and fallout to the Kavanaugh confirmation hearings nearly a year later. These authors didn't break that story, so it loses some of the immediacy of the rest of the book, and it's really compressed into a couple of chapters. I understand why it's there, but the Weinstein sections are stronger by far. I did like the epilogue/final chapter, however, which brings together a lot of the women who have spoken out about harassment to discuss the fallout and what comes next.

The first half of the book, which is focused on the Weinstein story, is great. The blow by blow accounts of what was going on around the two reporters is great reading.

The back half of the book, when it pivots and focuses on the Kavanaugh hearings, is a snooze. The authors are essentially along for the ride, and they are struggling to find a place. I set the book down for a while because I just lost interest. If you followed the hearings this is all old news to you.

The Farrow book, even with some of it's problems, is a better read.

This book is the gold standard of what it means to be a good journalist. Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohy have essentially written a textbook on reporting. It's brilliant!

The book actually reads more like a thriller than a non-fiction book. It's a total page-turner. There's so much I learnt – from styles of reporting to politics of reporting to machinations of the newsroom in New York Times (or for that matter any news room), the procedural aspects of reporting – how to talk to victims and abusers, how to deal with sensitive information and dicey situations, how to deal with legal ramifications of reporting facts (yes, apparently even solid facts can land you in court!). There's a lot that I could write about this book because it's just so so so good! 

However, the reporting isn't the crux of the book although it does form the core part of the narrative. The book is essentially about the case that ignited the #MeToo movement. It chronicles two men – Harvey Weinstein and Brett Kavanaugh – who were accused of sexual abuse. It's a harrowing read. Yet, even more harrowing is witnessing the trauma of the victims, both in the immediate aftermath and the years after the abuse.

If you're an young budding reporter/journalist or an avid news junkie, you owe it yourself to read this book. Even if you aren't either, you still need to read it. Correction: YOU HAVE TO. 

SPOILER ALERT: Weinstein has been found guilty by court in New York. Kavanaugh denies assaulting Ms Ford and has been elected to the SCOTUS (he has never been tried).

The upcoming movie finally pushed this to the top of the TBR pile. Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey's 2017 New York Times article helped ignite the #MeToo movement and this is the tense account of the months leading up to the Weinstein expose. And while it's a damning portrayal of a sexual predator with decades of abuses to his name, it is as much the story of the apparatus surrounding him that facilitated his actions, looked the other way, and even sought to capitalize on the situation for their own benefit.

Gloria Allred and her daughter Lisa Bloom, known for taking on high-profile sexual harassment cases, are shown as mercenary opportunists seeking to obtain fat settlements accompanied by NDAs, muzzled victims, 40% cuts and lucrative book deals. David Boies, also known for representing Elizabeth Holmes (as revealed in the equally riveting book Bad Blood) is shown as a dogged defendant of Weinstein, utilizing the private Israeli agency Black Cube to surveil Twohey and Kantor and employ agents in the field to pose as feminist advocates and conference organizers to lull the journalists into false confidences. Not to mention the entourage of Miramax executive and board members that looked the other way, convincing themselves that this was just some marital infidelity.

Nearly five years later it can be a dispiriting read at times. The final chapters recounting how Christine Blasey Ford spoke out against Brett Kavanaugh before he was to be appointed for life to the Supreme Court we see him claiming his staunch support of women, down to the hours he spent coaching his daughters in basketball - only to overturn Roe v Wade. But more than that this is a testament to dogged journalism. We see how hard the work is to carefully construct, diligently verify and work against deep pocketed interests highly motivated to dissuade anyone from learning the truth. How this relies on the support of institutions and it's just as much a testament to the power of reporting in an environment when it's increasingly being doubted, touted as fake, and completely sidelined.

Here at home, we subscribe to a few newspapers and magazines, but I often feel like it isn't enough.

The truth is that good journalism costs money, and that's not something we think of very often. It's easy to read an article online and forget about the immense amount of work that went into writing that piece, and because of that ease, I know I'm guilty of not always giving journalism its due.

She Said, Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey's recounting of how they broke the news of Harvey Weinstein's sexual harassment and abuse for the New York Times, is striking and sobering because of the subject matter of the book, and also because of just how seminal their reporting was to launch a movement. It is especially poignant, however, as an exposé on how journalism actually works, and how much time, effort, and frustration goes into reporting a story of this magnitude.

The book—simple, direct, detailed, and weighty—can be hard to read because the subject matter is so horrific. It is, however, important to read because of the truth it unveils:

The United States had a system for muting sexual harassment claims, which often enabled the harassers instead of stopping them. Women routinely signed away the right to talk about their own experiences. Harassers often continued onward, finding fresh ground on which to commit the same offenses. The settlements and confidentiality agreements were almost never examined in law school classrooms or open court. This was why the public had never really understood that this was happening. Even those in the room with long histories of covering gender issues had never fully registered what was going on.

She Said

(this snippet of marginalia was originally published on inthemargins.ca)