Shout

CW: rape, sexual assault, harassment, drug and alcohol abuse, physical abuse, effects of war and ptsd, depression, gaslighting of survivors, rapists not facing consequences

Like everyone else who has read any literature on sexual assault, I've known about this author's pioneering book Speak but have been scared to read it because I didn't think I was prepared to handle the content. But when I saw that this book was nominated for the National Book Award this year and it's also written in verse, I decided to give it a try.

This book is essentially a memoir - the author's honest and raw exploration of her life experiences through poetry - which made me sad, angry, hopeful and angry all over again. We get to know her family very intimately, a father ravaged by his wartime experiences, a mother who is the strength of the family but also someone who remains silent despite everything and the author herself, a bright young woman who's trajectory of life changes in an instant when she is raped. The first half of the book is mostly about growing up in her family and the myriad struggles she faced in trying to deal with her trauma. It's a story of distress and helplessness, but also resilience and hope and I was in awe of the way she took control of her life and decided to make something out of her trauma.

But it's the second half of the book that really broke me. From the accounts of many school administrators and librarians who refused to let her speak or censored her book, to the numerous youngsters who decided to share their own traumatic experiences with her - it's a harrowing read showing us the truth that is all around us but which we blind ourselves to, and a realistic picture of how things have hardly changed for the survivors after all these years. I was sobbing and raging while reading many of these poems.

There is a lot to learn from this book. I think the author makes a great case for the perils of censorship, how suppressing content only leads to more ignorance and violence, and survivors are left without any safe spaces to explore their feelings. The author also calls for everyone, especially older victims of trauma to listen to young survivors who are brave enough to tell the truth instead of gaslighting them - insisting that just because they were silenced during their time doesn't mean we get to do the same to the ones after us. And ultimately it's a story of survival and the hope is that anyone who is reading it might find a piece of themselves in it, or maybe a tool to help them.

To conclude, I will just say that this book is a very important read and I implore everyone to pick it up. The content might be hard to read and you might want to shield kids from such harsh material, but it's the truth of the world around us and all youngsters deserve to know it and maybe even be prepared. I think this is also a must read for all adults, especially parents so that we can all better understand and support any survivors we may know in our lives. Just make sure you are in the right frame of mind when you pick it up and experience the pain and rage and hope. And thank you so much to the author for putting her story out there for all of us to learn from and reflect upon. Let me end with these powerful words from the author herself....

”too many grown-ups tell kids to follow their dreams like that's going to get them somewhere Auntie Laurie says follow your nightmares instead cuz when you figure out what's eating you alive you can slay it”

3.5 Liked learning the background to her work and her family history, and her use of language/words remains impressive, but I didn't feel compelled by it, though the emotions are powerful. Think students will resonate with the anger & catharsis but struggle with some of the more metaphorical/less autobiographical poems.

I really loved reading and rereading ‘Speak' in my teenage years. This was different but the talent is still there from this author.

I'm a big fan of the author in general for her advocacy work within schools for her books to be available to young kids, and fighting back against the parents and principles/teachers who've tried to ban her books. And doing her best to be a resource to adolescences.

This review is also featured on Behind the Pages: Shout

Shout is a book full of poems bursting with raw emotion. Readers will dive deep into the world of Laurie Halse Anderson and how her experiences formed the foundation of the novel Speak. She does not hold back as she explains the rape she endured in high school and the cascade of events her life turned into as a result of it. She also calls out society and how it continues to fail victims of rape.

It was alarming to read about Anderson's childhood and the way women were viewed. Sex education was considered foul and was removed from education altogether. There was no conversation about consent or safe sex. Women were treated like objects, and Anderson was confronted many times to have sex in order to “get ahead”. As if the only way she could progress in life was to be a toy for men. But she denied each encounter and forged her own path, one that would lead her to help thousands of people.

While Anderson made sure to mention the sign of the times during her childhood, she also showed how little has changed around the subject of sex and rape in modern times. While education may now include sex ed, she is still faced with school systems that want her to censor her speeches and book signings. But why should she? There should be no red tape that forces someone to hold back the truth. If more people learned about what happens in the dark, maybe there could actually be a change.

No one should be pressured into sex. No one should have to be victimized, man or woman, boy or girl. Shout takes a step forward, forcing people to see what it is happening to people all across the world.

I would suggest reading Speak before beginning Shout, as there are many references made to the novel. But this could very well be read on its own as Laurie Halse Anderson's memoir. While there is nothing overly graphic, the context is at times triggering given the subject matter.

Wow, wow, wow! Laurie Halse Anderson's courage, through her personal story, will hopefully help many other people.

Some of my favorite quotes:

“Home was still hellish, afire
with the painful realization
that no matter how much I loved my parents
my love could not fix them” p. 89

“Walter (Dean Myers) was the first established author I'd met
he welcomed me into the world of books for kids
with joy, wisdom, and grace, he taught
me everything I know about my responsibility
to my readers, starting that day
cuz he didn't go to lunch at all, he waved us off
that young man was filled with questions
and Walter had some answers
and questions of his own
he made the time for a reader
because integrity required it
that's what we're called to do” p. 170-171

I remember picking up Speak to read, knowing nothing about it, and being blown away. Wow. What a story. Speak is a book I will always recommend to others.

And now Shout, the true story of Anderson's young life, including her rape. It's quite a story, too. It isn't just the rape itself, but it's the resultant fear and shame, and Anderson tells us what it was like. She also shares her father's violence and his struggles with suicide. Through it all she comes out whole, though pieced together. It's a story we all need to read and hear and share.