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Telling: A Memoir of Rape and Recovery (Paperback)

Telling: A Memoir of Rape and Recovery By Patricia Weaver Francisco Cover Image
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Description


"Patricia Francisco has done that rare thing; write with honesty about the act of evil and about her slow trudge to health in its aftermath. Her story is important for every woman to hear and every man to know. This book is impressive and very moving." — Louise Erdrich

In this intimate memoir, Patricia Weaver Francisco tells of her fifteen-year journey to recognize and overcome the effects of rape. Francisco explores key aspects of a women's life in the aftermath of rape—passion, marriage, solitude, childbirth, motherhood.

She invites the reader into her life and into the questions raised by a crime with no obvious solutions or easy answers. We see the dimensions of a human struggle often kept hidden from view. While there are millions of rape survivors in the United States, rape is still too often left out of our personal and cultural conversations. In Telling, Francisco has found a language for the secret grief carried by people who have survived rape.

Describing her fear during and after the rape in a visceral style, Francisco details her transformation of trauma into strength. This transformation begins by learning to talk about rape, to understand the resistance she encounters in herself and others.

She chronicles a complex journey and wrestles with spiritual despair, outrage, and a longing for justice. But with awareness comes the return of pleasure, hunger, and desire. She reminds us how "beautiful the dignity of truth can be" and inspires in us a desire to listen, to know the truths that can transform our own lives. She also gives us a clear portrait of the tragic consequences for the survivor—and our culture—when we neglect this human story.

Told with grace and a soul-stirring eloquence, Telling is, in the end, a form of power. It will leave you with a sense of hope and a renewed appreciation for life's possibilities. A compelling book, Telling will push the conversations that can bring hope and healing to the women who need it, and to their loved ones trying to help them.

About the Author


Patricia Fransisco teaches creative writing in the MFA Program at Hamline University. She lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Praise For…


"Patricia Francisco has done that rare thing; write with honesty about the act of evil and about her slow trudge to health in its aftermath. Her story is important for every woman to hear and every man to know. This book is impressive and very moving." — Louise Erdrich

"Electrifying...beautifully written." — Washington Post

"Francisco draws strength from beauty and artfulness and passes that strength along...I recommend Francisco's book for the sad, wise, and lyrically written lesson in recovery it bears." — Hungry Mind Review

"Francisco. . . encourages others to start a dialogue about the unspeakable' crime. Francisco warns against keeping quiet: Evil is best born when it's fully visible.'" — New York Times Book Review

"I could not put this book down—Patricia Francisco's writing is electrifying. This is an important book. I am amazed we are only now reading it. We've all wanted it for a long time. Thank You, Patricia Francisco. My world is now more awake." — Natalie Goldberg

"I have read many accounts of sexual assault, but I can't remember any as powerful as Patricia Francisco's. This book is remarkable for its intelligence and control of detail, and for the author's refusal to beg for automatic sympathy." — Rosellen Brown

"Patricia Francisco has written a beautiful book about the pain of rape. What a feat, to have great measures of wisdom and generosity and love in a book that is also about fear and loss. Telling is an important memoir by an eloquent writer." — Jane Hamilton



Product Details
ISBN: 9780060930769
ISBN-10: 0060930764
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Publication Date: January 26th, 2000
Pages: 240
Language: English
ABA Admin Product Details
Data Source: ONIX
Created At: 3/7/2014 08:25am
Last Updated At: 7/6/2023 06:34am