Reviews with content warning for Sexual assault - Unbound: My Story of Liberation and the Birth of the Me Too Movement

I picked this book up randomly when I was bored waiting for an event to start. I ended up finishing it in less than 24 hours and crying my eyes out over it repeatedly.

I was on Twitter for the #MeToo movement and it was one of the first times I actually acknowledged that I was a survivor of sexual assault. First of all, getting the context that it was 1) created by a Black woman and 2) created to center Black women and girls was eye opening for me. It made me think of it in a completely different way as a white person. I think this is a book a lot of white survivors need to read, especially those of us who participated in #MeToo and found it liberating while at the same time it was othering and decentering Black women.

Second, this book was literally life changing. I still struggle with a lot of shame and disgust and this helped me a lot. Despite how incredibly different we are I see my childhood self in Burke's stories and I see my mother and my other loved ones too. I'm sad that we both had to experience these things, but I'm happy that Burke can speak up about it and reach other survivors, especially in a way that does center Black women and girls.

I also LOVE that Burke is open about times she messed up. It feels like she doesn't just preach accountability, she actually lives it. That's disappointingly rare, as she points out several times. I actually ran into a situation where I messed up with one of my friends and this book helped me navigate it in a way that was better for both of us.

Content Warnings

drourick's review

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challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

This is an excellent book. The subject matter is heavy, but so important.

Burke is a great writer. I cried, and even had a few laughs.

This is a necessary read for anyone interested in the origins of Me Too.

Content Warnings

nad_books623's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

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