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4.33 AVERAGE
4.33 AVERAGE
Reading stories like these are so devastating, all the more so because they are so common. I hate that I'm not shocked to hear about a school protecting the sexual assaulter and committing violence against the survivor, the pattern seems to never change. Crawford emphasizes that even here, even when women from wealthy or privileged families throw their weight behind a survivor, institutions coalesce to fight for the assaulter, in genuinely disgusting ways. It makes you pause and interrogate what larger systems everything around us truly upholds, regardless of the equality they espouse.
None of what she wrote was surprising, sadly, but it was a well-written memoir and a good read nonetheless.
None of what she wrote was surprising, sadly, but it was a well-written memoir and a good read nonetheless.
Kindle 3.5 stars
As shocking as this story is, I have heard it over and over. What is shocking is that it continues. I think it was supposed to be an uplifting story of a woman who rallied but I feel bogged down in hopelessness. The system is broken and it continues to break girls and women.
As shocking as this story is, I have heard it over and over. What is shocking is that it continues. I think it was supposed to be an uplifting story of a woman who rallied but I feel bogged down in hopelessness. The system is broken and it continues to break girls and women.
It’s appalling how girls can be treated in order to protect a variety of men - from perpetrating boys/men up through the administrators of institutions and attorneys who defend them - in positions of power. Crawford’s story shows how far we still have to go to have equality in treatment and even to feel safe in our own worlds as women.
I cannot really recommend this book, even though it is timely and important, the last third is very good where Lacey carefully details the way St Paul’s not only failed her (after a sexual assault at the school) but actively worked to undermine her. Sad and heart-breaking, another institution destroying the individual for the sake of the institution’s reputation.
Having said that, the first 2/3 of the book are Lacey’s story and suffice to say I wish I would never have read it. One example (of several) she is hounded by a student at the school to have sex with him. Day after day (yeah, he is a dirtbag). Finally she agrees
Having said that, the first 2/3 of the book are Lacey’s story and suffice to say I wish I would never have read it. One example (of several) she is hounded by a student at the school to have sex with him. Day after day (yeah, he is a dirtbag). Finally she agrees
I did openly weep multiple times while reading this book.
So many awful systematic failures this girl endured. And as we find out, not only this girl, but many many other girls as well. What effects me the most is the people who shamed and made her feel like she had to hide the truth — not just the school, but her parents, her doctors, her religious institutions. It’s so heartbreaking how women are told not to tell their stories. Made out to be the villains. Turned into whores and sluts and bitches and all the other terrible things so that boys and men can carry on the systematic abuse.
I am so thankful that Lacy Crawford has finally told her story. I am sick that she had to wait so long.
So many awful systematic failures this girl endured. And as we find out, not only this girl, but many many other girls as well. What effects me the most is the people who shamed and made her feel like she had to hide the truth — not just the school, but her parents, her doctors, her religious institutions. It’s so heartbreaking how women are told not to tell their stories. Made out to be the villains. Turned into whores and sluts and bitches and all the other terrible things so that boys and men can carry on the systematic abuse.
I am so thankful that Lacy Crawford has finally told her story. I am sick that she had to wait so long.
disturbing and very good. quite literary. A great argument for NOT defending institutions!!
This is a courageous story that must be told, although I found it a bit challenging to get through. The book taught me a great deal about how the influence of money, appearances, and status can corrupt institutions, as well as affect our relationships with friends, family, and even ourselves. I used to dream about going to a boarding school and eventually the Ivy League, but this narrative just confirms the crazy amount of corruption and superficiality that is so pervasive at those types of places. I’m glad I missed out on all that.
It would have been 5 stars had the book been in chronological order a little more. At times it was hard to put the pieces together in the right order. But that may be my intellect not being on par with the author's.
Otherwise, it was a great story! I can't imagine what she went through. And I am so thankful for "Alex" and everyone else who helped her survive the following years.
Otherwise, it was a great story! I can't imagine what she went through. And I am so thankful for "Alex" and everyone else who helped her survive the following years.
This book deeply upset me from beginning to end with very little respite. The assault(s) Lacy endured and the criminal silencing that ensued enraged me, especially since Lacy was under the care of an educational institution, a place students should be protected and feel safe.
An important, disturbing read.
An important, disturbing read.