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m838499's review
4.0
will be leaving a review of this on my bookstagram! https://www.instagram.com/bookswmeg/
itsareaderslife's review
4.0
*AD* I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All views are my own
I first heard about This is How We Come Back Stronger on Twitter and thought it sounded super intriguing, so when And Other Stories contacted me to review this book, I jumped at the chance. I am always trying to find more Feminist texts to read and being set during COVID, I thought this would be a really interesting take on the subject and I was not wrong!
Published on the one year anniversary of lockdown, This is How We Come Back Stronger discusses the impact the pandemic has had on women's rights and the feminist movement. In essays, interviews, fiction and more, the collection brings together women from various backgrounds and experiences to highlight the challenges feminists face in a pandemic and discuss what we can be doing as individuals to ensure that we come back stronger once we come out of lockdown.
There are hundreds of feminists text out there that it is often hard to know where to begin. The reason this collection in particular stood out to me was its marketing point of the pandemic. The lockdown put a halt to a lot of events set to support and empower women, but it also highlighted major issues in society. For many of us, the time at home has given us a chance to reconsider our experience of feminism and what we can be doing to help the cause. This book put all of those feelings into one text. This was especially interesting to me because we are still living this historic moment. For those of us in the UK, we are in lockdown until the end of the month and there are several mentions in the text of how the writers hope we will be on the other side of this by the time the book is published. Of course this has not been the case, and if anything this book has become even more important to us with the events in the news over the past few weeks. This book felt so incredibly current to me and I do not think I have ever had that feeling when reading a book.
This review would be incredibly long if I discussed every chapter, but I wanted to talk about a few that stood out to me. I found 'Domestic Abuse: An Epidemic in a Pandemic' by Jess Phillips a very insightful read because domestic abuse is something that I continually try to educate myself on. Phillips discussed how much more dangerous life has become for domestic abuse victims when they are trapped at home and called for more help to be provided to women's shelters and other resources that help these victims. Another chapter I enjoyed was 'Fifty-Nine Questions' by Jenny Sealey. It brought together all of the questions we have been asking ourselves since the pandemic began. 'Here's Looking at You' by Lauren Bravo was very fitting considering the current news and uproar about sexual harassment while Rosanna Amaka's 'Ping...' offered a little bit of light relief in the shape of a fictional story compared to some of the heavier essays.
It is also important to note that this book looks at intersectional feminism. Intersectional feminism is a relatively new form of feminism for me which I learnt about last year when writing an essay for university on the experience of feminism for immigrant women. Intersectional feminism discusses how some women are disadvantaged first because of their gender and second because of their race. It is an important umbrella of feminism in this modern society where people feel that feminism is too white and does not include them. When writing my essay, I found it difficult to find secondary texts and I wish this novel had been around then for me to use!
I did find this book quite dense in places and difficult to grasp, but that is something I experience a lot when reading non-fiction, particularly when reading such as important topics like feminism. The range of mediums did help break this up a little bit and it was nice to read some fictional tales and poetry in the midst of the essays and interviews. One important thing I wanted to discuss in this review is the use of the word 'womxn'. When I first saw this written in the book, I was confused at what it mean. It is not something I have come across before, so I did some research. I discovered that this is actually a fairly controversial term. The word started as a way to include anybody who identifies as a women, but it is argued that this only perpetuates those differences further by suggesting that these people cannot simply be called 'women'. I agree with this and think it is important to point this out so the Feminist Book Society considers its use of the word in the future.
While I struggled with this text in places, I thought it was a very insightful read that discussed some important political debates relevant to society in a pandemic. I would recommend this book to anybody that is looking to begin their education into feminist and wants something that is perhaps more of the lighter side! Thank you again to And Other Press for gifting me a copy of this book. Let me know in the comments if you will be reading This is How We Come Back Stronger.
I first heard about This is How We Come Back Stronger on Twitter and thought it sounded super intriguing, so when And Other Stories contacted me to review this book, I jumped at the chance. I am always trying to find more Feminist texts to read and being set during COVID, I thought this would be a really interesting take on the subject and I was not wrong!
Published on the one year anniversary of lockdown, This is How We Come Back Stronger discusses the impact the pandemic has had on women's rights and the feminist movement. In essays, interviews, fiction and more, the collection brings together women from various backgrounds and experiences to highlight the challenges feminists face in a pandemic and discuss what we can be doing as individuals to ensure that we come back stronger once we come out of lockdown.
There are hundreds of feminists text out there that it is often hard to know where to begin. The reason this collection in particular stood out to me was its marketing point of the pandemic. The lockdown put a halt to a lot of events set to support and empower women, but it also highlighted major issues in society. For many of us, the time at home has given us a chance to reconsider our experience of feminism and what we can be doing to help the cause. This book put all of those feelings into one text. This was especially interesting to me because we are still living this historic moment. For those of us in the UK, we are in lockdown until the end of the month and there are several mentions in the text of how the writers hope we will be on the other side of this by the time the book is published. Of course this has not been the case, and if anything this book has become even more important to us with the events in the news over the past few weeks. This book felt so incredibly current to me and I do not think I have ever had that feeling when reading a book.
This review would be incredibly long if I discussed every chapter, but I wanted to talk about a few that stood out to me. I found 'Domestic Abuse: An Epidemic in a Pandemic' by Jess Phillips a very insightful read because domestic abuse is something that I continually try to educate myself on. Phillips discussed how much more dangerous life has become for domestic abuse victims when they are trapped at home and called for more help to be provided to women's shelters and other resources that help these victims. Another chapter I enjoyed was 'Fifty-Nine Questions' by Jenny Sealey. It brought together all of the questions we have been asking ourselves since the pandemic began. 'Here's Looking at You' by Lauren Bravo was very fitting considering the current news and uproar about sexual harassment while Rosanna Amaka's 'Ping...' offered a little bit of light relief in the shape of a fictional story compared to some of the heavier essays.
It is also important to note that this book looks at intersectional feminism. Intersectional feminism is a relatively new form of feminism for me which I learnt about last year when writing an essay for university on the experience of feminism for immigrant women. Intersectional feminism discusses how some women are disadvantaged first because of their gender and second because of their race. It is an important umbrella of feminism in this modern society where people feel that feminism is too white and does not include them. When writing my essay, I found it difficult to find secondary texts and I wish this novel had been around then for me to use!
I did find this book quite dense in places and difficult to grasp, but that is something I experience a lot when reading non-fiction, particularly when reading such as important topics like feminism. The range of mediums did help break this up a little bit and it was nice to read some fictional tales and poetry in the midst of the essays and interviews. One important thing I wanted to discuss in this review is the use of the word 'womxn'. When I first saw this written in the book, I was confused at what it mean. It is not something I have come across before, so I did some research. I discovered that this is actually a fairly controversial term. The word started as a way to include anybody who identifies as a women, but it is argued that this only perpetuates those differences further by suggesting that these people cannot simply be called 'women'. I agree with this and think it is important to point this out so the Feminist Book Society considers its use of the word in the future.
While I struggled with this text in places, I thought it was a very insightful read that discussed some important political debates relevant to society in a pandemic. I would recommend this book to anybody that is looking to begin their education into feminist and wants something that is perhaps more of the lighter side! Thank you again to And Other Press for gifting me a copy of this book. Let me know in the comments if you will be reading This is How We Come Back Stronger.
thebooksylibrary's review
5.0
Easily a book that could be recommended to any female you know. The various essays depicting the impact the Covid crisis has had on various women - women who are the victims of domestic violence, women who are the victims of racism, sexism who when the crisis hit were silenced yet again. This book gives these women a voice, a platform to shout from the rooftops again that our voice will be heard.
A very powerful book that I highly recommend
A very powerful book that I highly recommend
mollyxroses's review against another edition
dark
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.75
livsliterarynook's review
5.0
This book has contributions from many Feminist writers some I'd heard of and some I had not. Some of the writers include: Laura Bates, Layla Saad, Lisa Taddeo, Kate Moss, Fatima Bhutto, Rosanna Amaka, Geok-lin Lim and Yomi Adegoke.
The various contributions come in different forms from essays, poetry, interviews, short stories and more. So something to please everyone, but predominantly it's a non-fiction piece.
Some of the contributions centre more specifically on the impact of the pandemic, other writers focus on things they've come to realise through lockdown or how lockdown has only highlighted previous inequalities even more.
It's a brilliantly diverse collection of feminist writers and includes black, queer, disabled, non-binary, transgender and latinx writers. There were some contributions which I found stronger than others, however, this book spoke of challenge, of calling out, of being an ally, of thinking about our own actions and words and gave me a lot to think about.
The various contributions come in different forms from essays, poetry, interviews, short stories and more. So something to please everyone, but predominantly it's a non-fiction piece.
Some of the contributions centre more specifically on the impact of the pandemic, other writers focus on things they've come to realise through lockdown or how lockdown has only highlighted previous inequalities even more.
It's a brilliantly diverse collection of feminist writers and includes black, queer, disabled, non-binary, transgender and latinx writers. There were some contributions which I found stronger than others, however, this book spoke of challenge, of calling out, of being an ally, of thinking about our own actions and words and gave me a lot to think about.
sameerareads's review
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
lauraareads's review
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
Okay, I LOVED this.
This is a an extremely impactful collection of essays written by a diverse group of intersectional feminists. It really made me stop and think, reflect on what I am doing as a feminist and how I can be louder and more inclusive. Whilst the issues raised in these essays have been around for years and years (domestic violence, harassment, racism, ableism and so much more), it highlights how heightened they have become as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
I really enjoyed the different formats in here too: essays, sort stories, poetry and interviews. Also, there is a list of book recommendations from each writer, which I appreciated. It really added to the reading experience.
Overall, this was very powerful book that I would recommend to everyone, everybody can learn something from this.
Thank you to the publishers for my proof copy in exchange for an honest review!
This is a an extremely impactful collection of essays written by a diverse group of intersectional feminists. It really made me stop and think, reflect on what I am doing as a feminist and how I can be louder and more inclusive. Whilst the issues raised in these essays have been around for years and years (domestic violence, harassment, racism, ableism and so much more), it highlights how heightened they have become as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
I really enjoyed the different formats in here too: essays, sort stories, poetry and interviews. Also, there is a list of book recommendations from each writer, which I appreciated. It really added to the reading experience.
Overall, this was very powerful book that I would recommend to everyone, everybody can learn something from this.
Thank you to the publishers for my proof copy in exchange for an honest review!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Domestic abuse
More...