Unbound

In this novel, Tarana Burke gives the reader context for what happened in her life to lead her to founding the Me Too movement. You get to see, as the reader, a strong woman sharing her story of abuse and how she has worked through that over the years. She highlights throughout how sexual violence happens to women everyone without discrimination, but our responses vary widely and discriminately. She has focused her life on helping women and gender non-conforming people get the support they need after something heinous happens to them. It is really beautiful to see how she gets to this point. She doesn't hold back as she talks about her mistakes, her challenges, and her struggles as she gets to where she is today. So many people see activists as these all-knowing beings, but she really shows that she had to learn how to do this just like anyone else. It really made activism seem like an achievable thing instead of something that is too scary. I would ask everyone to read this book. Tarana Burke is a hero, but first she is a human, and she bares her story in this stunning memoir.

TW: sexual assault, sexual violence, rape, physical abuse, emotional abuse, drugs, alcohol