SEXUAL ASSAULT AND LITERATURE Story by Deja Magee / Photography by Logan Bik
Sexual assault is a difficult topic to discuss and an even harder topic to discuss in terms of recounting an experience on paper. Sometimes the words writers put down capture the essence of their traumatic encounters so well they evoke a cathartic reaction from readers. This is a collection of six books that truly capture and tackle the real world issues of sexual assault and abuse that plague women on a daily basis.
BLOOD WATER PAINT by Joy McCullough
“Blood Water Paint” is a period piece set in early 17th century Rome that follows the story of real-life historical figure 17-yearold Artemisia Gentileschi. Her father is a not-so-great Renaissance painter and she completes the paintings that he will never finish. However, in a society that is centrally maledriven, Artemisia is a great painter who gets no credit. One day, when her father hires Agostino Tassi to teach the young girl about perspective, he seduces her and rapes her. After the traumatic experience, she is faced with the choice of either living in silence or living in her own truth, no matter what the consequences are.
THE FALL OF INNOCENCE by Jenny Torres Sanchez
In a story about the lasting impact of assault, Jenny Sanchez writes about the story of Emilia DeJesus, a 16-year-old girl who has tried her best to move on from being sexually assaulted in the woods behind her elementary school eight years prior. It isn’t until, one day, there’s a discovery of who her attacker is that she finally has to come to terms about what happened to her.
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SPEAK by Laurie Halse Anderson
“Speak” is a trauma novel written by Laurie Halse Anderson in 1999. The novel tells the story of Melinda Sordino, a high school freshman who called the police while she was at an end of the summer party. However, because she won’t tell anyone about what happened that night, she is, in turn, ostracized by everyone in her class. She soon stops talking altogether, with the only way of articulating what happened being the art she creates in her art class. This story was developed from Anderson’s own experience and trauma with being raped as a teenager.
THE NOWHERE GIRLS by Amy Lynn Reed
A 2017 novel about three outcasted girls who try and avenge a local girl who was raped and then run out of town by the citizens, and through the story, make a change in their town’s misogynistic culture and transform the lives of their peers around them. The story follows friends Grace Salter, Rosina Suarez, and Erin Delillo in this relevant young adult drama.
GOOD AND GONE by Megan Frazer Blakemore
“Good and Gone” follows the gripping story of Lexi Green, a teenager that goes on the road with her brother Charlie to find a musician that he idolizes. While on the road, Lexi finally takes the time to see what her shortwinded romance with her ex-boyfriend Seth actually was: a toxic relationship where she was manipulated, isolated and raped. As the road trip progresses, each of the teens uncover the darkest secrets that they keep within them.
THINGS WE HAVEN’T SAID: SEXUAL VIOLENCE SURVIORS SPEAK OUT by Erin E. Moulton
“Things We Haven’t Said” is a collection of essays, letters, poems, interviews, etc. depicting sexual assault between adults who have had tramautic encounters as young teens and children. It’s an anthology that tries to tackle the triggering topic of sexual abuse in a way that can engage readers and make them critcially think about these distinct situations.
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