Denial: A Memoir Of Terror (2010) - Plot & Excerpts
Difficult to read - it is a non-fiction book that describes several rapes - but, I think, an extremely brave and important book. Parts I found particularly interesting:- Jessica Stern's ability to detach herself and remain emotionless in scary situations stems from her childhood rape- pg 215:" 'I am overprotective,' she adds. She tells me about a chess coach her boys had; that she sensed he was a predator. 'I didn't get a good feeling around him,' she says. 'I didn't want the boys to be with him.''How did your husband react to that?' I ask.'He thought I was being overly paranoid,' she says. 'He was dismissive. But I never let my kids be with the chess coach by themselves. They would say, 'Mom, he's not a pedophile.' It turned out that he was. He's now in federal prison.' " Stern is a journalist and expert on terrorism who has walked into some of the hinkiest situations around, simply to interview terrorists and ask them, Why? Why do you do what you do? The book is about her decision to go back into the police reports of her own rape at 15, to explore the facts once again, in the hopes of asking the rapist the same question: why? She never gets to interview him-- he's dead-- but in the process of researching and writing she explores and describes for us her lasting reactions to the trauma. She ultimately comes to the conclusion that he did what he did for the same reasons most terrorists do.
What do You think about Denial: A Memoir Of Terror (2010)?
author's specialization in terrorism stems from her PTSD from teenage rape
—jean
I really enjoyed this book - a very fast read!
—siyilian
