A Me Too author will tell her story in Coronado on September 30th. When Notes on a Silencing hit bookstores in the summer of 2020, even amidst a global pandemic, it sent shockwaves through the country. Not only did this intimate investigative memoir usher in a media storm of coverage, but it also prompted the elite St. Paul’s School to issue a formal apology to the author, Lacy Crawford, for its handling of her report of sexual assault by two fellow students nearly thirty years ago. Two years later, this acclaimed book sadly continues to have relevance. Whether on the national level, as evidenced by the female gymnasts’ testimony in front of the Senate, or locally with the recent story of a Francis Parker student’s suit against the school for failure to report sexual abuse, this story remains in the headlines.
In this searing book, Crawford tells the story of coming forward during the state investigation of the elite New England prep school decades after her assault, only to find for the first time evidence that corroborated her memories. Here were depictions of the naïve, hardworking girl she’d been, as well as astonishing proof of an institutional silencing. The slander, innuendo, and lack of adult concern Crawford had experienced as a student hadn’t been imagined; they were the actions of a school that prized its reputation above anything, even a child. This revelation launched Crawford on an extraordinary inquiry deep into gender, privilege, and power, and the ways shame and guilt are used to silence victims. Insightful, arresting, and beautifully written, Notes on a Silencing wrestles with an essential question for our time: what telling of a survivor’s story will finally force a remedy?
This is a fundraiser for the Friends of the Library. There is a $40 admission fee, which includes a luncheon and a signed copy of the book.
Please note: This book deals with sexual assault, which could upset some readers.
To register, please visit: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/notes-on-a-silencing-author-talk-with-nyt-notable-author-tickets-169539835211?aff=ebdssbdestsearch
