Product Description

The subject of rape has long been 'unspeakable' and remains one of the most controversial and emotionally charged issues for society. For Nancy Venable Raine, second only to the soul-breaking burden of her rape at 39 was the silence that shrouded it, a silence born of her own feelings of shame and the incomprehension of others. She uses the redemptive power of language to lift the silence that is rape's legacy and to promote an understanding of the stigma that haunts rape's survivors. Using wide-ranging sources from literature, mythology, psychology and feminist theory, she exposes the complicated damage and response caused by rape. Like William Styron's book on depression, this should become the definitive work on the effects and recovery of rape, so intelligently and beautifully is it written.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #98256 in Books
• Published on: 2000-01-20
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 288 pages

Review
'Raine's dignity shines through this brave and moving book ... she brings to her account a gentle eloquence that unfolds layers of meaning, cultural, psychological and even mythical' TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT 'Raine is a rare spirit and gifted writer and this is a devastating book. Her probing of the appalling burden of shame is both shattering and intelligent' JULIE MYERSON, MIAIL ON SUNDAY 'There are few first-person accounts of the experience of being sexually pillaged and its aftermath. AFTER SILENCE is one of the first and, I would wager, it is always going to be one of the best ... a book that dignifies the human spirit. It should be read by everyone' NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW 'A starkly candid memoir of personal trauma and an ingenious literary discussion of an all-too-often unspeakable crime' PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

Publishers Weekly
'A starkly candid memoir of personal trauma and an ingenious literary discussion of an all too often unspeakable crime'

About the Author
Nancy Venable Raine is a poet and essayist whose work has appeared in The New York Tines Magazine, Southern Poetry Review, The Women's Review of Books and other publications.

Customer Reviews

Truly an uplifting and positive book
Truly an uplifting and positive book, a fantastic achievement by Nancy Venable Raine. The way that she talks about how she overcame the trauma of rape, truly enables people who have also suffered this form of assault to get their lives back. Her insights into the emotional fall-out of rape victims rings very true, in a sensitive way. But, not only does she discuss the way rape victims react to their experience, she also deals with how others may react to someone they know being raped, (the chapter The Woman in the Amber Necklace demonstrates this in quite a stark way, resulting in making the reader consider how they would react in a similar situation). Therefore this book is not only for victims of rape, but also those who may be a relative of a rape victim, or for someone who wishes to learn how to be more understanding of rape victims. I highly reccomend this book. It addresses many issues and makes you consider your own prejudices.

An awe inspiring book
This book is mind-blowing! Nancy Venables Raine writes about her rape and the affect that it had, and continues to have on her life. She writes with feeling and with conviction. She helps you to understand what someone who has been raped goes through. She is clear when she is writing about the worst thing that could happen to someone.
The book has statistics in that will frighten and astound you. But not too many that you will be put off reading more. It will make you realise that this henious crime is committed far more often than is realised. It will make you realise that the aftermath continues for a long, long time. Whilst she has learned to live with what happened to her, she does not make anyone who has experienced the same who is reading the book feel that they are wrong in feeling whatever they are feeling. It is an encouragement and almost a comfort.
I bought this book to "help" me after I was raped. She made me feel that whilst my experiences were different to hers, some of the reactions are similar and just as devastating. I lent this book to friends to assist them in understanding what had happened to me and how I felt. It also blew their minds away.
I would ask that anyone who reads this book thinks about the crime and to ensure that you are NEVER the "woman with the Amber necklace".

Brilliantly insightful!
This is a book for everyone to read, not just victims of rape and their friends/relatives.

Nancy Raine gives a very detailed account of the emotional/mental/physical aftermath of rape. She dispels many myths that exist, that help to shroud the topic of rape in silence, and looks critically at the cultural context of rape and how it is perceived by the general public.

The language is superbly handled, and the reader is totally transported into the author's life story, and how she came to tell it.

Nancy Raine firmly places the crime of rape under the heading of 'violence' not 'sexual' and explains many of the misunderstandings around the way language is used, which enhances the victim's distress instead of helping her to come to terms with it.

It's an eye-opening, very accessible text that everyone should read, in order to learn more about themselves, society and victims of rape.