Notes on a Silencing by Lacy Crawford

Hey friends!

Today I'd like to talk about an eARC I recently read for a memoir called Notes on a Silence by Lacy Crawford. I received the book from NetGalley and Little, Brown in exchange for an honest review. I'd like to make this more of a discussion of the book than a review because this book is a memoir of heavy circumstances in the author's life. I rated the book 4 stars on Goodreads only because I want to remember that this was a well-written book that I'd like to return to, but not on my favorites list, not because of any judgment I have on the story Crawford put to paper. This book is already in bookstores if you are interested in reading it. Please note that this book is about a sexual assault of a teenager and the subsequent cover-up, as well as mental health and I will be mentioning that in the rest of this post.

Goodreads

Synopsis:

Recently, the St. Paul's School in New Hampshire has come under fire for ignoring and covering up abuse and assault that happened systematically on its campus. At that time, Lacy Crawford decided to come forward and tell her story about being sexually assaulted on campus and how the school handled it. This memoir tells this story, but also how the school affected her in other ways and was a formative, but not positive, force in her life.

Discussion:

As you may have guessed from the synopsis of this book, this is a very heavy book. However, I do think Crawford dealt with the very heavy subject matter gracefully, getting her story and points across in a nuanced way. The emotions in this book were raw. I am glad Crawford finally felt comfortable revealing her story because what happened to her needs more attention drawn to it. The horror that the school put her through is despicable and needs to be known to the world.

In addition, I liked how much Crawford talked about her mental health. I found her feelings with her depression to be very relatable. Her strive to be perfect and not make a fuss is something I have dealt with in the past, and it was validating to me to see her standing up for herself and where she has gone with it.

I would recommend this book if you are comfortable reading a book with heavier topics and want to know more about the abuses of power in academia.

Have you read any books that bring light to difficult topics lately? I'd love to talk in the comments.

Kyra