Mailbox Monday is a chance to take a look at some of the new books that have arrived in the past week. It’s hosted Here. Take a look at what other gems book bloggers have added, but be prepared to add to your TBR!

Title: Things We Didn’t Talk About When I Was a Girl
Author: Jeannie Vanasco
Genre: Memoir
Published On: October 1, 2019
Publisher: Tin House Books
Pages: 360

Synopsis: Jeannie Vanasco has had the same nightmare since she was a teenager. She startles awake, saying his name. It is always about him: one of her closest high school friends, a boy named Mark. A boy who raped her.

When her nightmares worsen, Jeannie decides—after fourteen years of silence—to reach out to Mark. He agrees to talk on the record and meet in person. “It’s the least I can do,” he says.

Jeannie details her friendship with Mark before and after the assault, asking the brave and urgent question: Is it possible for a good person to commit a terrible act? Jeannie interviews Mark, exploring how rape has impacted his life as well as her own. She examines the language surrounding sexual assault and pushes against its confines, contributing to and deepening the #MeToo discussion.

Exacting and courageous, Things We Didn’t Talk About When I Was a Girl is part memoir, part true crime record, and part testament to the strength of female friendships—a recounting and reckoning that will inspire us to ask harder questions and interrogate our biases. Jeannie Vanasco examines and dismantles long-held myths of victimhood, discovering grace and power in this genre-bending investigation into the trauma of sexual violence.

My thoughts

I was very excited to win this finished copy of Jeannie Vanasco’s memoir from the publisher, Tin House Books, in a Goodreads Giveaway. I’m fully prepared to be overwhelmed, inspired, and amazed by this one.

Let me know if you’ve read this one and what new books you’re excited about!

Happy Wandering!