Thursday, August 30, 2018

You Don't Have to Say You Love Me

You Don't Have to Say You Love MeYou Don't Have to Say You Love Me, by Sherman Alexie

I've put this review off long enough.

I listened to Alexie's memoir at the beginning of the year, and I cried all the way through it, along with him. The book is a beautiful, painful tribute to his mom and his incredibly complicated relationship with her. I couldn't wait to put it the very top of my "Top Reads of 2018" list.

He shared deep, difficult revelations about rape and sexual abuse throughout his family history, including his own abuse. Since his mother died, Alexie had been seeing signs of his mother wherever he went...in fact, he cancelled his book tour because it was so traumatic for him.

And then, before I had gotten around to writing my book review, the news broke. At least 10 women writers accused Alexie of sexual harassment, many of them Native women. Worse, he took advantage of the privilege he had as the preeminent Native writer. He actually forced his affections on women in exchange for supporting their work through reviews and endorsements...all the while presenting himself as an advocate for Native writers. Tragically, Native women are 2.5 times more likely to be sexually assaulted than other American women, and they have experienced a legacy of abuse (which  Alexie wrote about). He is the worst kind of hypocrisy.

Sadly, I am on a two-year run of reading great nonfiction by men who would turn out to be abusers or harassers. Last year it was Al Franken (and no, I do not equate what these two men have been accused of doing...but they are both hypocrites). I hope I can break this unfortunate run in 2019! So disappointed in Sherman Alexie.

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