Shout by Laurie Halse Anderson

Title: Shout
Author: Laurie Halse Anderson
Publisher: Viking Books
Publication date: March 12, 2019
Pages: 304
Source/format: e-ARC from Penguin Random House

Rating: ☆☆☆☆☆

Synopsis (from goodreads.com):

A searing poetic memoir and call to action from the bestselling and award-winning author of Speak, Laurie Halse Anderson!

Bestselling author Laurie Halse Anderson is known for the unflinching way she writes about, and advocates for, survivors of sexual assault. Now, inspired by her fans and enraged by how little in our culture has changed since her groundbreaking novel Speak was first published twenty years ago, she has written a poetry memoir that is as vulnerable as it is rallying, as timely as it is timeless. In free verse, Anderson shares reflections, rants, and calls to action woven between deeply personal stories from her life that she's never written about before. Searing and soul-searching, this important memoir is a denouncement of our society's failures and a love letter to all the people with the courage to say #metoo and #timesup, whether aloud, online, or only in their own hearts. Shout speaks truth to power in a loud, clear voice-- and once you hear it, it is impossible to ignore.

M Y  T H O U G H T S

After Speak was published 20 years ago, Laurie Halse Anderson comes out with Shout, a book written in free verse prose during this #MeToo movement. The contents in the book contain some of Anderson's most exposed moments and thoughts in her life. Anderson has been one of my favorite authors since I first read Speak about 15 plus years ago when I was a teenager. She writes about real life issues that many can relate to. Anderson doesn't sugar coat anything. She writes with absolute candor.

The prose is swift and to the point. It describes the feelings at a time when someone is the most vulnerable. However, these reflections breathe hope and confidence to voice out Anderson has to say. These rants and calls to action need to be heard. There is no backing down. There is no hiding. There is no turning back. She lets society know that she has been violated against her will. The truth needs to be heard.

The first part is more focused on reflection in Anderson's memoir. She tells the story of her life as she grows up and what she endures during her childhood into adulthood. She tells the readers how she has been defiled and has been taken advantage of so many times in her life. The second part hones in with Anderson connecting with other survivors and about others' stories. The third part describes a little bit about Anderson's family history and a thank you for listening. The formatting of the writing is the perfect way to convey Anderson's deepest secrets. The short poems are more powerful because Anderson has control over how she wants the layout of the words to look like. Layout communicates a lot of meaning beyond words. The pace ramps up the more pages you read. It starts softly like a spoken whisper and shifts into a raging shout. There is power in a voice. From speaking out to shouting. Everyone needs to be heard!

"First Blood" is one of the most powerful poems in the memoir. Anderson talks about what was the norm and what was legal in 1972. Today in 2019, many of things are illegal, falling under Title IX. Our society is changing, changing better for the lives of everyone.

Shout, an empowering memoir is poetic, harrowing and uplifting at the same time. It's about how to advocate for yourself and others who went through similar situations. It makes you think about how many people who have been denied basic human rights. I encourage everyone to read Shout and Anderson's debut book, Speak. I also recommend reading The Impossible Knife of Memory, which is also by Anderson. The Impossible Knife of Memory centers around Hayley and Hayley's father who has PTSD.

Warning: There are instances of domestic violence, assault, PTSD, alcoholism, rape and substance abuse in this memoir.