Indelible in the Hippocampus: Writings from the Me Too Movement by Shelly Oria

Indelible in the Hippocampus: Writings from the Me Too Movement Reviews

• 
  Stace

  This anthology is beautifully written by the contributors and wonderfully put together by Shelly Oria. I think I have benefitted from reading it with a little more distance from the initial outpouring of #MeToo, as time and space has made me consider this issue and my place in it.
  
  The contributions are wonderful - fiction, creative nonfiction and poetry which look at different aspects of the movement, including writers telling their stories, as well as commentary on the movement itself. Works like this are always difficult to read, there is so much that rings true in my mind and body that it takes time to read. This is peoples trauma, it is never easy and I applaud the contributors for sharing their stories.
• 
  Glennie

  A difficult, but important read.
  Thank you to all the contributors.
  Hafizah Geter & Elissa Schappel: wow,,,,there are just no words.
  
  I need to quote Karissa Chen: "And now I will wait to see if telling this story, if putting it into words made permanent by ink and paper, will help exorcise the symptoms rushing through my body. I will wait to see if this is how we began to heal our bodies, by airing out what we have forced them to reckon with silently, protectively, alone."
  
  June Jordan's "A Poem about my Rights": "I am not wrong/wrong is not my name"
• 
  Meghan

  A stunning collection of non-fiction, fiction, and poetry by a truly amazing group of writers. Highly recommend.
• 
  Lesley

  A brutally honest and unflinching collection fiction, non-fiction and poetry that addresses the experiences and lasting trauma of survivors of sexual assault. It's definitely a difficult read but all 23 contributions are thoroughly worthwhile and brave.
• 
  Samantha

  This was difficult to read but very much needed. Reading every story knowing that there are stories alike and different that women share but no one story is ever the same truly.
• 
  livresdelaura

  What I LOVED about "Indelible In The Hippocampus: Writings from the Me Too Movement" edited by Shelly Oria:⁣
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  1) This one was a collection of essays and poetry surrounding the #MeToo movement - the title inspiration coming from the testimony of Christine Blasey-Ford. Each essay gave a different experience whether it was from adolescence or outrage at work - this book will give you solace and make you angry. ⁣
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  2) Though this was a difficult read at times, it was incredibly important and cathartic. ⁣
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  3) I found this book to have an incredibly diverse collection of essays and authors and really spoke to how this movement has effected so many different people from all walks of life. ⁣
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  This one should be required reading for anyone looking to learn more about the movement!⁣
• 
  Kacey

  Her Body and Other Parties helped me tremendously in 2016, this helped me on Dec 12th, and maybe after. So often this type of collection, no matter how strong, can be retraumatzing- but for some reason- maybe just my particular self- this collection felt bold and uplifting and honest.
• 
  Brie

  This was an engaging and interesting collection of essays inspired by the #MeToo movement. Definitely worth the read. I am glad I picked up this book.
• 
  Kobi

  This was such a good read. There were so many interesting and creative and profound pieces in this collection. I'd definitely pick this up if you're a fan of Carmen Maria Machado!
• 
  Megan Black

  Great collection of personal writings on the topic of sexual assault. I definitely suggest this for those who are on the outside looking in, trying to understand what being a survivor is like, or what the "big deal" is for people who relate to Christine Blasey Ford. I really think this would be an awesome book for men and boys to read, to help them understand why their and their friends' actions can be so harmful.
  I don't really suggest this book for survivors or people who are close with sexual assault victims. I believe that many of the essays would be triggering instead of insightful. Additionally, I feel like this book-- and the #MeToo Movement-- had more "teeth" before Tara Reade came forward with accusations against Biden. While the forward of the book was very empowering, I do not feel that the editors of the book would rally as harshly against Biden as they did Kavanaugh. That left me feeling a little disheartened and disappointed.
• 
  fanni ann

  this was one of the most difficult reading experiences i ever chose to go through. just reading one story at a time felt too much to bear at points. it filled me with incredible amounts of rage, sadness, hopelessness and physical nausea & anxiety. i cried reading almost every story — out of empathy, out of pure anger.
  simultaneously, it made me feel proud of the writers for sharing their stories for themselves, for this movement and for those who cannot speak out themselves. it made me feel like i am part of something, a revolution eager to take back the control that we lost. the works are incredibly honest, vulnerable and brave. it physically pained me to keep reading, but i knew that it was an uncomfortable but deeply necessary read. as a woman, i find it to be my responsibility to hurt with these women as they would hurt with me.
• 
  alexa

  "And now I wait to see if telling this story, if putting it into words made permanent by ink and paper, will help exorcise the symptoms rushing through my body. I wait to see if this is how we begin to heal our bodies, by airing out what we have forced them to reckon with silently, protectively, alone." (Karissa Chen)
  
  Loved this! Every story was so unique and engaging (and obviously heartbreaking and enraging). Most of these are classified as 'creative nonfiction' and I really liked that style of ""story"" telling. There's also some fiction stories and poetry sprinkled in. I liked how this wasn't trying to teach anything or wasn't clouded with statistics and such. This was simply women's stories.
  
  *Reese Witherspoon voice*: "Women's stories matter."
• 
  Caroline

  3 stars
  
  This collection of poems, creative nonfiction, and fiction about the #MeToo movement and sexual violence is a bit of a mixed bag, but worth a read. One of my least favorite entries was the story from the editor, Oria, and I don't think she edited the collection very successfully, either. It was sometimes jarring to go from a very simplistic poem to a thoroughly-researched experimental essay. But I did really appreciate the diversity of the contributors because I worried going into it that the book would be very White Feminist in vibe.
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  Vanessa Funk

  Definitely a worthwhile read - although I didn’t love all the writing styles, each story was beautifully expressed and I felt for the women who relived their worst times by putting their experiences into words and sharing with the world.
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  Hayden Pyke

  The #metoo movement is so big and devastatingly has had so many voices contribute to it. These are a few more. All of the pieces in this collection are incredible in their own right and add to the movement as a whole.
• 
  Greg

  Excellent topical collection. Could have been an issue of McSweeney’s but either way, important, brave work!
• 
  Katherine

  These are gorgeous, brutal essays about the reality of life for women in America. An important work, and essential reading if you are studying the Me, Too Movement.
• 
  Sara Crocker

  Diverse writing styles and genres, interesting content, a well balanced anthology.
• 
  Audrey Treon

  Incredible. Reading each authors chapter was an emotional, eye opening experience. I recommend this to everyone in my life
• 
  aubs 🥰

  i enjoyed this thoroughly
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  maddie

  difficult read in terms of subject matter but one i would 100% recommend everyone picks up
• 
  Kate

  Devastating and beautifully written, but a heavy trigger warning to those with sexual trauma.
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  Jennifer Stoy

  3.5 stars. Like any collection, there were stronger and weaker entries. And in some ways, I think there's something incredibly important about this kind of personal-is-political, consciousness-raising collection that talks about sexual harassment, rape, assault (all of which we now metonymize with MeToo). At the same time, for some reason it didn't connect with me that deeply and I don't know why. I didn't feel overly shocked or shattered by these grimly normal accounts of harassment, demeaning treatment, and molestation/rape/assault. It felt like a grind toward the end, which I think it's meant to, but it didn't hit me where I think it was supposed to hit.
• 
  Melissa McGowan

  I would have given this book 5 stars but the very last piece in the anthology ruined what would have otherwise been a brilliantly arranged progression of essays and poetry. The diversity of voices and experiences represented here do an excellent job of explaining the zeitgeist of metoo and the continuum of sexual violence that all women and girls experience in degrees. To end this book with a fictional account of a woman turned vigilante serial killer was really disappointing to me.