This Is How We Come Back Stronger: Feminist Writers on Turning Crisis into Change by Feminist Book Society

This Is How We Come Back Stronger: Feminist Writers on Turning Crisis into Change Reviews

• 
  Laura

  Okay, I LOVED this.
  This is a an extremely impactful collection of essays written by a diverse group of intersectional feminists. It really made me stop and think, reflect on what I am doing as a feminist and how I can be louder and more inclusive. Whilst the issues raised in these essays have been around for years and years (domestic violence, harassment, racism, ableism and so much more), it highlights how heightened they have become as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
  I really enjoyed the different formats in here too: essays, sort stories, poetry and interviews. Also, there is a list of book recommendations from each writer, which I appreciated. It really added to the reading experience.
  Overall, this was very powerful book that I would recommend to everyone, everybody can learn something from this.
  
  Thank you to the publishers for my proof copy in exchange for an honest review!
• 
  Deborah Siddoway

  This will be a long review. But the upshot, is that this book is nothing more than an opportunity wasted. I began trying to curate my thoughts about this book when I began reading it. I found it a near impossible task, as so much of this book incensed me to an almost raging fireball of fury. But first, a bit of background to put this review into context. I am a divorced, single parent, nearing fifty years old, university educated, having had a professional career. This is a book that should be speaking to me. As to the book itself, it was curated by the Feminist Book Society and published in the UK by And Other Stories, an independent publisher based in Sheffield, while in the US it was published by The Feminist Press. The blurb was that it was written by feminist writers on how the current crisis the world was facing could be turned into change. I ordered it through the UK publisher during lockdown and waited for it to be delivered by one of the many key workers that kept us all going during these strange and lonely times. I was really looking forward to beginning the book, hoping that the particular and specific issues facing women during the pandemic would be explored. On a personal level, I was already dealing with some of those issues as a divorced parent of two teenage boys: trying to keep them motivated to homeschool, trying to find a scrap of positivity amidst the debris of cancelled exams, trying to form a defensive shield around their increasing feelings of purposelessness, all the while dealing with my own sense of isolation, inertia and increasing anxiety.
  
  But when the book arrived in the post, it was as though I was hit with a cannonball of contempt and a huge fiery blast of anger exploded in my chest. Why? Because they sent it with a postcard proclaiming that the fight for transgender equality is a feminist cause. My first thought: ‘You have got to be fucking kidding me.’ I wanted a book with a powerful statement about women’s rights, and the peculiar challenges we face during the Covid pandemic. What I did not want is a political statement effectively guilting women into thinking that they should fight for the rights of what seems to be predominantly males who choose to identify as women. Why is it women’s responsibility to fight for this? And while we're at it, can someone please explain to me what the hell transgender is without reverting to "feelings" of wanting to put on a dress and lipstick, or play with dolls. I really thought we'd moved past these regressive sexist stereotypes that have proven to be so limiting for women.
  
  In many ways, it is a shame my view of the book was coloured by that wretched postcard. Because, the first three pieces are excellent, and really spoke to me about what it was to face this pandemic as a woman. It also captures this unique moment of history, sharing the individual perspective of authors, while at the same time, it is almost as if each piece is simply a mirror reflecting back at the reader our own experience of the pandemic, with all of the other issues and global events that seem to have come with it, everything from the #BLM movement growing as a response to the murder of George Floyd, the clapping for the NHS and the great toilet paper shortage of 2020.
  
  I was particularly moved by the interview with Laura Bates, who founded the Everyday Sexism project, because what shines through in every response that she gave is that sex matters. Women are disproportionately bearing the brunt of lockdowns. Yet at the same time, the questions she was asked, were framed with the word ‘women’ replaced with ‘womxn’, as if the word ‘women’ has somehow become inappropriate or dirty. Did Laura ask for it to be written that way? If not, why did some editor choose to do so. What is wrong with naming women for who we are?
  
  The thing is, of the first three pieces all the authors know what a woman is. They might not say so, but they don’t need to. Because they know. They know that there are specific challenges facing women, and how devastating this pandemic has been for women’s progress towards greater equality in all aspects of life. And unfortunately, as the book progressed, with only one or two exceptions, it just got to the point where it was bordering on unreadable dross, with far too much self-absorbed naval gazing, while wagging the finger at women for not placing the needs of everybody else first.
  
  Let's talk about the highlights first. Catherine Cho's piece is remarkable, and it is shame it gets lost in amongst the rest. It simply shines as a stand-alone piece, and it deserves to be read, and seen. The strength and power of her voice was a well-needed antidote to the antipathy I was sliding into as I tried to get through the rest of the book. Gina Miller's piece too was superb. Dorothy Koomson's piece is also excellent, and actually speaks to what, at heart the book was trying to do - actually propose a solution to how we come back stronger. Lisa Taddeo's piece is striking - and honest.
  
  But as to the rest, it either had me indifferent or utterly fuming. Fox Fisher's piece - the absolute word salad of a title of Trans Rights are Women's Rights Are Trans Rights, in which Fisher self-describes as a 'brown queer trans feminist' (another word salad, and I am not entirely sure what they are). In the piece Fisher moans about anti-queer sentiment (without defining what queer means), anti-trans protestors (particularly those at the 2018 pride march where lesbians protested against their erasure by trans-activism), before claiming that there is a false narrative being spun that transgender rights are in direct opposition to the safety of women and girls. But there is no evidentiary base to support this claim - WHAT MAKES IT A FALSE NARRATIVE FOX? It is clear to any woman seeing more and more intrusion by males into women's spaces and services that there is a conflict. Our spaces and services are being colonised. You call it being inclusive, but we see it as being intrusive. This, and the fact that Fisher misrepresents the import and intent of the Equality Act, relies on the evidence of the lobby group Stonewall, and then argues that abusive men pretending to be women is nothing more than a myth (hello? remember Karen White) makes their piece in this book nothing more (and a reminder this is not an academic review but my personal opinion), than self-indulgent twaddle. The publishers in effect gave Fisher a soapbox on which to preach to women - the very women it was supposed to be supporting as they struggled through the pandemic. Let me say, on behalf of all those women who were working from home while homeschooling, just fuck off. It is not our job to fight for you. It is not a feminist cause. (I haven't even begun to talk about the almost complete erasure of working-class women from this piece, but there is only so much dross I can contend with). Oh, and the whole wrong side of history argument... I study history. I know which 'side' I would rather be on, and that is the side recognises that the modern concept of gender is one which does nothing more than than reinforce systemic sexist stereotypes that prop up the patriarchy.
  
  The book should also hang its head in shame for demonising JK Rowling through the mouthpiece of a 'genderfluid cis white lesbian' who attempts to shame Rowling for the effect that her words would 'inevitably have on trans people's well-being,' before pontificating about a lack of empathy.
  
  It is so frustrating to have to write this review. This book could have been so much. It could have given much needed hope and inspiration to the army of women who were working from home, while homeschooling, wondering how they were going to keep their bored and restless children from sinking into ever further despair as the world around them descended into crisis. This is not a feminist book to be celebrated. Like much that was taken from our lives as the pandemic raged, it was yet another opportunity lost.
• 
  Emma

  *AD* I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All views are my own
  
  I first heard about This is How We Come Back Stronger on Twitter and thought it sounded super intriguing, so when And Other Stories contacted me to review this book, I jumped at the chance. I am always trying to find more Feminist texts to read and being set during COVID, I thought this would be a really interesting take on the subject and I was not wrong!
  
  Published on the one year anniversary of lockdown, This is How We Come Back Stronger discusses the impact the pandemic has had on women's rights and the feminist movement. In essays, interviews, fiction and more, the collection brings together women from various backgrounds and experiences to highlight the challenges feminists face in a pandemic and discuss what we can be doing as individuals to ensure that we come back stronger once we come out of lockdown.
  
  There are hundreds of feminists text out there that it is often hard to know where to begin. The reason this collection in particular stood out to me was its marketing point of the pandemic. The lockdown put a halt to a lot of events set to support and empower women, but it also highlighted major issues in society. For many of us, the time at home has given us a chance to reconsider our experience of feminism and what we can be doing to help the cause. This book put all of those feelings into one text. This was especially interesting to me because we are still living this historic moment. For those of us in the UK, we are in lockdown until the end of the month and there are several mentions in the text of how the writers hope we will be on the other side of this by the time the book is published. Of course this has not been the case, and if anything this book has become even more important to us with the events in the news over the past few weeks. This book felt so incredibly current to me and I do not think I have ever had that feeling when reading a book.
  
  This review would be incredibly long if I discussed every chapter, but I wanted to talk about a few that stood out to me. I found 'Domestic Abuse: An Epidemic in a Pandemic' by Jess Phillips a very insightful read because domestic abuse is something that I continually try to educate myself on. Phillips discussed how much more dangerous life has become for domestic abuse victims when they are trapped at home and called for more help to be provided to women's shelters and other resources that help these victims. Another chapter I enjoyed was 'Fifty-Nine Questions' by Jenny Sealey. It brought together all of the questions we have been asking ourselves since the pandemic began. 'Here's Looking at You' by Lauren Bravo was very fitting considering the current news and uproar about sexual harassment while Rosanna Amaka's 'Ping...' offered a little bit of light relief in the shape of a fictional story compared to some of the heavier essays.
  
  It is also important to note that this book looks at intersectional feminism. Intersectional feminism is a relatively new form of feminism for me which I learnt about last year when writing an essay for university on the experience of feminism for immigrant women. Intersectional feminism discusses how some women are disadvantaged first because of their gender and second because of their race. It is an important umbrella of feminism in this modern society where people feel that feminism is too white and does not include them. When writing my essay, I found it difficult to find secondary texts and I wish this novel had been around then for me to use!
  
  I did find this book quite dense in places and difficult to grasp, but that is something I experience a lot when reading non-fiction, particularly when reading such as important topics like feminism. The range of mediums did help break this up a little bit and it was nice to read some fictional tales and poetry in the midst of the essays and interviews. One important thing I wanted to discuss in this review is the use of the word 'womxn'. When I first saw this written in the book, I was confused at what it mean. It is not something I have come across before, so I did some research. I discovered that this is actually a fairly controversial term. The word started as a way to include anybody who identifies as a women, but it is argued that this only perpetuates those differences further by suggesting that these people cannot simply be called 'women'. I agree with this and think it is important to point this out so the Feminist Book Society considers its use of the word in the future.
  
  While I struggled with this text in places, I thought it was a very insightful read that discussed some important political debates relevant to society in a pandemic. I would recommend this book to anybody that is looking to begin their education into feminist and wants something that is perhaps more of the lighter side! Thank you again to And Other Press for gifting me a copy of this book. Let me know in the comments if you will be reading This is How We Come Back Stronger.
• 
  Lucy

  I was so lucky to be on a @tandemcollectiveuk readalong for this amazing book. It honestly changed how I see things.
  
  It’s a series of essays, fiction and poems from some incredible womxn discussing the events of 2020. Last year was such a hard year for me and it was really compelling to see how other people got through it. The authors are so diverse which makes it super interesting to see from other perspectives.
  
  There were some topics that are quite hard to read, and learning about the statistics of domestic abuse was heartbreaking. I found some of these hard to read, so definitely putting a trigger warning on these. But it is such an important topic to read and learn about.
  
  It also taught me that what I’m doing is not enough, and encouraged me to be a more active feminist - fighting for everyone and kicking the god damn door right open.
  
  A powerful book that I urge you to read! It is out now and 20% of the price goes to Women’s Aid and Imkaan. Read read read.
  
  
  
• 
  sameera

  in a mix of essays, poetry, short fiction and interviews, 40 intersectional feminist writers from the US and UK reflect on transformative change + inequality during the pandemic so far, the harms of white feminism, the significance of grassroots + collective action and the rethinking of a new world that centres joy and human value. although i didn’t enjoy every single contribution and thought some were stronger than others, it was overall both validating and enlightening to read about how women have experienced the pandemic + lockdown in different ways.
  
  i think it is also important to mention that despite drawing from a diverse pool of perspectives, the voices of women outside of North America/the UK are absent from the collection, and as Shirley Geok-lin Lim aptly explains in her essay, this also speaks to broader issues of mainstream liberal feminism being restricted to Western/Anglophone women.
  
  some of my favourite contributions: Francesca Martinez explores the intersections of capitalism, ableism and patriarchal systems. Fatima Bhutto reflects on the legacies of past liberation movements and the lessons for current/future social justice movements. Sarah Eagle Heart advocates for the centering of traditional indigenous values and knowledge in future calls for change, reflecting on the importance of collective duty in Lakota culture. Lauren Bravo writes a hard-hitting and resonant piece on the frequent harassment and misogyny faced by women in public spaces.
• 
  Moonbell

  4/5 instead of a full 5 stars simply because (as is the case with most collections of this kind) some are just bound to miss the mark for me, but that's largely a case of personal preference and it's still a great read.
  
  It's always great to see a book collecting the thoughts of such diverse, bright women, but it's especially needed now.
  Foolishly, I did somehow expect a guide on how to "come back stronger" or something. I'd love a roadmap of sorts, but of course while that would be very simple and easy, things are never that simple and easy. The next best thing we can have is hearing from all these amazing women and being given a glimpse of their own search for how to come back stronger.
  In fact, while there is no one-size-fits-all way to come back stronger, there's a great comfort in reading this book and feeling a kinship with most of the writers, it's soothing to hear the thoughts you're having in a global pandemic echoed back, to know you're not alone. Perhaps coming back stronger is precisely in this kinship.
• 
  Sophia Flynn

  This was such an incredible book, it really hooked my attention. This collection is essays was written by women from so many different groups (black, Asian, LGBT, ect) which was really insightful about all their different experiences. The essays were very well written with a real focus on inclusivity for everyone and it really focussed on the challenges all sorts of women face today as well as the opportunities and what can be done to help. I really enjoyed how it focussed on going forward as well and it really was about this fight together.
  
  At the end as well the writers all share books that inspired them as well which will be quite interesting to read into later.
• 
  Amanda Rosso

  Diverse, funny, thoughtful, witty and thorough, this collection of essays narrates the times we're living through without rhetoric or doctrine, but nurturing and fostering conversations about feminism(s) and its possibilities, empathy, hope, anger and imagination.
• 
  Andréa

  Note: I accessed a digital review copy of this book through Edelweiss.
• 
  Emmaby Barton Grace

  4.5. i impulse bought this as some retail therapy lol but i ended up enjoying it a lot more than i expected and am glad i picked it up!! also interesting to read about the events of 2020
• 
  Holly (honestly.holly)

  3.75 stars
  
  Not much in here that I hadn't heard before, and not everything felt relevant to the theme of the book. But some great essays in here still.
• 
  Liv

  This book has contributions from many Feminist writers some I'd heard of and some I had not. Some of the writers include: Laura Bates, Layla Saad, Lisa Taddeo, Kate Moss, Fatima Bhutto, Rosanna Amaka, Geok-lin Lim and Yomi Adegoke.
  
  The various contributions come in different forms from essays, poetry, interviews, short stories and more. So something to please everyone, but predominantly it's a non-fiction piece.
  
  Some of the contributions centre more specifically on the impact of the pandemic, other writers focus on things they've come to realise through lockdown or how lockdown has only highlighted previous inequalities even more.
  
  It's a brilliantly diverse collection of feminist writers and includes black, queer, disabled, non-binary, transgender and latinx writers. There were some contributions which I found stronger than others, however, this book spoke of challenge, of calling out, of being an ally, of thinking about our own actions and words and gave me a lot to think about.
• 
  megan

  will be leaving a review of this on my bookstagram!
  https://www.instagram.com/bookswmeg/