This logic is inflicted on survivors in many ways, and Gay writes it was a way for her to cope, but that ultimately diminishing her experience “hurt far more than it helped.” Now - post-Weinstein, post-#MeToo - we’ve entered a new era of understanding of how bad it really is, opening a new space for conversations on how to move forward. Not That Bad is the title of the anthology, and it’s also what Gay told herself after she was gang-raped at 12 - that surely, there were others who had it worse. Like Rebecca Solnit's Men Explain Things to Me, Not That Bad will resonate with every reader, saying 'something in totality that we cannot say alone.“I taught myself to be grateful I survived even if survival did not look like much,” Roxane Gay writes in the preface to the new book of essays on rape culture she’s edited. Covering a wide range of topics and experiences, from an exploration of the rape epidemic embedded in the refugee crisis to first-person accounts of child molestation, this collection is often deeply personal and is always unflinchingly honest.

Contributions include essays from established and up-and-coming writers, performers, and critics, including actors Ally Sheedy and Gabrielle Union and writers Amy Jo Burns, Lyz Lenz, Claire Schwartz, and Bob Shacochis. Vogue, '10 of the Most Anticipated Books of Spring 2018' * Harper's Bazaar, '10 New Books to Add to Your Reading List in 2018' * Elle, '21 Books We're Most Excited to Read in 2018' * Boston Globe, '25 books we can't wait to read in 2018' * Huffington Post, '60 Books We Can't Wait to Read in 2018' * Hello Giggles, '19 Books We Can't Wait to Read in 2018' * Buzzfeed, '33 Most Exciting New Books of 2018' In this valuable and revealing anthology, cultural critic and bestselling author Roxane Gay collects original and previously published pieces that address what it means to live in a world where women have to measure the harassment, violence, and aggression they face, and where they are 'routinely second-guessed, blown off, discredited, denigrated, besmirched, belittled, patronized, mocked, shamed, gaslit, insulted, bullied' for speaking out. Summary: New York Times Bestseller Edited and with an introduction by Roxane Gay, the New York Times bestselling and deeply beloved author of Bad Feminist and Hunger, this anthology of first-person essays tackles rape, assault, and harassment head-on.

Not That Bad by Roxane Gay