This collection of stories and poems contains firsthand accounts from women – for the most part from Alberta – who have suffered physical, psychological, and/or sexual abuse from male partners, friends, family members, lovers, and strangers. The impetus for the anthology – as described in the afterword – came from Alberta’s first minister of children’s services, and was organized by the Alberta Council of Women’s Shelters. The honorary patron of the project is Lois Hole, the late lieutenant governor of Alberta, and there is even a story from Colleen Klein, the wife of the current premier. It appears that the rather conservative political infrastructure of Alberta is closely linked to this publication.

Perhaps this is the reason why the entries in this volume – while harrowing, at times brutally honest, and often beautifully written – focus on the women themselves who are (and, it is often implied, should be) responsible for stopping the abuse, getting on with their lives, and who are thankful for no longer having to face it. These are the women who have survived to tell the tale.

However, there is little discussion about the systemic causes of abuse. The words “sexism” and “misogyny” appear nowhere. There are few accounts of women currently in the midst of the horror, or of those who did not get out and died as a result. There is little complaint about the treatment of women by the social services and political system, and no comment on the inability of governments to prevent the abuse or to protect those who suffer from it. All political analysis is lost amid the seeming gratitude of victims who have gone on – albeit bravely and against daunting odds – to create meaningful, healthy lives.

Common themes from each entry are gathered together through the use of chapters that appear to chart the progression of the cycle of violence, from “Let me tell you how bad it was” – note the past tense – to “Where I am now.” We must applaud these women, but question the creators of this project who have seemingly chosen to bypass a deeper analysis of root causes and to focus instead for the most part on the happy-ending stories of some of the survivors.

The volume would have benefited all women – and society in general – more fully if a deeper analysis and a discussion of solutions to these problems had been presented. Then perhaps these stories need never be written again.