Sexual Harassment & Violence

We've carefully curated a Collection of titles that center the experiences and impacts of Sexual Harassment & Violence. Representing a broad range of voices and genres, these titles explore the personal and social effects of violation through violence and sexual harassment through literary forms that include memoirs, poetry, and fiction.

American Psycho

by Bret Easton Ellis

Publication year 1991

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Economics, Social Class

Tags Satirical Literature, Horror & Suspense, Psychological Fiction, Dramatic Literature, Trauma & Abuse, Mystery & Crime Fiction, American Literature, Modern Classic Fiction, Classic Fiction

American Psycho is a 1991 novel by American author Bret Easton Ellis. Set in 1980s New York, the novel follows the life of a wealthy young stockbroker, the novel’s narrator, Patrick Bateman. Surrounded by a world of vapid commercialism and empty excess, Bateman begins acting on his psychopathic thoughts and impulses. His disturbance begins in his imagination. However, it quickly bleeds over into reality with Bateman committing more and more horrific murders, fueled by drug... Read American Psycho Summary

Among the Impostors

by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Publication year 2001

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Fear, Childhood & Youth, Safety & Danger

Tags Science Fiction, Horror & Suspense, Children`s Literature, Symbolic Narrative, Bullying, Trauma & Abuse, Relationships, Fantasy, Action & Adventure

Margaret Peterson Haddix’s Among the Impostors is the second book in the Shadow Children series, following Among the Hidden. The titles published after Among the Impostors are Among the Betrayed, Among the Barons, Among the Brave, Among the Enemy, and Among the Free. Haddix is also the author of several other books for young adults and has won several awards for her work. They include the Reading Association Children’s Book Award, ALA Best Books for... Read Among the Impostors Summary

An Invisible Thread

by Laura Schroff, Alex Tresniowski

Publication year 2010

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Family, Fate, Community

Tags Trauma & Abuse, Coming of Age, Poverty, Addiction & Substance Abuse, Children`s Literature, Biography

Author Laura Schroff’s 2012 New York Times bestseller An Invisible Thread: The True Story of an 11-Year-Old Panhandler, a Busy Sales Executive, and an Unlikely Meeting with Destiny recounts a fateful meeting between two vastly different individuals: Maurice, a young boy living in poverty and a broken home, and Schroff, a successful ad executive enjoying a fast-paced career. In the memoir, the author posits that an invisible thread joins their lives. It is beyond her... Read An Invisible Thread Summary

Another Country

by James Baldwin

Publication year 1962

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Friendship, Sexual Identity, Race, Love

Tags LGBTQ+, Race & Racism, Love & Sexuality, Depression & Suicide, Relationships, Grief & Death, Trauma & Abuse, Social Justice, American Literature, Classic Fiction

... Read Another Country Summary

Apeirogon

by Colum McCann

Publication year 2020

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Daughters & Sons, Fathers, Death

Tags Historical Fiction, Military & War, Politics & Government, Trauma & Abuse, Grief & Death, Middle Eastern History, Social Justice

... Read Apeirogon Summary

A Piece Of Cake

by Cupcake Brown

Publication year 2006

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Good & Evil, Trust & Doubt, Perseverance, Gratitude, Hope, Loneliness, Shame & Pride, Race, Religion & Spirituality

Tags Addiction & Substance Abuse, Trauma & Abuse, Drama, Inspirational, Biography, Mental Illness

... Read A Piece Of Cake Summary

A Soldier's Play

by Charles Fuller

Publication year 1981

Genre Play, Fiction

Themes Revenge, Hate & Anger, Race, Justice

Tags World War II, Race & Racism, Trauma & Abuse, African American Literature

A Soldier’s Play (1981) was written by Charles Fuller. It premiered off-Broadway with the Negro Ensemble Company in 1981, and was arguably the company’s most successful work to date. It ran for nearly 500 performances and earned the Critics Circle Best Play Award and the 1982 Pulitzer Prize for drama. The play is loosely based on Herman Melville’s Billy Budd (1924), an unfinished novella about a well-liked, handsome sailor who is falsely accused of a... Read A Soldier's Play Summary

A Spark of Light

by Jodi Picoult

Publication year 2018

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Gender Identity, Guilt, Love, Politics & Government

Tags Realistic Fiction, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Health, Trauma & Abuse, Modern Classic Fiction, Dramatic Literature

Published in 2019, Jodi Picoult’s novel A Spark of Light tells the story of a gunman’s attack on an abortion clinic from multiple points of view, examining the lives of different characters and the events that lead them to the clinic on that day. Picoult is a New York Times best-selling author and has written 28 novels, several of which have been adapted for film and television. Her books are known for tackling social issues... Read A Spark of Light Summary

A Stolen Life

by Jaycee Dugard

Publication year 2011

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Mental Health, Perseverance

Tags Crime & Law, Trauma & Abuse, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Biography

A Stolen Life: A Memoir (July 2011) is the story of the abduction and captivity of author Jaycee Lee Dugard when she was 11 years old. Dugard is not a professional author and declined to use a ghostwriter to tell her story of abuse and survival. Her memoir became a New York Times bestseller and was followed by a sequel entitled Freedom: My Book of Firsts (2016).Shortly after her release from her captors in August... Read A Stolen Life Summary

Austerlitz

by W.G. Sebald

Publication year 2001

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Memory, The Past

Tags Historical Fiction, World War II, Holocaust, Trauma & Abuse, Military & War, World History, Classic Fiction

Austerlitz is a historical novel by W. G. Sebald first published in 2001. Sebald was a German writer and academic who wrote mainly about the loss of memory and the Holocaust. Austerlitz, Sebald’s final novel, centers on an architectural historian, Jacques Austerlitz, who is tormented by his repressed past as a Jewish child evacuated from Czechoslovakia in 1939. The book was an international bestseller and won the 2001 National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction... Read Austerlitz Summary