Telling: A Memoir of Rape and Recovery

This is an absolutely unforgettable book because of Francisco's honesty and openess, as well as the clarity and beauty of her writing. I read this book a year ago, and have read many books since then, but the author's story of perserverance has stayed with me.

This was the 1st book I read on my road to recovery 35 years after having been a victim. It helped give me the courage, strength and hope to move forward toward on my own journey towards healing.

As difficult as it was for me to read this book, due to it's similarity to my experience, I found it to be so extremely compelling--I couldn't put it down! Ms.Francisco has an incredible command of the English language and was able to communicate in painful detail, her inner-most thoughts and feelings, before, during and after the rape. As I read this book, I went through and highlighted many many many passages that I felt pertained directly to me.....so that my husband could read it and gain better insight into what I was and still am thinking. This is a wonderful, amazing book, that both rape survivors and non-rape survivors can benefit from.

This is an intelligent, poetic account of rape and its aftermath by an intensely thoughtful and observant woman, who happens also to be a writer. If you are a survivor, this book will help put into words, some of the intricate and complex feelings of fear, terror, ineffable shame etc. that many, many survivors experience alone. It is also a VERY GOOD book and a beautifully written one, about a woman's quest to make sense of her experience and to regain a foothold in a new world - one of supreme vulnerability and insecurity - one where a woman can be raped in her own home, in her own bed, by an intruder who breaks in and robs her of a world she had been taught to believe in.

I must admit, I was a little scared to read this book. I know Patricia Francisco, and I wasn't sure whether I could handle the pain and sadness of reading this account of her rape and recovery. But the more I read, the more my heart continued to open -- for while I shed a few tears, reading about her son, for instance, and about the end of her marriage, there was also a generous light and a sense of sweetness and hope that consistently came through in her words. Do not be afraid to read this. This book makes you feel good.