Will I love She Said?

This book by Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey is another book I couldn’t put down.

Two dogged journalists publish a report about Harvey Weinstein’s sexual abuses that helps launch the #metoo movement. Not only were the journalists brave in their pursuit of the truth surrounding powerful men, the voices of all the women who came forward when they were subject to danger for doing so were a testament to the power of true stories and women coming together for a greater good.

For me, this book had it all: a behind-the-scenes look at the incredible investigative journalism by NY Times journalists Jodi Cantor and Meghan Twohey, who exposed Harvey Weinstein’s decades of sexual assaults.

And the courageous journey of the survivors who chose to tell their stories—which ultimately ignited the #MeToo movement.

She Said takes readers behind the headlines of how Kantor and Twohey teamed up to break the Harvey Weinstein story. And what a story it is.

Despite being credibly accused of sexual abuse multiple times, Weinstein always managed to evade accountability. With the help of enablers at Miramax (and beyond), Weinstein preyed on women who worked for him or sought work from him for decades.

Until Kantor and Twohey persuaded several victims to go on the record at the same times and their New York Times front page article started a reckoning. This is a meticulous record of investigative reporting… show more.

I recommend this non-fiction book because it does an incredible job of highlighting the issue of sexual harassment in the workplace. Unlike sexual harassment, workplace bullying is not illegal.

When workplace bullying takes on a sexual or physical tone, we may be quicker to see the wrongness of it than when we are assaulted with words, put-downs, and disrespect, yet the fear that victims experience is similar.

Both fear retaliation. Both fear loss of earning power. Both fear damage to their reputation, their credibility, their community. And both think they somehow allowed the mistreatment. Both think they are alone. And… show more.

Speaking of witch hunts… oh wait, #MeToo was most definitely not a witch hunt when it came to exposing the predatory behavior of one Harvey Weinstein. This non-fiction book probably needs no introduction: it’s written by the Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times journalists who finally broke the story of the century. It is a must-read in terms of understanding how one man’s power enabled him to get away with assaulting and terrorizing women for so long. Megan and Jodi’s final confrontation with Weinstein himself is chilling. And if you think the story ends there, a powerful coda centers on Christine… show more.