First published 2026
In 2020, Gisèle Pelicot receives a phone call from police that destroys everything she believed about her marriage. For nearly ten years, her husband Dominique had been drugging her unconscious and inviting strangers into their home to assault her. The investigation reveals dozens of men participated in these crimes. Rather than hide behind anonymity, Gisèle makes the bold choice to face her attackers publicly in an Avignon courtroom. She declares that shame must change sides, transforming from victim to witness. Her testimony becomes a global rallying cry that sparks protests worldwide. Gisèle traces her journey from that first devastating phone call through the three month trial that ended in convictions for Dominique and the other accused men. She examines five decades of marriage, the hidden final years of abuse, and her path toward emotional recovery. This memoir captures one woman's refusal to remain silent and her fight to reclaim her voice after unimaginable trauma.
Genres: abuse, crime, autobiography, contemporary, biography-memoir, activism
Vibes: emotional-atmospheric, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: courage, overcoming-adversity, reclaiming-identity
Setting: Avignon
Period: 2020
256 pages · Hardcover · Penguin Press
Content warnings: abuse, domestic-violence, sexual-assault