In the Open: Women Survivors of Abuse Tell Their Stories

Andrea Levan is an associate professor and co-ordinator of the Women’s
Studies Program, Thorneloe College, Laurentian University.

Kathleen Tudor was on the board of a transition house in Nova Scotia,
where she met many women who had survived experiences of violence.
Listening to their stories convinced her that this book should be
written. Her purpose was to “contribute to the liberation of other
women by opening the doors of their experiences to those still too
terrified to take flight.” In the introduction to the book, she
describes a number of workshops in which the women came together

to tell their stories about painful abuses.

Their stories take the form of short narratives, poems, and interviews.
They are told very simply, and always from the women’s own
perspective, giving readers a direct glimpse of the emotional turmoil
caused by abuse. Since no overview of the issues and no analyses are
provided, In the Open will probably be most useful in the hands of
abused women undergoing a process of understanding and self-discovery in
a supportive environment.