Turning Point

 It took me quite a while to come up with the title for this book.

Its working title had been "Silent no more", reflecting on the year that was 2021.

I thought about how Grace Tame, a child sexual abuse survivor, was named Australian of the Year and how she used that platform as an opportunity to change forever how we thought about and spoke about abuse of women.

I thought of how Brittany Higgins another young woman, who was allegedly raped in a Minister's office in Parliament House after hours, came forward and spoke her truth and told her story and how the stories and stands these two women took gave confidence to so many older women who had simply "put up with it" and borne the shame of abuse and assault as the victims, to also stand up and speak out.

I thought about how Saxon Mullin's persistence in her pursuit to have consent laws in NSW changed to reflect positive consent; not simply the lack of the word "no" and the joy when those laws passed last year.

I thought about the anger of women as they marched en masse to say enough is enough. And I felt that women would be silent no more.

The shame was not and is not ours. The shame rests solely with the perpetrators of assaults and abuse.

Silence helps no one, except the perpetrators.

The book is actually three small books.

The pages are all glassine paper.  I didn't want this book to be quiet; every time you turn a page you hear the crinkle noise. The book itself is not silent.

All the lettering is vintage letraset.

I started with a white on white version - the quiet mouse that roared.

The pages start with a single word, building to a crescendo, a cacophony, of the call to be silent no more. The transparent nature of the glassine enabling a look ahead and a reminder of what has been.

I then chose to do a black version

And the finale is a red, black and white version.

The three are small but mighty. I like their understatedness and the strength they demonstrate as you make your way through them.

My first book of 2022.

2021 was a turning point for Australian women. 

Thank you Grace, Brittany and Saxon.