I Am Not Your Enemy: A Memoir

by Reality Winner

After serving the longest prison sentence ever given to a government-affilated employee for a single count of leaking classified information to an American news outlet, Reality Winner for the first time shares her own story—that of a patriot who dreamed of serving her country. 

Reality Winner was a twenty-five-year-old translator for the NSA when she saw a document that she assumed would make after public silence by the NSA and blatant lies by the Trump administration, the 2016 US election was far from secure. She impulsively printed the document—a breach of NSA protocol—stuffed it into her stockings, left the building, and mailed it to The Intercept, which promptly informed the NSA and led to Winner’s arrest. Now, for the first time—after two films and a Broadway play about her—Winner tells her own her unusual childhood, which led her to want to serve her country; her reasons for leaking the document; her torturous years in prison. This is a bold, brave book about the risk one woman took to protect her country and the price she paid for it.

Genres: Memoir, Nonfiction, Politics, Biography Memoir, Biography

336 pages, Hardcover

Published September 16, 2025

Reviews

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to NetGalley and Spiegel & Grau for access to this title. All opinions expressed are my own.

I love a "my heart was in the right place, but I didn't foresee the events that would occur" type of memoir. Reality Winner was a Texas girl who joined the military and worked her way to becoming a translator working for the NSA. When she came across a document that proved interference in the 2016 U. S. election, she impulsively made a decision that would have the FBI on her doorstep and the court of public opinion calling her a traitor.

I found Reality to write with a vulnerability that made me want to fiercely protect her. There is a rawness that made it clear that the writing was her way of trying to deal with the harsh punishment she was given. I understand that it will take her many years to really come to terms with this chapter of her life. I felt empathy as she described her battle with eating disorders, drug use, and her prison time.

I am glad that I went with my gut and selected this title. Check it out when it hits bookstores in September.



Expected Publication Date 16/09/25
Goodreads Review Date 25/08/25
#IAmNotYourEnemy #NetGalley.

[Jennifer ~ TarHeelReader · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you aren’t familiar with Reality and what happened when she worked for a government agency and shared information with a news outlet, there’s a Broadway play, movie, and documentary about her experiences, and this book is her story in her own words.

Reality is a twenty-five year old linguist/translator and veteran of the Air Force when she leaks a classified document at a time when leaks are extremely common. While she shares anonymously, the FBI arrives at her house to question her, and she does not return to her typical life until she serves the longest sentence ever assigned to a leaker in US history.

Reality reminds me so much of a friend of mine from childhood, and I found her vulnerable and close way of sharing her story absolutely riveting. I was hanging on every word and soaked up all I learned about her work as a linguist in the Air Force and later with a government agency. Her passion for animal rescue also spoke loudly to me, as well as her significant connection to exercise, her lifeline, and her battles with food. And, I definitely cannot leave out her love of reading and books. Reality is a skilled writer, likely influenced by her high books read count. The natural cadence to her writing kept me fully connected to her story.

And what a story, so deeply her own. I Am Not Your Enemy is urgently timely, addresses several important issues (also have to mention how she humanizes her experience in prison, with that of her fellow cell mates), I learned, I connected, and I was changed. My highest recommendation. Truly an honor to read and get to know Reality.

I received a gifted copy.

Many of my reviews can also be found on my blog: www.jennifertarheelreader.com and instagram: www.instagram.com/tarheelreader

[Janet Edwards · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very human account of an idealistic young woman caught in an inhuman system. I rarely read memoir, but received an advance copy from the publisher and decided to give it a try. I’m glad I did. Reality Winner is so relatable; I could easily imagine myself making similar choices as a young person hoping to make the world a more fair and equitable place. This harrowing tale of her (and others’) treatment in the legal and prison system was an eye-opener for me. And it helped to know what a difference the support she received from family and strangers who believed in her despite the politically motivated mischaracterizations of her in the media and by federal agents. Makes you believe that, in the face of injustice, the small kindnesses matter. We need this story more than ever. Thank you, Reality, for putting it all on the line - again.

[Sarah Jensen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book Review: I Am Not Your Enemy: A Memoir by Reality Winner
Rating: 4.9/5

Initial Impressions
Reality Winner’s memoir is a searing indictment of institutional betrayal and a testament to quiet courage. Written with unflinching clarity, the book transcends the headlines to reveal the human cost of whistleblowing—a young patriot’s idealism colliding with a system designed to crush dissent.

Emotional Resonance & Reactions
Reading this felt like witnessing a slow-motion tragedy. Winner’s description of her childhood—shaped by her father’s intellectual fervor and post-9/11 patriotism—contrasts painfully with her later disillusionment. Her account of prison life (the dehumanizing routines, the psychological toll) left me alternating between rage and admiration. The most haunting passages explore her moral calculus: Was exposing the truth worth destroying my life? Her answer, nuanced and unresolved, lingers long after the last page.

Strengths
-Moral Complexity: Avoids simplistic hero/villain narratives, instead probing the gray areas of patriotism and conscience.
-Institutional Critique: Exposes systemic flaws in classified intelligence handling and whistleblower protections with forensic detail.
-Voice: Winner’s prose is restrained yet visceral—no melodrama, just stark honesty that amplifies the emotional weight.

Constructive Criticism
-Pacing: Early chapters on childhood and linguistics training, while insightful, could tighten to foreground the central conflict sooner.
-Contextual Gaps: Assumes reader familiarity with the 2016 election interference saga; a brief primer would aid those less politically engaged.
-Post-Prison Life: Leaves readers craving more about her reentry into society and current advocacy work.

Final Verdict
This isn’t just a memoir—it’s a mirror held up to America’s conscience. Winner’s story demands we question what “national security” truly means and who bears its burdens. A masterpiece of moral reckoning.

Thank you to the publisher and Edelweiss for the review copy.

Rating: 4.9/5 (A devastating, essential work that redefines courage in the age of secrecy.)

[Rosalind Breckheimer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this freaking memoir so much - I have so many thoughts that I would love to share with someone who has also read. I am so inspired by Winner & would recommend this book to anyone.

So so so many thoughts. Can someone else pls read so we can discuss.

[Faithe · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am not your enemy: a memoir by Reality Winner is the story of a 25-year old translator for the NSA. She read a classified document revealing what she thought would make headlines during an unprecedented leaking of the document.

The document stated that after blatant lies from the Trump administration and silence from the NSA, there had been in fact foreign interference in the 2016 U.SA election.

In a breach of NSA protocol, she printed it, smuggled it out of work and mailed it to The Intercept.

This book gives you the story behind the headlines, and a look into the person that leaked the document. It recounts her upbringing, her motivation, the chain of events that led her to make the choice she did.

It was interesting to read, not so much for the politics but to understand what was going on in her head at the time and what happened to her once she leaked the document. The book takes the reader through what happened to her from when the first searched her home, to the trial and through prison.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley and Spiegel & Grau in exchange for my honest opinion and review.

#iamnotyourenemy #netgalley

[Kayleigh · Rating 4 out of 5]

I Am Not Your Enemy by Reality Winner documents her experience serving the longest prison sentence ever given to a government-affiliated employee for a single count of leaking classified information. Reality was a translator working for the NSA who came across information proving interference in the 2016 election- and she felt the American public needed to know about it. So began her trial. The information was "leaked" and Reality was caught. Admittedly, I did not know much of her story in advance and took to it almost immediately.
I appreciated that Reality took responsibility for her actions, she knew what she was doing was illegal and did her time, even throughout the book, never blamed someone else for her actions. She talks honestly about her struggles having an eating disorder in prison, having her religious needs met, and navigating complex social dynamics.
Her story has become a movie, a Broadway play, a documentary, and now this book.

This has been published as of September, 2025 and I received an advanced copy from Netgalley in exchange for my review.

[Juliebrown · Rating 4 out of 5]

I must confess i confused Reality Winner with another whistleblower, but continued the book anyway. I learned about the drone program run by the US Air Force and also the NSA. The shocking fact for me, is how little knowledge and training go into military language comprehension. Reality was expected to understand Farsi and or Pashto within two months of instruction. Then she was to listen in on Afghani conversations and decide if there was terrorist plans among them. If yes, fire up the drone. We must have killed so many in error. But nobody cared. I finished this book by watching the movie, Reality, on HBO.

[Sydney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thanks to NetGalley and Spiegel & Grau for the eARC!

I'm so glad I read this book. I had heard of Reality Winner previously, but I didn't truly know her story until reading this book. While I didn't agree with everything Winner said, I think a lot of what she said was really interesting and profound. I especially appreciated her thoughts on both law enforcement and the prison industrial complex.
I will say, there should definitely be a content warning regarding her bulimia, orthorexia, and self-harm. While there isn't a ton of detail on anything except the orthorexia, readers should be aware of these topics going into the book. She also briefly mentions some drug use and some SA.
That being said, I think she did a fantastic job of sharing her story and being as impartial as possible. I liked watching her progress from pro-military to anti-law enforcement. I think it's important to know that the police are not on our side. They do not necessarily care about the truth, and they do not care about individuals. I appreciated her focus on the Espionage Act and how it was used to entrap her and has been used in the past.

[Natalie Park · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to Spiegel & Grau and Net Galley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review. I didn't know the story of Reality Winner and didn't realize that the Sydney Sweeney mini-series was about her life. I also think the cover photo on the book and the author's name (Could that actually be her given name? Yes!). Her story is one of a regular American girl who had dreams and a curiosity and love of languages that lead her to work at the NSA. But when she sees concerning documents and the NSA is taking no action, she takes it into her own hands and leaks the documents to a reputable organization that leaks documents and protects the identity of the provider. But, they don't protect her identity which leads to her story of how she was arrested, her trial and her time in jail. It also deals with the topic of being a whistleblower and doing what you think it right to protect your country knowing that you individually may face the burdens of that decision alone.

[Jill Zimmerman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fact: Russians cyber-attacked and breached U.S. elections systems in 2016.

Fact: Donald Trump fired FBI Director James Comey in May 2017.

Fact: in May 2017, Reality Winner leaked a 5 page NSA report proving Russia attacked.

Fact: The Intercept published the report in June 2017, at the same time Winner was taken into FBI custody and charged under the espionage act.

Winner’s book explains, in her own words, what she was thinking at the time she leaked the report.

Proving Donald Trump was lying to the American people about the severity of the Russian cyber attacks, SHOULD have made a difference. Imagine uniting Left & Right against our old Cold War enemy instead against each other. Citizens deserved to know that Russians had declared cyber warfare against the U.S.

An entirely separate issue was the question of whether or not it could be proven that Trump had conspired with Russians prior to the 2016 election. Because lying liar witnesses lied, Robert Mueller’s Report did not garner enough evidence to definitively recommend charging conspiracy, but he did provide an ample abundance of evidence of obstruction of justice—and thus roadmap for impeachment. BUT Bill Barr then LIED about Mueller’s conclusions before full report was released, directly contradicting that Mueller’s reported conclusion DID NOT EXONERATE Trump. (Not many people actually read the full report. I did. Allison Gill had a whole podcast that read every page.) AND Congress didn’t have time to impeach for obstruction because Vindman blew the whistle on Trump’s extortion of Ukraine before they could. So the “perfect phone call” was reason for first impeachment.

Obviously, not enough powerful people care that Donald Trump is a liar (and a convicted felon) because he’s president again. And now we all live in an ever-crumbling democracy where money and power are valued over truth. Our institutions and court and rule of law, are hanging on by a thread.

The book is excellent. Reality Winner is a hero who tried to save us from ourselves when it really mattered. Our system does not make enough safe space for whistleblowers.

My tinfoil hat theory was that Glen Greenwald’s Intercept set a trap to lure whistleblowers so that Comey & Sessions could nail a leaker’s head to proverbial pike. But reading Winner’s account, explains how it all just happened. SPOILER: Inexperienced reporters revealed their source instead of protecting it.

I hope a lot of people read this book. It’s important. Even if in its present condition, the U.S. seems a zillion miles from reforming the Espionage Act, overhauling document classification systems, and addressing the horrors of a for-profit prison system, it’s worth learning about these problems.

I’m left with the lingering question: how did the government get away with denying Reality Winner her Miranda Rights? Is it because she did not ask FBI agents specifically: Am I under arrest? Would they have been legally obligated to tell her she was under arrest and then Miranda rights were required?

[Gigi W. · Rating 5 out of 5]

So glad Reality Winner is able to share her story with us! She comes across as a bright, compassionate, and idealistic person—someone a lot of readers will be able to relate to. This makes her ordeal all the more frightening and really underlines how dangerous the Espionage Act of 1917 is to an open and free American society.

The only reason I gave this book 4/5 instead of 5/5 is because parts of it could use some further editing/tightening up. I have a feeling this will be done before its official publication so I will likely rank it higher when I read the final version.

To Reality (if you somehow see this, huge admirer!!!!):

I hope you don’t feel like you have to forget in order to heal (although of course, that’s your prerogative!). Your story is powerful and you deserve to know that your struggles were NOT for nothing. You have made a very positive impact on the lives of those who know your story and thanks to this book, many more readers will reap the benefits. Thank you.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a highly disturbing book because of what the author had to go through in her life. She does a good job writing her story and I found it very interesting. I don't necessarily agree with her on her political stances on things, but I found that didn't matter. What mattered was seeing how the law was applied in a way that was very destructive and disturbing. This book is an important monument to the power of the state and how it can go very wrong when over application happens.

[Gloria · Rating 5 out of 5]

I must have had my head under a rock, but I had never heard of Reality Winner. In 2017, she passed a secret document to the press proving Russian interference in Trump's election; she was arrested and charged with espionage. Not only was she all over the news, but since then there has been a 60 minutes episode, a play (Broadway?), two movies, a documentary and now this newly published book! How did I miss all that?

For me, Reality was a likeable young woman, a year older than my son. She was idealistic and wanted to help change the world. She chose the military as her way to learn languages and imagined traveling to far off lands, especially Afghanistan where, in her mind, the US was nation-building. Turns out the military assigns you a language (you don't get to pick) and she was assigned Farsi, the language of Iran. Since we have no diplomatic ties with Iran, there was no chance of travel for her. Eventually, she was able to take a crash course in Pashto (Afghanistan). This led her to a military career at the NSA where she sat in a room in front of a computer and listened to what people were saying, When she identified certain kinds of chatter, she reported it up the chain, and those speakers were located and killed. Her Air Force Commendation Medal describes countless hours of intelligence exploitation, locating enemy combatants, facilitating intelligence missions, aiding in enemy captures and enemies killed in action, and identifying high value targets. She says, "As a child and young adult, I dreamed of receiving awards for helping people, or saving them. But that wasn't how it turned out. I helped the United States government kill people."

Reality got PTSD from this and left the military after her initial enlistment was complete. (One very interesting thing I did not know is that when you leave the military, they have authority over what information you can share with prospective employers. You cannot include any classified work on a resume. Nearly all of Reality's work was redacted; she left the military qualified to be a fitness instructor with an Associate of Arts degree in Persian Farsi and nothing more. This sends people directly into under-employment!)

Regardless, she got a job at a Defense Department contractor called Pluribus, where she read secret documents all day. This was during the first year of the Trump administration and Reality mentions a lot of horrible things that I would have preferred to forget. One thing I don't think I ever knew was that in April 2017, Trump dropped "the mother of all bombs" on Afghanistan - a $16 million weapon that cost $300 million to develop. This contributes to the evidence of how deranged Trump already was, as this act went against all of the intelligence he had from the last 16 years (two former presidents.) Reality writes, "we were spending trillions of dollars trying to build a functioning state in Afghanistan, not to destroy it. American troops had died for that goal...successive presidential administrations had committed to that project...countless civilians would be killed if we dropped the mother. What could possibly justify doing it?" Nobody knows how many people actually died. Sean Spicer, press secretary for Trump reported the operation was very, very successful.

When Reality found a 5 page document that proved Russian interference in the election, she couldn't stand by. She felt the American people had a right to know. The Intercept, the media to which she sent the article, botched their efforts to confirm the story and led the FBI right to to Reality. She was arrested and was sentenced to just over 5 years. This is the longest sentence for anyone charged under the espionage act. In the book, she lists some very famous politicians who "mishandled" classified documents - Biden and Pence, who merely apologized, Former CIA director and retired general David Petraeus, who shared scores of secrets with a mistress and got probation and a fine, and Trump, who was charged with 32 counts under the same espionage act as Reality Winner. But rather than spending 5 years behind bars like she did, he got the case dismissed and went on to take a second term as US President.

Reality endured a horrible prison sentence. She says she has heard of people who go to prison and have a spiritual awakening, get to know themselves more deeply and come out a better person for the experience. Reality says she was definitely not one of those people. She succumbed to prison culture and depression and came home worse for the wear. Thankfully, many people supported her from the outside. As a "celebrity," she often had journalists and other who wanted to speak with her. She had a great legal team. Many people sent her letters and cards and some became pen pals and friends. There were members of the public who kept her story alive through protests and other means. But most important was her mother, who offered unconditional love and support during this difficult time, which was not always easy to do.

At the end of the book. Reality is home living with her parents and her animals, and figuring out the rest.

I really liked this book. It was well written, exciting and heartbreaking. I learned a lot that I didn't know. I sympathize with the reasons she did what she did, although her actions didn't serve her. I am horrified at how things went wrong and what happened to her - losing her freedom, and equally as difficult for her, the right to tell the narrative from her point of view, which is why the book and the documentary are so important to her.

Our world is a very messed up place. I hope Reality Winner will find herself comfortable in it again.

[Kristi Lamont · Rating 4 out of 5]

BOOK REPORT
Received a complimentary copy of I Am Not Your Enemy, by Reality Winner, from Spiegel & Grau/NetGalley, for which I am appreciative, in exchange for a fair and honest review. Scroll past the BOOK REPORT section for a cut-and-paste of the DESCRIPTION of it from them if you want to read my thoughts on the book in the context of that summary.

I did not enjoy this book, but I certainly did appreciate it and learned a great deal from it, particularly about the Espionage Act of 1917.

Why didn’t I enjoy it? Well, because: Reality Winner

She painted herself as emotionally immature and socially inept. To the nth degree. It’s hard to look past such core elements of a person’s psyche and “listen” to the content of what they’re saying, vs how they’re saying it. In my case, it was so hard I would read a few chapters and then stop for a day or two, thinking, “I just can’t with this chick.”

But, in fact, it turned out I could. And, y’all?

It’s terrifying, what the first Trump administration did to this woman. Make no mistake, she is a proverbial canary in a coal mine. Because of where we’re at in the current Trump administration (September 2025), it’s not hard to imagine that if she’d been in this same situation now they’d’ve just disappeared her to an ICE gulag and threatened any and all media outlets and law firms who tried to address the matter with lawsuits and more.

I’m going to quote now from a New York Times review of the book, which was originally published a little more than a week ago (right before the general release of the book; my timing in reading it was—albeit accidentally—near-perfect). It was titled “What Reality Winner Says She Shares With Donald Trump: In her memoir, the whistle-blower explores the motives behind the leak that sent her to prison.”

“The publication of ‘I Am Not Your Enemy’ arrives as national security lawyers and other experts are warning that it is only a matter of time until the government uses the Espionage Act even more broadly. It also seems that greater volumes of government information are being classified than ever before. As Winner writes, ‘Maybe there are too many secrets.’”

Ms Winner also did a good job of communicating the harsh realities of prisoner life. As I read about her experiences both in jails and prison, I found myself thinking that the term prison-industrial complex isn’t all-encompassing enough. Instead, it should be the incarceration-industrial complex. Some people (most of whom probably shouldn’t have it) are given total control over other people’s lives, and can—and do—maximize their profits to the harm of those latter persons. It is disgusting on a visceral level, shameful on a moral one.

Again, quoting from the NYT review: ”Winner’s account of prison, by contrast, lays bare the inequities at the heart of the penal system and makes a compelling case for criminal justice reform. The system Winner describes ‘is contradictory and bleak at best, and cruel and unusual at worst.’ With almost two million Americans imprisoned, she notes, it relies on ‘profit and commodification of bodies behind bars.’”

Here's the link to the piece:https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/10/bo...

Hard to say whether I’d recommend this book to anyone other than fellow journalists, historians, and/or political science geeks. Or anyone who wants to be further terrified about the loss of civil liberties in this, our United States of America.

Up to you whether your time is better spent reading this or watching, I dunno, Dancing With The Stars. (Not to say you can’t do both, mind you……)

Peace in our time, y’all. Peace in our time.

DESCRIPTION
The story of a patriot who dreamed of serving her country—and was nearly destroyed by it.

Reality Winner was a twenty-five-year-old translator for the NSA when she read a classified document revealing what she assumed would make headlines during a time of unprecedented leaking: After blatant lies by the Trump administration and public silence by the NSA, there had in fact been foreign interference in the 2016 US election. In a breach of NSA protocol, she impulsively printed it, smuggled it out of the building, and mailed it to The Intercept, which published it and then promptly informed the NSA. For her crime, she received the longest prison sentence ever imposed on a government-affiliated employee convicted of a single count of leaking classified information and spent more than four years in federal prison.

Now, for the first time, Winner tells her own story: her unusual childhood in South Texas, with a brilliant but unstable father whose obsession with politics, ancient history, philosophy, and religion sparked her own interests in ancient civilizations and the study of foreign languages, including Latin, Arabic, Farsi, Dari, and Pashto; her patriotism, after 9/11, which led her to enlist in the Air Force and join the NSA, where the work she did in the hope of protecting American security was part of the US campaign in Afghanistan; and, most movingly, her life in the American prison system and how it nearly broke her.

I Am Not Your Enemy is Winner’s bold, brave examination of the moral choices that compel us to act, as well as an account of the risks one young woman took to protect her country and the price she paid for it. It is also a powerful argument for standing up for what you believe in during uncertain times—an inspiring message as relevant now as it was when she made her fateful decision.
 

[Ed Bernard · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'd go 4.5 stars if Goodreads let me.
Well, what can one say about Reality Winner? I had believed that she was a rather unstable, misguided but idealistic young woman who really intended to do a good thing when she leaked a classified document to the Intercept, and got caught, ultimately sentenced to pretty lengthly prison sentence. I first noticed her in the book Bottoms Up and the Devil Laughs, which explores the stories of whistleblowers and people on the edges of the war on terror. I became pretty sympathetic to her cause. Then I read this memoir and I’m all in on Team Reality. No doubt, she’s got a lot of problems, and no doubt, she definitely broke the law, but she was so utterly screwed in so many ways. For example: 1) there is rampant over classification in the US government, and the document she leaked was not a big deal, 2) few others were ever prosecuted under the law she broke and NONE got a prison sentence … zero, 3) The Intercept totally hung her out to dry, bungling her case and actually making it possible for the government to identify and prosecute her — something no credible media outlet should ever do to a source. She had a pretty rough life otherwise, with a possibly psychotic father and an absent mother, both of whom she nonetheless loved unconditionally. She was inaccurately portrayed by most of the media, and she did her time, even learning from it. Having read her memoir, I now think that she got a raw deal, was screwed by everyone, and is a borderline hero who never stopped fighting for herself. I like her and admire her, and this memoir is also an engaging and satisfying read. I hope she makes a ton of money from it (though, again, she’s restricted on what she is allowed to say and how she profits, having been convicted of a ludicrous felony). You go, girl.

Grade: A-

[Kath · Rating 4 out of 5]

Obviously (probably) being in the UK I had never heard of Reality Winner or what she did before coming across this book. But she and the subject matter intrigued me, so I thought I'd give it a whirl.
Obviously, as I am oblivious to anything other that what I read here, I have no idea whether what I am reading is her truth, the truth, or somewhere in between.
What I can say is that I found her to be an intelligent woman who thought what she did was important and never believed that she would get what she got.
We start with her childhood which the blurb describes as unusual, but which I will leave you to discover and make your own mind up about. This led her to want to serve her country, which she did. The after that, employment was as a translator at the NSA and that's where she came across the document which would shape the rest of her life. The document which she thought was important enough for the world (America) to know about, not realising the full repercussions of her actions. I mean, people leak stuff all the time without getting caught. But I guess they are cleverer than she was. They weren't on their own. They weren't made an example of.
But all that said, I am not sure how much of this book was produced for us to read and how much was the fact that she needed to write it all out. If you get what I mean. Sharing personal stories is always (hopefully) cathartic for the author, more than just educating the reader, and I really hope that she got what she needed from doing this. My eyes have certainly been opened by what I read, and I am now off to research her further...
My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

[Susan Scribner · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars, I guess? The first half of this unique memoir was the more interesting, showing Winner's* path from naivete to disillusionment, as her desire to help the US "rebuild" Afghanistan met reality (sorry) head on. Her Espionage Act-labeled crime (sending a printout of a classified document regarding Russia's 2016 election cyberattacks to a left-wing news organization) was done with the honest but misguided belief that if people knew what was happening, they would intervene and fix it. (Oh honey.) From there, her life devolved into a Dostoevsky-like nightmare. Her attorneys were prohibited from examining the prosecution's evidence (because national security), whether or not she had criminal intent was legally irrelevant, and her interest in Middle Eastern languages was considered proof that she wanted to join the Taliban.

The rest of the book describes Winner's experience in the Federal prison system, which was predictably awful but not an unfamiliar story. Throughout it all, she comes across as smart, hard-headed, uncompromising, and impulsive. I'm not sure if I liked her, although that's beside the point. She took a brave if foolhardy action to let important information come to light. She deserves to be more than a late-night TV punchline.

*Yes, that is her given name. Reality's father named her after a Lamaze class T-shirt that read "I coached a real winner." Is that any stranger than her older sister, Brittany Michelle Winner, so-named because her mother wanted a "BMW?"

[Amity Bunkofske · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 rounding up because she is restricted in what she's allowed to release publicly, doing so is not without danger, and I appreciate her honesty. I was most interested in the parts about her military service because I'm pretty uninformed about the military. It was an interesting memoir, especially in the beginning. I wonder if ICE/Border Patrol is also staffed by prison riot tactical forces.

However, I think she is under the impression that the reader will feel more sympathetic toward her than I do after reading this. I feel less sympathetic for her than before I read it, actually. She made mistakes, she paid for them more than most people, politicians and elitists get away with literal murder...yes is this really news to people though? She really shouldn't have acted so unwisely when interacting with the FBI, she refuses to learn to not joke around with prison authority and uses the "It's just who I am" type of reasoning...well then you will pay the consequences of your ill-advised jokes. I don't respect her being-the-other-woman and other behaviors, didn't need that much info about her prison sex life, and the parts complaining about white bread despite attempts to accommodate her were cringe. Don't do stuff you know can land you in prison. And then don't continue to f around. Duh.

I would have liked to hear her be a bit more appreciative for the advantages she does have compared to other prisoners.

[Kelly {SpaceOnTheBookcase] · Rating 5 out of 5]

Before diving into this book I didn't know who Reality Winner was, which I find rather ironic because I am very political active and while I knew about the documents she leaked, I didn't know who had leaked them.

Reality Winner, yes that is her birth name, grew up with a unique childhood. Her dad inspired a passion for languages and at only 25 years old she was working as a contractor for the NSA after leaving the Air Force as a translator/linguist. Though she joined the Air Force with the intension to help people, especially in Afghanistan, Reality realized that she was harming more than helping.

A fitness buff who battles bulimia, an animal lover at heart, and a helper of people, Reality thought she would be okay when she printed documents that proved Russian's interference with the 2016 election. Smuggling them out of the building and given to The Intercept, their mishandling of the documents would eventually cost them over $2 million dollars in legal fees and Reality's freedom.

Given the hardest punishment on record under the Espionage Act, Reality tells the story of what she did, why she did it, and how she got through it to the other side. I struggled to put it down because each time I thought it couldn't get any worse it did.

Thank you Spiegel & Grau for the gifted copy.

[Ricky · Rating 5 out of 5]

I Am Not Your Enemy is a gripping, courageous, and deeply human memoir that pulls you straight into the heart of one of the most controversial whistleblower stories of our time. Reality Winner doesn’t just recount what happened—she invites the reader inside her mind, her fears, her moral struggle, and the crushing weight of choosing truth in a system built on silence.

What makes this book so powerful is its honesty. Winner never tries to paint herself as a flawless hero. Instead, she presents herself as a complicated, empathetic, and fiercely principled person caught between duty, conscience, and the consequences of speaking out. That vulnerability makes every page feel real and urgent.

The writing is sharp, emotional, and surprisingly intimate. From the tense buildup to the life-altering decision she makes, to the brutal reality of what follows, the story never lets you forget that behind every headline is a human being. It’s impossible not to feel her anxiety, her isolation, and her determination.
This book is about far more than one leak—it’s about truth, patriotism, accountability, and what it means to stand up when staying silent would be easier. Whether you agree with her actions or not, you’ll walk away with a deeper understanding of the moral gray areas that shape our world.

Unforgettable, heartbreaking, and absolutely essential reading.

[Cindy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley for an advance copy of this book.
It seems to try to do several things- present Ms. Winner’s early life and her path to working in the national security/intelligence arm of the US government, her reasons for sharing what was deemed “confidential” information about Russian involvement in 2016 election, her time moving through and within the court and prison systems and touches briefly on life post-serving her time.
Most of the book details the capricious, callous, sadistic aspects of prison life as well as the friends made (similar to reading Orange is the New Black). I probably wanted to know more about what she nods to regarding the country’s confidentiality classification system and issues around that and I would’ve liked for the book to connect what she leaked to anything that resulted from that. That said- I realize this is her memoir about her life and she chose to focus there.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Girl, you worked for the NSA and you didn't realize they record and listen to calls in jail???

In all seriousness, this was really interesting. I somehow did not remember this at all from when it happened in 2017, and came across her story from the movie Reality, where the script was essentially the verbatim recordings of the FBI interrogation. The memoir expanded upon that quite a bit. I found it a bit slow at the start, when she was talking about her childhood, but quickly found myself engaged when she started talking about her work in languages in the army and then her career path that led her to the NSA. The aspect of being in prison during COVID was also quite fascinating - this was something I'd read articles on in the news, but hers was a much more in depth and personal look at the real impacts of the policies on her experience.

[Tony Mistretta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reality Winner served in the US Air Force and then worked for a private contractor monitoring the conversations of potential foreign terrorists, enabling the US to seek them out and prevent them from doing harm to us. While on the job, she had access to top secret classified documents and leaked one to the press about Russia's interference in the 2016 presidential election. She was caught, indicted and served an excessive amount of time in prison for this because the FBI wanted to make an example of her. This book is her story of how it all happened and what it was like to serve time in prison. Her prison experience was especially horrific because it coincided with the pandemic outbreak which caused tremendous hardships for all of the prisoners. The story is well written and reveals a lot about our system of justice and imprisonment.

[William (Bill) Fluke · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good and compelling memoir by Reality Winner. I was impressed by the way she told her story. It was very clear and yet captivating. I thought I might have known enough of her story from watching the movie of her “capture” by the FBI starring Sydney Sweeney, but this book provides much insight into her thinking as she leaked a confidential document to the press. Most interesting was reading of her treatment and experience with the criminal Justice system and her over 5 years in prison. More heartbreaking accounts of the injustices in our jails and prisons. Many that know her from the headlines as violating the Espionage Act will dismiss Reality Winner as a traitor. After reading her memoir, you may look at her story differently.

[Anne Gaunder · Rating 3 out of 5]

It took a while to get into this book because I just couldn’t relate to the writing style. The author definitely thinks differently than I do, and it was difficult for me to understand her motives (as presented in the book) for releasing the document. That said, I was angry at how her case was treated by the justice system. Thank goodness her family stuck by her and she found some kind people in the prison system.

I would have liked more detail about what was in the actual document she released, and exactly what went on between her and other prisoners. (Ex.: did she have a romantic relationship with “wifey,“ or were they simply friends with benefits?)

At any rate, I’m happy she is out of prison and I hope she is having a good life.

[Kirsten Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Heard a fascinating interview with Winner so I wanted to read her memoir. Her description of the millions of Americans with access to confidential records and the silliness of such secrecy was enlightening. A 25-year old woman sends one document to a news organization and then spends almost five years in prison. Meanwhile current and former politicians mishandle boxes of confidential files….slap on the wrist.
Winner’s book is a scathing indictment of incarceration and the American penal system. The casual structural cruelty is described in depressing detail.

[Pegeen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read for a book group, and ended up more interesting than I expected. Shines a harsh light on class elitism in America. No doubt she was made an example of., as she was a whistleblower not a spy.

Reality by dint of her smarts and determination makes her way into the NSA but is nonetheless naive and unsophisticated about the world. She obviously cannot say in detail as much as she might otherwise like to reveal. The parts about her childhood were revealing and then each chapter becsme more and more superficial.

[Kjersti · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lot to unpack here. This is the memoir of a person who leaked one document of classified information. As we learn from the book, she was/is a very impulsive and naive person. She was then failed by journalists, the legal and prison system, and lots of people in general.

I almost DNF bc the first third of the book was difficult to read - like it needed an editor or something. As it got easier to read, the content was more difficult to stomach. The book ends with her getting out of prison, finishing up her probation, and having hope for the future.

[Hailee Mumme · Rating 5 out of 5]

I devoured this book.

I first learned about Reality Winner earlier this year after watching Winner (2024), and I immediately wanted to dive deeper into her story.

This book offers real depth—giving insight into Reality’s perspective on leaking government information, the confusion of not being read her Miranda rights, her complicated family dynamics, and the horrific realities she faced behind bars.