Un inno alla vita

by Gisèle Pelicot

Il memoir straordinario di un'eroina dei nostri tempi, una storia di cambiamento, compassione e coraggio. Un giorno di novembre del 2020, Gisèle Pelicot viene convocata al commissariato locale; è lì che la vita per come l'ha conosciuta fino a quel momento finisce. Due mesi prima, suo marito Dominique Pelicot è stato fermato al supermercato mentre filmava sotto le gonne di tre donne, ma nel suo computer viene trovata la prova sconvolgente di ben altro per quasi un decennio, Dominique l'ha drogata in segreto, l'ha stuprata e ha invitato decine di sconosciuti a casa loro per abusare di lei. Quattro anni dopo, lui e altri cinquanta uomini vengono messi sotto accusa e la coraggiosa decisione di Gisèle di rinunciare all'anonimato e tenere il processo a porte aperte e davanti ai media fa il giro del mondo. «La vergogna deve cambiare lato» dichiara, e le sue parole si fanno grido di battaglia per trasformare radicalmente il sentimento pubblico e la legislazione intorno ai casi di violenza sessuale. In Un inno alla vita, Gisèle Pelicot si racconta per la prima volta con onestà e grazia disarmanti; ripercorre l'infanzia difficile, il primo amore, la carriera, la maternità, e poi l'ultimo decennio del suo matrimonio, gli abusi nascosti e infine il processo di guarigione emotiva che ne è seguito. È la testimonianza di una vita ordinaria che di fronte alla catastrofe si fa straordinaria, e con il suo esempio cambia il mondo. E mentre Gisèle, pagina dopo pagina, trascende gli insondabili traumi del suo passato, contro ogni previsione ne emerge con un rinnovato senso di passione e di rispetto per la vita, e per l'amore.

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, Audiobook, Feminism, Biography, Biography Memoir, France

217 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 17, 2026

Reviews

[Ebby · Rating 5 out of 5]

She deserves a five star for being a phenomenal woman

[Rebecca]

Shame HAS TO Change Sides

[aaliyah johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 ⭐️ / 5 ⭐️

“And yet the feeling persists: love is not dead. I am not dead. I still have faith in people. Once, that was my greatest weakness. Now it is my strength.”

I honestly don’t think I have words to explain how this book made me feel. As someone who has been SA’d, this book was inspiring. It was so raw and honest, not sparing any of the horrifying details of what Gisele went through.

I spent the entire book in tears, from her sad childhood, to her battling within her self to understand what she’s been through, to the breakdown of her family.. I was in tears and completely captivated.

I’m so glad Gisele decided to share her story with the world.
She deserves better than the cards she was dealt and I hope the remainder of her life is filled with peace & love.

[Samantha Shannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I knew this would be a difficult read, but felt I owed it to Madame Pelicot to bear witness to her story told in her own words. It's frank about the horrors she endured at the hands of monsters, their utter cowardice in court, and the difficulty of the trial, during which she was accused of complicity with her abusers. I was brought to tears of anger and grief several times, but also left in awe of her courage.

[Nuno Markl · Rating 5 out of 5]

O livro de Gisèle Pelicot é surpreendentemente positivo em face da monstruosidade que lhe foi perpetrada, o que é uma janela aberta para a sua personalidade optimista e empática. É muito comovente a maneira como tenta compartimentar a sua existência - dissociar-se da mulher drogada até ao ponto da anestesia geral, separar o Dominique monstro perverso do Dominique que amou toda a sua vida. É particularmente doloroso sabê-la a pensar se ele na prisão não terá frio e a preparar agasalhos para lá deixar. Este hino à vida reconhece o horror que atravessou, mas também - e apesar da pressão do mundo, que mesmo com todas as provas ainda ousou agredi-la mais uma vez, sugerindo que ela pudesse estar consciente e a consentir aquela violência - a urgência de virar a vergonha para o lado que tem de a sentir neste momento, a dos violadores mas também dos eternos cúmplices na opinião pública que vomitam que “a culpa também é delas”. Um belo livro, sensível e não sensacionalista, didático para quem tiver o pudor de se calar um bocadinho para ouvir. Ou ler.

[Traci Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really well done memoir for a public figure. The storytelling is thoughtful and has artistic merit, Pelicot is not just recounting her trauma sequentially -- she weaves in her past and the story of her family. I think the book does a good job delving into the abuses she suffered without being too graphic. By the end the book sort of lost its way becoming more about the events of the trial. Overall though this is a book I appreciated and am glad I read. Should out the translators and Emma Thompson (the narrator) who added to the text that Pelicot has offered us.

[Summer · Rating 5 out of 5]

The world tuned into Gisele Pelicot’s nightmare when the trial against her husband of 50 years had began. Her seemingly loving and devoted husband had been r-ping her, while inviting dozens of men to do the same all while Gisele was drugged and unaware.

In A Hymn to Life, Gisele discusses how Gisele initially discovered the truth to her husbands facade, her struggles to coming to terms with her abuse, and how she bravely decided to waive her right to anonymity in the trial so the world could see the faces of the men who assaulted her.

But Gisele is no victim. She tells her story not only to incite courage in other s-xual assault survivors but to turn the tables on the perpetrators, so that they instead are the ones who are to carry the shame and guilt.

Even though A Hymn to Life is a difficult read, it’s such a vital one. Stories like Gisele Pelicot’s shed light on the experience of sexual assault survivors which in turn teaches us as a society how we can better support them as well as how we can prevent future crimes like this from happening.

I listened to the audiobook format of A Hym to Life which is narrated by the actress Emma Thompson. If you pick this one up, I highly recommend this format.

A Hymn to Life: Shame Has To Change Sides by Gisèle Pelicot was published on February 17 so it's available now.
Many thanks to Penguin Random House Audio for the gifted audiobook!

[Quetzalli · Rating 5 out of 5]

Giséle es un ejemplo de resiliencia, y le estoy agradecida por compartir su historia.

[Belinda · Rating 5 out of 5]

100 stars. What an amazing woman and family.

[Cortnie]

Gisele Pelicot has more bravery and strength in her little finger than most men could hope to accumulate in a lifetime.

A searingly bold account of one woman's horrific ordeal that has gripped me since the moment I heard about it.

Check trigger warnings on this one for sure.

Emma Thompson narrates the audiobook and did a fantastic job.

[Matthias · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eine Autobiographie zu bewerten fällt schwer, denn was bewertet man da eigentlich? Das Leben eines anderen Menschen? Die schriftstellerische Qualität? Kann man die Aufzeichnungen eines Lebens- und Leidenswegs „bewerten“? So grausig die geschilderten Verbrechen schon beim Lesen sind, so bewundernswert erscheinen die Kraft, die Beharrlichkeit und das ausgeprägte Rechtsempfinden von Frau Pelicot. Ob die Scham tatsächlich die Seiten gewechselt hat oder zumindest beginnt, es zu tun, wird sich zeigen. Sollte dem so sein, kann der Anteil, den die Autobiographie Gisèle Pelicots daran hat, gar nicht hoch genug eingeschätzt werden.

Am Ende schreibt sie: „Und das ist wohl auch der Grund, warum ich mich dem Prozess gestellt habe. Die ganze Welt hatte damit gerechnet, mich als Wrack erscheinen zu sehen. Aber das war nicht der Fall. Ich wusste noch genau, warum ich Dominique geliebt hatte, und ich sagte dem Gericht, dass ich vermutlich den Rest meines Lebens damit verbringen würde, wenigstens das eine oder andere aus meinem Erinnerungsschatz zu retten. Man würde mich niemals auf diesen geschundenen Körper reduzieren, meine Seele, sowohl die des jungen Mädchens, das ich einst war, als auch die der Frau, die ich heute bin, ist nicht an ihn gebunden. Eigenartig, diese beiden zusammenzudenken, die eine überlagert die andere, ich weiß, worin sie sich ähneln, weiß um den Lebensdrang, den sie gemeinsam haben, aber ich weiß auch, wodurch sie sich unterscheiden. Ich bin nicht mehr die in Schockstarre verfallene Ehefrau auf der Polizeiwache. Nicht mehr diejenige, die ich war, als ich noch nichts von Dominiques wahrem Gesicht ahnte. Ich komme voran.”

[Derek Driggs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely shocking; completely necessary. A brave woman taking control of her life in the aftermath of complete horror. A rejoinder to aphorisms that encourage us to live in our pain and demand retribution before we can heal; also, a complete condemnation of the insipid, ever-present patriarchal abuse of women in our societies. A meditation on memory and identity and what we are allowed to claim of our past when we are forced to change perspective. Also, an incredibly poignant accomplishment of a memoir that is both simple and lyrical. I’ve rarely seen an inner experience so well verbalized.

I find the author to be an incredible human being, and the ghost writer to be a literary gift. This felt like it was ghostwritten by Elena Ferrante. And the translation to English was masterful.

I recommend the audio version of this, as Emma Thompson’s narration is flawless and deserves its own accolades.

Trigger warning goes without saying here; the content is shocking. But even as the most utterly disgusting underbelly of humanity is brought to light through this story, the reader, and everyone who has followed the writer throughout, leave with hope in a better world and newfound belief in the resilience we possess.

[Αθηνά Δ. Κάππα · Rating 5 out of 5]

Έγραψα και έσβησα πολλές γραμμές στην προσπάθειά μου να μιλήσω για αυτό το βιβλίο. Ίσως γιατί δεν μπορώ να βρω τα λόγια για τις φρικαλεότητες που έζησε η Gisèle Pelicot.

«Όλα γίνονταν κομμάτια. Τα αντικείμενα. Η ιστορία μας. Εμείς. Εγώ, λίγο περισσότερο κάθε στιγμή που περνούσε».

Η μαρτυρία της με συγκλόνισε. Χρειάστηκε πολλές φορές να διακόψω την ανάγνωση για να συνεχίσω ξανά. Και μέσα από τον πόνο της, θαύμασα τη δύναμή της.

Πρόκειται για μια γυναίκα-σύμβολο φεμινισμού.

Παραιτήθηκε από το δικαίωμα στην ανωνυμία και ανάγκασε το δικαστικό σύστημα και την κοινωνία να αντιμετωπίσουν, με τεκμήρια, την πραγματική έκταση της κακοποίησης και όχι να τη θεωρήσουν ένα μεμονωμένο περιστατικό.

Το «στίγμα» της ντροπής μετατοπίστηκε από το θύμα στον θύτη, όπως άλλωστε πρέπει, προκαλώντας ουσιαστικές νομοθετικές και κοινωνικές συζητήσεις γύρω από την έννοια της συναίνεσης και της ευθύνης.

Διάβασα το βιβλίο της μέσα σε μία μέρα, ίσως γιατί δεν θα άντεχα να παρατείνω την ανάγνωση περισσότερο. Στις λέξεις της βρήκα θυμό, αλήθεια και φως. Βρήκα μια υπενθύμιση πως η επιβίωση μπορεί να γίνει πράξη αντίστασης.

Θα κλείσω με την τελευταία φράση της Pelicot: «Για να νικήσω το κενό, χρειάζομαι την αγάπη».

[Mieke]

Zulke persoonlijke non-fictie geef ik nooit sterren, want dat voelt niet goed, maar deze zou in heel hoge sterregionen eindigen als ik dat wel zou doen.

Wat een ontluisterend, ontwapenend en ongekend krachtig boek. Ik was bang dat dit luisteren te veel als voyeurisme zou voelen, maar dat was - met name omdat Gisele Pelicot het zelf optekent - gelukkig niet het geval. Ik ben diep onder de indruk van hoe zij is omgegaan met het kwade leed dat haar is aangedaan en hoe ze ervoor heeft gekozen dit hele proces openbaar aan te gaan. De passages over hoe ze tot die keuze is gekomen vond ik naast indrukwekkend ook ontroerend. Het is geen makkelijk boek om tot je te nemen, want sinds haar zaak de media bereikte zit het al onder m’n huid, maar het is het absoluut waard.

Ik vond het bijzonder hoe ze zich verhoudt tot (de herinneringen aan) haar huwelijk nadat alles aan het licht is gekomen. Ook hoe haar eigen verwerking zich verhoudt tot de verwerking die haar kinderen doormaken.

Een ontzettend bijzonder boek van een indrukwekkende vrouw. Laat die schaamte absoluut van kant wisselen.

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an devastating story of one woman’s abuse and betrayal by her own husband and her fight for justice. I had only heard a little about Gisele Pelicots story and I was horrified by the actual degrading sexual abuse she was subjected to in her own home by her own husband and others. The fact that the symptoms of the drugging and raped actually lead her to believe that she was developing an illness was heartbreaking. When discovering the truth of the shocking abuse that occurred in her marriage she bravely documents her search for justice whilst recounting her recollection of her marriage of a monster who was hiding in plain sight. Gisele Pelicots strength is something else which shines through the audiobook that is wonderfully narrated by Emma Thompson.

[Darina · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Not all men", but 52 men raping a drugged woman for 10 years.

I listened. It was like being punched.
I had to squeeze past them during breaks in the proceedings. I heard them talking, not even bothering to lower their voices, naturally buoyed by male camaraderie. I saw them high-fiving each other, going to the café across the street at lunchtime, chatting at the bar, buying rounds of beer, laughing. They bonded with each other simply because they were convinced they had done nothing wrong. And yet they didn't resemble one another: some were articulate, others could barely string a sentence together in the witness box; there were old men, bald men, men with paunches, men who were young and athletic; one was constantly chewing gum; another had brought along some policeman friends for support. But they did share one thing: a sense of entitlement.
An attitude of complete indifference to whatever anyone said or thought, because power had always been on their side.

I wanted to leave. To go home. For the trial to continue without me. So many times I was tempted to go back to my island. But there were all those messages I kept receiving, that crowd, the women waiting for me outside the courtroom whom I could not disappoint. Just as I could not concede a victory to the rapists and their defenders.

'What is rape?" the judge asked him.
'It's when someone is tied up and forced to have sex, he said. 'But I didn't use any violence.'
His answer was steeped in grotesque male entitlement.
The year that had gone by since the first trial had not forced him to reflect on what had happened, just as it had not stifled the sniggers and comments that can still be heard in the outside world; even among supposedly thoughtful people, apparently there are still those who don't entirely believe me. We should ask all these idiots with their millennia-old misogyny the question that the judge enunciated slowly and clearly, the way one would to a child:
"Did she act in the way that a woman does when she agrees to it?'
'No, the defendant conceded.

She is an international treasure. Protect & respect Gisèle Pelicot at all costs.

[Mark Robison · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well-done, personal book that delivers what it needs to from this French woman, now in her 70s, who was gang raped at least 200 times over the course of 10 years after being drugged unconscious by her longtime husband.

I couldn't help but choke up — even though I knew the story — when she described the throngs of women supporters who started showing up at the trial of her husband and the 51 men accused (and later convicted) of raping her.

I can’t remember the day I first heard the applause as I walked into the Palais de Justice. I realised that the people around me, mostly women, were forming a guard of honour, something I had never imagined or expected. I could feel the warmth of their bodies, their emotion and vulnerability melding with mine. ...

more important than anything, there was that crowd of women. Morning, noon and night, they queued up in the hope of getting a seat in the overflow room that had been opened to the public. At the end of the day they hung around outside the court building, unwilling to go home, where no doubt plenty of obligations awaited them – food shopping, children maybe, all the things that mean we are constantly run off our feet. But now they seemed in no hurry to return to their daily lives. The Palais de Justice in Avignon was suddenly at the epicentre of women’s suffering.

The book is told in alternating sections of pertinent past memories with the current day, starting when she learns of accusations against her husband for taking upskirt photos at the grocery store.

This was especially poignant because Giselle is a mother and grandmother used to taking care of others, and now she needed to care for herself while feeling the pull of caring for her family who was also devastated by the news, even her monstrous husband, whom she had decades of loving memories with.

Her strength and basic humanity shines through. And the way men justify and even brag about assaulting women comes through, too. Her decision to decline to keep the trial behind closed doors was amazingly brave. Younger women still in the working world and with small children would find such a choice impossible. But Giselle had no reputation to protect anymore — and she'd fallen in love again and had a good support system (one of the few new things learned in the book).

"Shame has to change sides." The words I’d first heard over a decade ago, a slogan supporting women who had survived rape and domestic violence, came into my head like a refrain, as if tiny blades were honing my thoughts. Everyone needs to see the faces of the fifty-one rapists. They should be the ones to hang their heads in shame, not me. ...

Today, looking back on the moment I made the decision, I am aware that had I been twenty years younger, I probably wouldn’t have dared request that the case be heard in open court. I would have been too afraid of the looks: those damn looks that women of my generation have always had to contend with; those damn looks that make you waver in the morning between a dress and trousers, that follow you or ignore you, flatter you or embarrass you; those damn looks that seem to tell you who you are or what you’re worth, only to forsake you as you age. It was exactly that nerve Dominique pressed when he told me I should be glad my husband still desired me whenever he photographed me coming out of the bathroom. I was, no doubt, still susceptible to it. It’s foolish, but that’s how we were – freer, more autonomous women, yet still afraid of being abandoned, still longing to be saved. Maybe the shame lifts once you hit seventy and no one looks at you any more. I don’t know. I wasn’t afraid of my wrinkles or my body.

She mentions leaving the courtroom one day and hearing a young woman of about 25 whispering that she could never be so brave. She stops and wipes away the woman's tears.

It was that young woman – her terror, her youth – I was thinking of when I addressed the court midway through the trial. I had prepared some notes, in which I had jotted down words that I was using for the first time in my life: ‘Every day people thank me for my courage. I want to tell them this is not courage, but a deep urge and determination to change our patriarchal, sexist society.’

All in all, even if there's not much new, this is a strong book by and about a strong woman. I am grateful to hear her story in her own words. They contrast a bit with her "high-strung" (as Giselle calls her) daughter's book that's basically a diary of the weeks after learning her father not only got dozens of strangers off the internet to come rape her mother, intentionally without condoms (one of whom was HIV positive), but that he'd taken rape-y photos of the daughter, appearing drugged and passed out.

The book shows how this could happen to someone without her knowing or even suspecting what was happening. That's what's so troubling about it. It's also troubling how easy it was to find men of all ages willing to join in, even swapping tips on how not to give her too much medication so she accidentally dies.

The book's main title is a stretch. I'm sure Giselle wanted it — maintaining faith in life and love helped her through. "Shame Must Change Sides" (not "has to change sides") might've been more accurate, more powerful main title with "A Hymn to Life" as the subtitle. Just sayin'.

Emma Thompson's narration of the audio version is perfection.

* See also "I'll Never Call Him Dad Again: Turning Our Family Trauma of Sexual Assault and Chemical Submission into a Collective Fight" by Caroline Darian. My rating: 3 stars

[La gata lectora]

Buf, me ha dejado con el estómago del revés esta historia real.

Como supongo que todos ya sabréis por los medios de comunicación, esta mujer francesa acaparó toda la atención mediática porque decidió que el juicio en el que denunciaba a su marido se celebrara de forma pública.

Su marido la sedaba con fármacos que le escondía en la comida y luego la vi*laba con prácticas brutales y además la ofrecía a otros hombres por internet que venían a casa a vi*larla también.

Esto durante años, a la vez que llevaba una vida de marido, padre y abuelo normal.

En el banquillo de los acusados, además del marido, había unos cincuenta hombres también con sus vidas normales.

Gisèle en este libro nos cuenta cómo se enteró, cómo se lo dijo a sus hijos y cómo fue el juicio. También nos habla de su infancia y de la de su marido, de cómo se conocieron y de cómo era su matrimonio.

Tremendo. No se qué decir. Ella ha conseguido rehacer su vida a pesar de todo. Una mujer fuerte, a la que tampoco le quedó otra opción, como ella misma dice.

Duro pero enfocado a entender y a quedarse con los buenos recuerdos.

[Óscar Moreno (OscarBooker) · Rating 5 out of 5]

No hay mucho que les pueda decir. Me parece un libro excepcional y con una fuerza inconfundible. Necesario y desgarrador. Un libro que podría ser más fuerte con el paso de los años.

Un testimonio de resistencia.

Imprescindible.

[Agnese Rosengren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Questo libro mi ha messo i brividi e, al contempo, mi ha anche emozionata tantissimo.
Mi ha messo i brividi perché ciò che è successo è atroce e orrendo, un supplizio che nessuno dovrebbe mai provare in tutta la vita; d'altra parte, mi ha emozionata perché la voce di Gisèle è arrivata forte e chiara, così come tutta la sua dignità e il suo importante messaggio, perché è vero, non è la vittima che deve provare vergogna, bensì il carnefice.
E chi subisce una violenza non ha nulla da recriminarsi: la colpa è solo e soltanto di chi fa del male e ancora peggio di chi ti fa del male dicendo che invece ti ama e ti vuole bene.
È uno di quei libri che andrebbero letti almeno una volta nella vita e trovo sinceramente assurdo che ci possano essere valutazioni inferiori a cinque stelle, ma questo è solo un mio parere personale.

[Chrissie Whitley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I will have to find the words.

Review to follow.

[beanwithasoul · Rating 5 out of 5]

„Man muss sich erlauben wieder glücklich zu sein.“
- Gisèle Guillou, Hamburg, 24.02.2026

[Olivia Padilla · Rating 5 out of 5]

Left me speechless. So much resilience came out of horror.

[zoloftprincessdiaries6-9]

Very very excited to read this book

Pelicot is an exceptional woman with a heart of gold. I listened to her story on NPR this morning and was genuinely moved by despite the interview being in French.

[Clara]

Merci Gisèle. 🖤

[Inga Grencberga · Rating 5 out of 5]

[..] the present does not erase the past …
To fight the emptiness - I need to love [..]

Šis ir apbrīnojamākais Sievietes Spēka stāsts …

[SimonReads · Rating 5 out of 5]

Als ich das erste Mal von dem Fall rund um Gisèle Pelicot erfuhr, war ich angewiedert und entsetzt. Wie konnte ein Mensch nur seiner Partnerin so etwas schreckliches antun, zum Verräter an dem Menschen werden, der einem am nächsten sein sollte? Gleichzeitig hatte ich damals schon enorme Hochachtung vor Gisèle Pelicot, die sich entschied den Prozess vor den Augen der Öffentlichkeit durchzuführen. Ihre Worte, in diesem Buch niedergeschrieben, haben diese Bewunderung nur verstärkt.

Sie erzählt ihre Lebensgeschichte und die des Verräters, des Vergewaltigers. Zwei Leben die bereits in jungen Jahren viel Leid erfahren mussten und hofften, zusammen dem dunklen Abgrund ihrer Jugend zu entkommen. Dominique Pelicot ist dies jedoch nicht gelungen. Mir ist oft schlecht geworden beim Lesen. Schonunglos beschreibt das Opfer eines abscheulichen Verbrechens, wie sie herausfinden musste, dass der Mann an ihrer Seite sie einer unerbittlichen Meute ausgeliefert hat. Wie erbarmungslos die Mühlen der Ermittlungen und der Öffentlichkeit mahlen, durch die man sich nicht nur als Opfer sondern in diesem Fall auch als Angehörige des Täters quälen muss. Wie hart es eine Familie trifft und auseinanderreißt, in der ein Ehemann, Vater und Großvater seiner eigenen Frau und auch noch der Tochter und den Schwiegertöchtern unvorstellbares angetan hat.

Gleichzeitig strotz das Buch nur so vor Lebenskraft, Mut und Entschlossenheit. Gisèle Pelicot hat sich nicht unterkriegen lassen, sie ist vorangeschritten, hat dem Abgrund getrotzt und sich dem Mammutprozess gestellt. Dass das nicht einfach war, daran lässt sie keinen Zweifel, doch es ist so schön zu lesen, wie sie unterstützt wurde, durch Freunde, Anwälte und ihre Familie. Sie hat sich nicht nur ihr Leben sondern auch ihre Erinnerungen daran bewahrt und lässt uns Leser teilhaben an guten wie schlechten Zeiten. Dieser Weg hat für mich enorm dazu beigetragen, die Menschen zu verstehen, die in dieser Tragödie eine Rolle gespielt haben, die bereits in der Kindheit von Opfer und Täter ihren Lauf nahm.

Ich bin sehr Dankbar dieses berührende Buch lesen zu dürfen, das Gisèles Stimme in die Welt hinaus getragen hat. Wir dürfen nicht wegsehen wenn es um Missbrauch geht, nicht die Opfer müssen sich schämen, sondern die Täter.

[Laura Jebookine · Rating 5 out of 5]

J’ai tant d’amour pour cette grande dame. Bien plus grande que tous les petits moins que rien qui ont croisé sa route sans son consentement. Ceux-là, je ne leur souhaite rien de moins que de mourir dans d’atroces souffrances les uns après les autres. Sans aucun soutien, aucune humanité, ni compassion, exactement de la façon dont ils ont traité Gisèle. Et ce sera bien fait pour eux.

Cette grande dame, cette guerrière qui malgré tout ce par quoi elle est passée, pas seulement son monstre d’ex mari, arrive encore à croire en l’amour et se refuse à détester les hommes. Moi, comme d’autres, on est bien assez à les détester à sa place.

Gisèle qui n’est qu’amour et n’a toujours souhaité qu’une famille heureuse, le bonheur de ses enfants et petits-enfants, ne mérite rien de moins. Je souhaite de tout cœur que cette grande petite dame puisse se reconstruire aux côtés de ses enfants, tous unis, malgré les ombres et les traumatismes dont ils ont été victimes.

[Donna Lewis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Difficult to read, but what a tribute to a remarkable woman who refused to become a victim.

So many women, and some men, stayed outside the courtroom at the trial of Gisèle Pelicot’s husband and the fifty other rapists. These focused supporters helped Gisèle by expressing their support and understanding of all that she was forced to go through. This included the years of abuse and the added trauma of a four-month trial.

Gisèle was “named as the most noteworthy person of 2024 in an opinion pole in France, eclipsing world leaders, and was honored by Time. To mark International Women’s Day, the Independent named her the most influential woman of 2025.” In addition, “She has been awarded the Légion d’honneur, France’s highest, civic honour.”

[Frida · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jävla tung men viktig bok. Tack Gisèle Pelicot.
Gråter och är arg vartannat. Och tänker på alla kvinnor.

”Det dubbla ansiktet. Det som gråter och det som långsamt dödar mig.”

”Det finns sånt man glömmer. Sånt man föredrar att glömma. Sånt drömmarna berättar för oss om vår obestämda ängslan men som man inte hör. För det väsentliga finns redan där. Det står redan skrivet. ”

”För om jag inte älskar är det tomheten som vinner och då är jag ingenting.”