Tears of Battle: An Animal Rights Memoir

by Brigitte Bardot, Anne-Cécile Huprelle, Grace McQuillan (Translator)

An Account of one Woman's Courage, Caring, and Generosity in the Face of the Inhumane

Brigitte Bardot—a global icon of French cinema—has used her fame to give a voice to those who cannot speak for themselves. Leaving the spotlight of stardom, she has dedicated her time and fortune to promoting the welfare of animals, both domestic and wild, around the world.

Over the past forty years, Bardot has evolved from an international film icon of the glamorous sixties to an icon of that of a crusader for animal rights, forming her own foundation and meeting with leaders from around the world and lobbying for legislation to protect animals. In this poignant memoir, she uncovers the struggles of her decades-long battle—detailing the too few victories and the heartbreaking defeats—and revealing herself as never before seen through her reflections about nature, herself as a superstar, and the passion that has driven her away from glamour of her previous fame toward the humble calling of serving others.

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, Animals

200 pages, Hardcover

Published April 9, 2019

About the author

People best know And God Created Woman (1956) and Shaloko (1968), films of French actress Brigitte Bardot.

This former fashion model and animal rights activist sang.

She symbolized sex of the 1960s. Starting in 1969, features of Bardot, the official face of Marianne, represented the liberty.

After retirement, Bardot established as an animal rights activist. During the 1990s, she criticized immigration and Islamization to generate controversy, and people fined her five times for "inciting racial hatred."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brigitt...

Reviews

[Helen · Rating 5 out of 5]

She doesn’t want to be an icon, but this book only reinforced that she will forever be my icon. It spoke to my soul. It understood my heart. And it reinforced the movement to make the world safe for all beings not just those that are human. I adored every second of it and am grateful that she took the time out of the madness that is her life to share such an important memoir.

[Jivana · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such an amazing read! I feel so connected to Brigitte Bardot now that I read this book. She is a beautiful role model.

[Amanda Em · Rating 5 out of 5]

As if I have found my other half who was born 80 years ago.

[Shuchi]

Life is not worth living unless it is nourished by love. Love is a motor, a source of hope, and a lifeboat. It was mine at a time when all I had left were questions without answers. Some may think I’m exaggerating when I say that animals saved me. But I will say it again: they did save me. They are capable of saving other humans, as well, and they might perhaps save all of humanity.

An online account of Brigitte Bardot's memoirs framed the story of her life as one of trying to make sense of difficult emotional experiences, like being groomed into her first marriage by a 28-year-old when she was 15. This book isn't about her marriage to Vadim or early stardom but that kind of frame sheds a lot of light on this book. Early on, it seems like she struggles with making sense of others' contradictory narratives about her, feeling like the story of her life has gotten away from her because of celebrity and objectification but now she feels that at least the profits of that can be used for something personally meaningful.

The book itself is a quick, accessible read that gets a bit repetitive but is interesting overall and feels starkly honest in places. Focused on her life after 40, specifically the animal work that she's devoted all her wealth to, this one appears to follow two previous memoirs which may have not been translated into English because of racist remarks that led to legal fines. In this book, she mentions she doesn't genuinely identify with those views or politics--like a lot of things she brings up, she says the accidental affiliations have been a result of not thinking. This theme recurs throughout: her sense of urgency has led to a lot of positive outcomes in her sphere of work, yet for all the good intent, some of her plans and remarks aren't well-considered and end up causing harm (e.g. her remarks about her son and her postpartum years, Chouchou the seal who predictably grew too large for her home, etc).

She stresses a lot on how animal work has been a consistent theme since early days, giving some background about key relationships and early perceptions of herself, like feeling ugly, feeling at odds with fame, and now disgust at humans' predatory nature plus a sense of urgency to nurture. Nurturing animals at times feels like a proxy for nurturing herself. Some anthropomorphism vs anthropocentrism debates now delve into the consequences of that kind of view for animal welfare activism, so it is relevant or illustrative.

[Atitya · Rating 5 out of 5]

“On m’a souvent reproché de mépriser ces derniers, en vérité ce sont les humains tournés vers eux-mêmes que je n’estime pas, les esprits étriqués, les Narcisse et les arrogants. Je méprise l’humain quand il se nie, quand il refuse d’accepter d’où il vient et la nature dont il est constitué.”
“qu’il fût rare que j’apprécie la compagnie durable des gens”
“J’aime l’essentiel, l’échange profond, discuter pour dire quelque chose. "
je ne suis pas la seule.
rien ne me rends plus heureuse juste quand je témoigne des gens qui respecte les animaux. ils nous apprennent que nous sommes égaux tous les humains sont ont une valeur équivalente malgré leur couleur nationalité religion...
la leçon doit être présentée différemment tout les êtres sont égaux soit un animal végétal ou un être humain.
d'après mes connaissances la seule différence entre nous humains eux animaux c'est la capacité de distinguer les choses être conscient que nous sont conscients n'est-ce pas ? et cette notion d'infériorité collé au front de ces animaux comme une étiquette ? c'est le résultat du narcissisme et d'égoïsme bien entendu humain :)
dans cet œuvre je me suis retrouvé non seulement mon lien robuste avec mes meilleurs amis mais aussi avec mes relations avec les humains plus ou moins compliqué.
j'ai vu une vidéo l'autre jour..une chienne qui allaite un chaton et puis op devrons pas remettre l'identité "humain"en question?qui le mérite en fait?
ils ne sont pas des humains mais pourtant nous apprennent l'humanité.

[Patricia Bloom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding review of our current policies to protect animals.

This is the final book written by Brigitte Bardot who gave up almost everything she owned at auction to fund a foundation which has made important strides to protect animals all over the world. But this well-written review of our current status, also highlights how miserably we have failed to inaugurate and enforce the kind of regulations necessary to protect our non-human animal counterparts.

[Brigitte · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a hard one to get through…I’m a very sensitive soul and she didn’t hold back describing the details of animal cruelty. It breaks my heart, it sickens me, it angers me. I want it to change. Animals are living, breathing, FEELING creatures. They feel pain, fear, joy, they have protective instincts, survival instincts, some have family groups and are nurturing to their young and grieve the loss of their elders. They want to LIVE. They want freedom. They do not deserve to be hunted, abused, experimented on, or slaughtered in cruel ways. As the (intellectually) dominant species, it is our responsibility to PROTECT. How dare we hurt innocent animals for sport or convenience because we have no compassion and assert ourselves as the only species that matters (unless you’re gay, black, poor, or female of course). Our creator must be ashamed. I know I am.
But I’m proud of this woman for being an activist and an advocate for animals. She shares my passion for their welfare and recognizes them for the beautiful blessings they are. Must be a Brigitte thing ❤️

[Caren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Une grande dame et une grande cause.