What Doesn't Kill Her: Women's Stories of Resilience

by Kerry Garvin, Elisabeth Sharp McKetta (Editor), Sherry Briscoe

In late 2018, in the wake of the Me Too Movement and midterm elections deemed the Women's Wave, two Harvard-educated woman writers, Kerry Garvin and Elisabeth Sharp McKetta, dreamt of a collection of essays--a collective memoir--dedicated to the strength and resilience of women from all walks of life. It would be a book that could be plucked from shelves during times of adversity, lent to a mother, sister, daughter, or friend. They sent out a call for true stories. Sixty brave women rose to the call and the book was born. What Doesn't Kill Her: Women's Stories of Resilience is a collection of sixty triumphant survival stories written by a diverse array of women.

Sometimes triumph is a soaring achievement in the face of adversity. Other times, it's getting out of bed and putting one foot in front of the other. Phoenixes arise from ashes of all sorts--even bed sheets.

These stories feature culturally relevant topics such as advocating for healthcare, surviving sexual assault, reconciling female genital mutilation, working in the sex industry, overcoming breast cancer, motherhood after miscarriage, losing a husband in Afghanistan, and transitioning from male to female.

332 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2021

Reviews

[Noreen W · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received this book (a physical book with pages!) for free from a friend, with the promise that I would write a review. My lifelong avocation is reading, but this is my first book review. As advertised in its title, this is a compilation of stories. Sixty diverse women tell their story (in about five pages each) of overcoming challenges by facing their demons, both internal and external. They tell these stories (and some poems) with courage and vulnerability, sometimes through wit and sometimes through palpable sadness. I would not recommend this book if you are looking for a fun summer read. These stories contain true accounts of inhuman atrocities, of illnesses straight out of our worst nightmares, of living for years with paralyzing self-doubt and grinding depression. But I do recommend this book to women and men who question if there is any way a human being can crawl out of the bottom of a seemingly-bottomless pit, and walk away happy and even BETTER from the experience. The answer from the book is yes, there are at least sixty ways.

[ginger northcutt · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book contains story after story of a woman faced w/ something that would have the ability to knock them flat. I started reading thinking it was about survivors of domestic violence. It held those stories, along with a multitude of victorious women who made it thru some difficult trials; by embracing & reassuring their own selves of their innate abilities for survival they hold & support all women.

[MCS]

Loved this book. The short essays makes it easy to breeze though, even with a stack of other books on my nightstand. Each essay is a totally different experience but common themes were hope, resilience, and relationships. This is a great read, and great gift for all the women in your life.