Reckoning

by V (formerly Eve Ensler)

A Publishers Weekly Top 10 Memoir of the Season

The work of a lifetime from the Tony Award-winning, bestselling author of The Vagina Monologues -political, personal, profound, and more than forty years in the making.

The newest book from V (formerly Eve Ensler), Reckoning invites you to travel the journey of a writer's and activist's life and process over forty years, representing both the core of ideas that have become global movements and the methods through which V survived abuse and self-hatred. Seamlessly moving from the internal to the external, the personal to the political, Reckoning is a moving and inspiring work of prose, poetry, dreams, letters, and essays drawn from V's lifelong journals that takes readers from Berlin to Oklahoma to the Congo, from climate disaster, homelessness, and activism to family.

Unflinching, intimate, introspective, courageous, Reckoning explores ways to create an unstoppable force for change, to love and survive love, to hold people and states accountable, to reckon with demons and honor the dead, to reclaim the body, and to see oneself as connected to a greater purpose. It reimagines what seems fixed and intractable, providing a path to understand one's unique experience as deeply rooted in the world, to break through one's own boundaries, and to write oneself into freedom.

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, Feminism, Essays, Poetry, Biography Memoir, Gender

272 pages, Hardcover

First published January 31, 2023

About the author

V is an internationally bestselling author and an award-winning playwright whose works include The Vagina Monologues, The Good Body, Insecure at Last, and I Am an Emotional Creature, since adapted for the stage as Emotional Creature. She is the founder of V-Day, the global movement to end violence against women and girls, which has raised more than $90 million for local groups and activists, and inspired the global action One Billion Rising. V lives in Paris and New York City.

Reviews

[Richard Propes · Rating 5 out of 5]

If I were asked to come up with a single word to describe V, formerly known as Eve Ensler, I would struggle to do so.

"V is a Tony and Obie award-winning, New York Times best-selling playwright, author, and activist with plays and books published in over 48 languages and performed in over 140 countries. The founder of V-Day, the global grassroots movement to end violence against all women and girls (cisgender, transgender, those who hold fluid identities, and nonbinary people), and the planet, she is also the founder of One Billion Rising, the biggest mass action campaign to end violence against all women and girls in over 200 countries, and the co-founder of City of Joy, a revolutionary leadership center for Congolese women survivors of violence in Bukavu, DRC," as described by her own press materials and on her own website.

These are, indeed, tangible expressions of the life of V and they are remarkable, world-changing achievements.

Yet, as remarkable as these things are they still seem to fall short of describing V.

Unflinching? No question. Brave? Absolutely. Intimate? Fiercely true.

There's more.

As I was reading "Reckoning" and feeling beyond privileged to be one of the earliest ones to do so, the word that kept coming back to me time and time again is "love."

I'm not talking about the Hallmark version of love or some greeting card expression. I'm not talking about the romanticized and sentimental version of love we're often sold in the media.

Nope. The love that comes alive in the remarkable "Reckoning" is both internal and external. It's the kind of love you fight for relentlessly and you spend an entire lifetime figuring out what it all means.

There's no logical reason that V has become this love. There's no logical reason that she has survived years of childhood abuse and self-hatred and become this relentless force for change who has seemingly demanded a better world then invested every fiber of her being into creating it.

It's not logical. And yet it is.

After her masterful book, now play, "The Apology," V permanently banished the name Eve Ensler into the archives of her life experiences. Abandoning that paternal identity assigned to her by a father whose violent abuse could have easily become her identity, V instead reclaimed herself and it's that reckoning of sorts that comes powerfully to live in "Reckoning."

For years, I wondered if I belonged in the V universe. As a longtime writer, playwright, activist, and more, V has long emphasized ending violence against women and girls (cisgender, transgender, nonbinary, and those who hold fluid identities). I exist in this world and have long identified with it, partly out of my own trauma history as a survivor of childhood sexual violence and disability and partly out of my own activism which is much smaller scale yet no less vital.

V's words and actions and creativity have long fueled me and inspired me and informed me and challenged me. The same is true with "Reckoning," a magnificent collection of prose, poetry, dreams, letters, and essays drawn from V's lifetime journals that takes readers from Berlin to Oklahoma to Congo, from climate disaster, homelessness, and activism to family.

I loved every page of "Reckoning," not because it was necessarily joyful but because it was filled life and love, passion and commitment. There's dark humor to be found here and almost jarring intimacy. As is always true of V's writings, this is a book I will refer to time and time again.

V beautifully balances the writing in "Reckoning," always acknowledging the influences of her past yet clinging to the light that occasionally dims but she refuses to let be extinguished.

I'm still not truly sure that a single world can possibly describe the wonder that is V, but I am absolutely certain that within her very roots the seeds of love have come to define this woman who authentically lives into a life of breaking her own abusive cycles and empowering and educating others toward doing the same.

All I can say is "Reckoning" is a remarkable achievement.

[Brinley · Rating 4 out of 5]

In her latest work, V considers America’s reckoning: with a legacy steeped in systemic racism, violence, overconsumption, patriarchal values and most recently, a pandemic, as the focus of her latest book, the product of 45 years of her writings.

In Reckoning, she explores a personal reckoning that grew over the decades. Through diary entries, poetry and monologues, she writes about the family violence and sexual abuse she endured from her father, world events she witnessed and losing friends to the AIDS crisis.

V’s writing style is engaging and beautiful, even her unflinching descriptions of horrific events. It’s hard to stomach and keep reading, but her ability to capture the pain is a testament to her gift as a writer. It’s clear that she views being a witness to these events as a responsibility that she cannot shrug off. Her recounting of horrific events, like the femicide in Congo, took my breath away and made me physically ill. Yet I could not look away.

She peels back the curtain and gives the reader an intimate view of her life and motivations. Her latest work is not only a reckoning, but a reclamation.

Thank you, Net Galley, for this ARC in exchange for my review.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very painful to read, but also very important to read.

[Adrienne Blaine · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you’ve heard of The Vagina Monologues, then you are already familiar with the work of this author, V, who was formerly known as Eve Ensler. She is a phenomenal playwright, activist and writer. This book is a collection of essays, poems and reflections on global systems of power and the experiences of women and people who embody identities outside of gender binaries. V’s writing is raw and unflinching in its examination of violence, extraction and manipulation, but it also shines a light on so much hope, resilience and love. The core argument here is that a reckoning for our societal and individual ills is overdue. Read this book if you’re ready to dismantle patriarchy and examine your role in upholding it.

I received a digital advance reader copy of this book from NetGalley and Bloomsbury USA in exchange for an honest review.

[M · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I was a freshmen in college, I was involved in producing The Vagina Monologues, an experience I did for four years, and V-Day now means that celebration of women's bodies, so Eve Ensler played a huge part of my younger years.

I have read some of her follow-up work; I especially appreciated Necessary Targets.

I love that V has this good energy and wants to keep moving with her work, but I wonder what place this book has in her canon. Many of her other books were solid concepts, whereas this one is a collective of speeches and diary entries and other bits, which are compelling for one who is studying Ensler's body of work. In some ways, I am grateful to this writer, but I also think about how we take up space--there was a part of me that wondered what it would look like if Ensler would have instead taken some of this energy and backed a new voice in feminist writing?

Ordinarily, I'd celebrate a new piece from one of our foremothers, but this somehow occurred to me, how we make space for one another, how we respect the generations that come before us by also respecting the ones that come next.

A good piece for true Ensler fans, but not a first book to read by her.

With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance reader's copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Quin Rich · Rating 5 out of 5]

Phenomenal. V is a true revolutionary, a deeply compassionate, creative, visionary person who deftly weaves the personal and political into a radical feminist analysis of…everything. Deeply intersectional and deeply life affirming. So damn good.

[Patricia Meinking · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book Reckoning by V (fomerly Eve Ensler) is the accounting of the harsh reality of sexual assault for her personally and the areas she reported. At times, I found it very difficult to read and comprehend the cruelty. However, saying that, this book kept me going too. These stories need to be read and these women need to be heard. The more we hear them, the better we can advocate. This book is not to be ignored but embraced.

[Abby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Big, big feels about this memoir -- it is beautiful in a way that shatters you. I have never highlighted so many passages that resonated with me in a book before. V (formerly Eve Ensler) lives up to her many awards and recognitions with "Reckoning," an unflinching look at sexual violence, identity, family, activism, and more. I felt absolutely privileged to be able to read an advanced copy of this work (thank you, Bloomsbury and NetGalley!) and will without a doubt reread this after I've fully sat with and processed this work.

A huge content warning to anyone who has experience with sexual violence/assault -- there is a lot of graphic content in this book and I had to put it down several times just to take a breath and re-ground myself. Please take care of yourselves!

[Marie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Loved just about everything she has written but now this book has become an exception. Such a narrow minded type of mentality Some of the essays were thought provoking but gettting so tired of the constant repetition of white privilege and self hatred along with blaming basically everything on either men or racism.

[Julie Jordan Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been involved in the VDay movement since 2004, so when I saw this on the library shelf, I knew I absolutely must read this book....I hadn't heard of V's name change and I was disappointed to no longer be able to direct a VDay experience AND I was thrilled to learn more of her life - even though I have been immersed in her work for so long.

I got about half way through the book and chose to go to the ending - and reading the final entry/chapter in the book wished I had started there. I plan to purchase a copy of the book and may make it an every weekly practice to read this final chapter and slowly digest the other chapters again in a slow, intentional way.

Like the monologues may feel difficult to watch, the book is at times even more challenging to read yet at the same time, it is so important we become more aware of the realities of this time of reckoning we find ourselves in right now -

While her writing style may not fall within everyone's aesthetics, I do believe every reader - if being aware and open - will find terrific gold in having read this book.

[Kay West · Rating 5 out of 5]

5/5 must read nonfiction of 2023!

If you're like me, and Vagina Monologues changed how you viewed your body, your value and your culture, then you are going to want to read Reckoning by V (formerly Eve Ensler).

Get your highlighters and annotating items ready because you're going to want to share quotes and insights with everyone you know. V holds up a mirror to in which we see the deep criticisms and ceaseless hope of western culture today.

As V describes, this book is shaped like grief, and gathers as it flows. Essays dig deep into our cultural understanding of race, abuse, justice and feminism. When V writes about the components and power of apology, I forget to breathe. While V references specific instances, the feelings are universal and relevant to all readers.

Read this book, while sitting beside your best friend, because you will want to discuss and quote from it often.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bloomsbury for an advanced reader copy of this book.

[Kim Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book acts as a much needed eye-opener to some of the atrocities taking place against women and underprivileged around the world. It is not easy to read, nor easy to understand why this violence is still taking place, when we know full well it is occurring. As V points out: "Women are being raped and murdered so the world can have its phones." This statement is referring to the Democratic Republic of Congo, where horrific crimes against women take place in the name of the war to control access to the mineral coltan. V visited a hospital for women run by Dr. Mukwege, which is in dire need of outside support and shared some excruciatingly heartbreaking stories in this book.
Also of interest: the ISIS sex slave price list, as well as their Best Practices for Sex Slavery Manual, that is brazenly posted on the internet.

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

V (formerly Eve) Ensler is a brilliant mind and beautiful soul. I appreciate how she utilized social and political upheaval to coalesce her years of life and learnings. It was difficult for me, personally, to switch between pieces of memoir, poetry, and essay. It made it difficult to have the attention span for certain longer pieces. With that said, the entire section on Femicide wracked me; V just knows how to move mountains and speak truth to power.

In the introduction, Ensler admits that writing is risky business. She understands that certain people will persecute or ridicule her work. And yet, she continues to put herself out into the world. This book is no exception where she offers the darkest parts of herself so we may reckon with our own moments.

[Debra Daniels-Zeller · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a very different book for me, so I'm not the ideal reader for this book. I got it out of curiosity. I'd never seen or read her previous book, didn't see the Vagina Monologues and don't follow feminists or activists. I was intrigued and wanted to know more about the author because I'd watched an interview with V at the Book Passage. This book is a collection of essays that span from the 1990s to the current century. Many of the essays contained dark narratives from the author's life. A lot of the essays centered on sex. Masturbation is the ultimate form of prayer. Orgasam is the center of the universe.Seriously? Sex felt like an obsession for the author. Eassy after essay left me feeling down, not empowered or inspired. This style of writing just wasn't for me

[AnnieM · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not surprisingly, if you are familiar with V (formerly Eve Ensler's) work then you know this will be no holds barred gut and heart-wrenching meditation on trauma, abuse of women and disasters in the world. There are essays she has published over the past decades including a moving section on AIDS as well as current poetry and commentary on the impacts of Trump and Covid. A difficult read but also a very moving and important read. Using her voice to speak out about these injustices is incredibly empowering and hopeful in the end.

Thank you to Netgalley and Bloomsbury USA, for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

[Drea · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a gift it feels like to read anything by the brilliant and brave V (formerly Eve Ensler). This compilation of former works of all types along with current writing about the Supreme Court and Trump and Covid should each be savored by the reader, allowing yourself to sit with the feelings that inevitably rise up upon reading V’s words. Thank you to Bloomsbury for the advanced copy. What a gift.

[Karen Prive · Rating 4 out of 5]

Powerful and poetic, Reckoning is a series of essays by V (formerly known as Eve Ensler), the creator of The Vagina Monologues. V brazenly presents her views on what womanhood means in all its diversity, and calls on us to demand reckoning - with love. Her ideas are profound and eloquently articulated - so beautifully worded that sometimes they were hard to understand, except for her expressive voice speaking them gave meaning even when the words seemed somewhat tangled. Worth a second listen.

[Heather Fineisen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have read some other books by V and she does not hold back. Some really tough and heinous subjects regarding violence and abuse of women are covered and this volume is no different. Although slim, it takes a while to read through the topics including speeches, articles and poetry. Her stories of rape as war are especially moving. Her own story of abuse and her attempts to address this with her mother are also heart rendering and helpful for other victims. A good but difficult read.

Copy provided by the Publisher and NetGalley

[Jennifer ~ TarHeelReader · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reckoning is a beautifully-written, powerful work. In fact, I’m in awe of V, and the commitment to her life’s work. She shares her entire heart with the reader, along with the most articulate accounting of a path forward.

I don’t often highlight, but I found myself wanting to dart every passage. I could read a sentence, and then sit with that sentence for several minutes absorbing all of its tenderness and meaning and then do the same thing on repeat.

Reckoning is a book to share the experience of reading with your best friend, especially if your best friend is yourself. Life-changing.

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

[Hillary Humphreys · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reckoning is a gorgeously written, deeply important book. The only reason it has three stars is that my attention span did not seem to click with most of the essays and I had to work very hard to get through them. Nonetheless, I highly recommend you keep this book within reach and open to a chapter to read and reflect when you are in need of perspective and inspiration.

[Malia · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's extraordinary the way that V (formerly Eve Ensler) has made her life's work about turning toward what so much of society would rather look away from. And this chronicle of her journey is important and powerful. That said, it's also a tough read because she's tackling head on what we most need to heal collectively!

[Shana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow. This is a manifesto - an unflinching look at the brutality visited upon women across the world, and an unembarrassed dream of a different way of living. Her power is words and that is obvious here.

[Hilarie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have a great deal of respect for V's writing. I've acted in "The Vagina Monologues" multiple times. However, this work lacks the balance in tone that play has. It's so relentlessly bleak it's hard for the message to get through.

[Johanna Tropiano · Rating 5 out of 5]

You must read this book.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am fatigued by reading about femme trauma, but it’s a fine book.

[Katie Stein · Rating 5 out of 5]

LOVED this book. I wish it wasn’t over!!!!

[Carolyn Bowman]

Good woman power of trauma, political and social landscape and religion. Good collection of essays.

[Elizabeth Gee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't know much about V besides her infamous play. This is a great recap of her life, work, experiences and thoughts. However be warned it spares no details and discusses all the pain as well. ♥️

[Debra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brave and brilliantly written

[Betty Utley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Powerful and haunting; a very hard read.