It becomes all too clear in the following pages that her feelings of isolation, fear, and frustration were not an anomaly.
As she explains in her introduction, “the practice of silencing women is not a female issue, male issue, Democrat issue, Republican issue, Black issue, white issue, Asian issue, Latinx issue, indigenous issue, evangelical issue, mainline issue, upper-class issue, middle-class issue, or lower class issue. It’s an everyone issue. It permeates every field, sector, and pocket of society. It happens to fast food employees, high-powered executives on Wall Street, educated and affluent medical doctors, Hollywood actresses, assistants making minimum wage, everyday churchgoers, and devout clergy. In short, it’s happening everywhere. And unless we pursue the redemptive arc of justice, it will continue untested, and half the human population will suffer under the weight of abuse and violation.”
So, why does abuse happen? How does it happen? The book presents several well-articulated, thoroughly-researched reasons and connects them with real-world examples. Bluhm navigates her way through complicated and complex subject matter, doing each topic justice without sacrificing readability or relevancy to the reader. The #MeToo movement, racism, or gender inequality could – and have – easily warrant their respective books – but this relatively short work shortchanges none of them.
For those questioning whether abuse is a serious matter that we must address with great urgency, this book should serve as a jarring call to action.
For those struggling to identify areas where they might be enabling abuse, this book will serve as an X-ray, revealing weaknesses and spaces that we must improve.
For those who want to become better allies, this book will present several necessary tools. In short, this is an essential read for pastors, churchgoers, business owners, employees, parents, and, frankly, anyone else with a pulse.
Prey Tell is currently available for pre-order now and releases March 16, 2021: https://amzn.to/2KTduza