A rich, nuanced exploration of women's anger from a diverse group of writers Women are angry, and from the #MeToo movement to the record number of women running for political office, they're finally expressing it. But all rage isn't created equal. Who gets to be angry? (If there's now space for cis white women's anger, what about black women? Trans women?) How do women express their anger? And what will they do with it-individually and collectively? In Burn It Down, a diverse group of women authors explore their rage-from the personal to the systemic, the unacknowledged to the public. One woman describes her rage at her own body when she becomes ill with no explanation. Another writes of the anger she inherits from her father. One Pakistani American writes, "To openly express my anger would be too American," and explains why. Broad-ranging and cathartic, Burn It Down is essential reading for any woman who has burned with rage but questioned if she is entitled to express it.
Authors
Lisa Marie Basile is the founding creative director of Luna Luna Magazine, a popular magazine & digital community focused on literature, magical living, and identity. She is the author of several books of poetry, as well as Light Magic for Dark Times, a modern collection of inspired rituals and daily practices, as well as The Magical Writing Grimoire: Use the Word as Your Wand for Magic, Manifestation & Ritual. Her work focuses heavily on trauma recovery, writing as a healing tool, chronic illness, everyday magic, and poetry. She's written for or been featured in The New York Times, Refinery 29, Self, Chakrubs, Marie Claire, Narratively, Catapult, Sabat Magazine, Bust, HelloGiggles, Best American Experimental Writing, Best American Poetry, Grimoire Magazine, and more. She's an editor at the poetry site Little Infinite as well as the co-host of Astrolushes, a podcast that conversationally explores astrology, ritual, pop culture, and literature. Lisa Marie has taught writing and ritual workshops at HausWitch in Salem, MA, Manhattanville College, and Pace University. She is also a chronic illness advocate, keeping columns at several chronic illness patient websites. She earned a Masters' degree in Writing from The New School and studied literature and psychology as an undergraduate at Pace University. You can follow her at @lisamariebasile and @Ritual_Poetica.
Erin Khar is an author and advocate known for her writing on addiction, recovery, mental health, parenting, and relationships. Erin knows first-hand the challenges of addiction recovery and has established herself as a respected voice in the national conversation about the overdose epidemic. Erin's debut memoir, Strung Out, appeared on most anticipated lists from Apple Books, Goodreads, SELF, The Rumpus, Bitch Media, and others. Of the book, The New York Times writes, "Khar’s buoyant writing doesn’t get mired in her dark subject matter. There is an honesty here that can only come from, to put it in the language of 12-step programs, a 'searching and fearless moral inventory.' This is a story she needed to tell; and the rest of the country needs to listen.” She writes the weekly advice column, Ask Erin, on Substack, and her personal essays have appeared in SELF, Marie Claire, Salon, The Times of London Sunday Magazine, HuffPost, Esquire, Cosmopolitan, and others. She lives in New York City.
As featured in the New York Times, Reema Zaman is an award-winning author, speaker, illustrator, and actress, and the Oregon Literary Arts Writer of Color Fellow 2018. Born in Bangladesh and raised in Thailand, she moved to the United States at 18. Her memoir, I AM YOURS, tells the story of her unwavering fight to protect and free her voice from those who have sought to silence her. Reema explores the many difficulties, dangers, and ultimately, the necessity for all women—all people—to claim and use their voices. A reader's author, Reema wrote I AM YOURS as a love letter, to deliver solidarity, solace, and strength. Her work has been featured in The New York Times, Dear Sugars, The Rumpus, Narratively, Shape Magazine, and eleswhere. "My heart just burst into a thousand songs after reading I AM YOURS by Reema Zaman. From the first word to the last, this story is phenomenal triumph of one woman's body and voice rising up and through a culture that would quiet her. Moving through language and experience without flinching, Zaman reminds us that to have a body is to bring a soul to life. A stunning debut." — Lidia Yuknavitch, bestselling author of The Small Backs of Children, The Chronology of Water, and The Book of Joan.
