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26th out of 49 books
—
6 voters
Crash Into Me: A Survivor's Search for Justice
by
Liz Seccuro
In September 2005, Liz Seccuro's world turned upside down when she received an apology letter from the man who had raped her twenty-two years earlier. The rape, which occurred when she was a seventeen-year-old freshman at the University of Virginia, was reported to the campus police, but their inquiry led nowhere. The man accused of raping her left the university soon afte...more
Hardcover, 256 pages
Published
January 4th 2011
by Bloomsbury USA
(first published September 22nd 2009)
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I was captivated by this book and read it in less than 12 hours. Liz Seccuro's story highlights society's view on rape and the tendency to blame victims rather than perpetrators. I think more detail and discussion could have been provided in the book about this culture of victim blaming, but I still think this book is worthy of 5 stars.
Some reviewers have mentioned that Liz Seccuro's story would have sufficed just as a magazine article, and these reviewers use the chapters of court transcripts...more
Some reviewers have mentioned that Liz Seccuro's story would have sufficed just as a magazine article, and these reviewers use the chapters of court transcripts...more
This is an amazing book! I just received it tonight and I have already finished it. From the very first page I was drawn into Liz's story and I couldn't put the book down until I finished it. This is a memoir about a rape that occurred in 1984. She goes into graphic detail throughout the book, which drives the whole story home for the reader. She uses court documents as well scattered throughout the second half of the book which I loved because it brought reality to the book.
I honestly could not...more
I honestly could not...more
The Good Stuff
* Brutally honest and powerful
* Books like this one help give power back to those victims that have had their power forcefully taken from them
* Refreshing to hear of helpful police officers dealing with rape victims/survivors
* Admire the authors strength of character
* Absolutely disgusted by the lack of support from the University and its archaic need to protect its reputation (Makes me wonder what Humber & Guelph-Humber would do in a similar situation)
* Also truly disgus...more
* Brutally honest and powerful
* Books like this one help give power back to those victims that have had their power forcefully taken from them
* Refreshing to hear of helpful police officers dealing with rape victims/survivors
* Admire the authors strength of character
* Absolutely disgusted by the lack of support from the University and its archaic need to protect its reputation (Makes me wonder what Humber & Guelph-Humber would do in a similar situation)
* Also truly disgus...more
Review Title: Liz...Inseccuro?
First of all, this author has a writing style that makes her story impossible to put down. Engaging, engaging, provoking. The flow is incredible, sort of like "A Million Little Pieces" written by someone with a degree in English...but unfortunately, with the same amount of B__S__t.
I must confess, it is thrilling to write this review because I am 100% certain the author will have read it by the end of April. It is not possible for me to separate my review of her work...more
First of all, this author has a writing style that makes her story impossible to put down. Engaging, engaging, provoking. The flow is incredible, sort of like "A Million Little Pieces" written by someone with a degree in English...but unfortunately, with the same amount of B__S__t.
I must confess, it is thrilling to write this review because I am 100% certain the author will have read it by the end of April. It is not possible for me to separate my review of her work...more
Review of Crash Into Me: A Survivor’s Search for Justice, by Liz Seccuro
Liz Seccuro spent years building her world anew after it had been destroyed by rape when she was seventeen. The strong foundation of her carefully structured life was weakened when the rapist, William Beebe, dared to contact her twenty-two years after the assault. Ms. Seccuro wrote Crash Into Me as a concise narrative that documents the complex true story of surviving after rape, and seeking the justice victims deserve.
Ms. S...more
Liz Seccuro spent years building her world anew after it had been destroyed by rape when she was seventeen. The strong foundation of her carefully structured life was weakened when the rapist, William Beebe, dared to contact her twenty-two years after the assault. Ms. Seccuro wrote Crash Into Me as a concise narrative that documents the complex true story of surviving after rape, and seeking the justice victims deserve.
Ms. S...more
Decent and simple writing, quick story. I'd like to respond to the few reviews criticizing the author and her apparent still burning hatred for her rapist(s) and her critics - Liz Seccuro seems to care more about the perpetuation of the rape-culture we (speaking of the USA here) live in. Where women sexually assaulted are not asked "Are you okay?" but instead "Were you drunk?" or "What were you wearing?" Our mainstream culture needs to progress into a more educating and supportive environment, w...more
Thank-you, Goodreads, for sending me an advanced copy of Crash Into Me. I received the book yesterday and couldn't put it down. Ms. Seccuro tells her personal compelling story with equal parts of horror and compassion. The basic story was one in which a man working his AA 12-step program, wrote a letter to a woman he had raped at a fraternity party 22 years prior, trying to make amends.
The horror of what she had gone through came crashing back as fresh as if it had happened yesterday. Since Vir...more
The horror of what she had gone through came crashing back as fresh as if it had happened yesterday. Since Vir...more
This book could have people arguing for years. Liz Seccuro, cute little 17 year old University of Virginia student was drugged and gang raped at a fraternity party. She was discouraged at all levels from having her rapist prosecuted and even told by the dean of students that the police had no jurisdiction over the fraternity house where the crime occurred. After 21 years of therapy and finally establishing herself as an event planner and well to do wife and mother, one of the rapists, William Be...more
Goodreads Description- In September 2005, Liz Seccuro's world turned upside down when she received an apology letter from the man who had raped her twenty-two years earlier. The rape, which occurred when she was a seventeen-year-old freshman at the University of Virginia, was reported to the campus police, but their inquiry led nowhere. The man accused of raping her left the university soon after, and Seccuro tried to put the incident behind her, starting a business and a family, but like all su...more
Feb 12, 2011
Lara Fritz
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
McMinnville Public Library
Recommended to Lara by:
Goodreads Giveaway
I received an advance copy of this book as a Goodreads giveaway (which was very exciting! Thanks, Goodreads)
The first chapter read easily but then I found myself distanced through the next couple of chapters. I was skeptical because of the author's obviously privileged life and what sounded like yet another outdated, stereotyped, and under-informed depiction of Greek life from the early 80's.
Luckily I kept reading because I came to recognize that I was judging the author - the victim - like so...more
The first chapter read easily but then I found myself distanced through the next couple of chapters. I was skeptical because of the author's obviously privileged life and what sounded like yet another outdated, stereotyped, and under-informed depiction of Greek life from the early 80's.
Luckily I kept reading because I came to recognize that I was judging the author - the victim - like so...more
There's a really good story in here, somewhere, and Liz Seccuro is a good writer. Unfortunately, however, while this memoir is well-penned and raises some interesting issues, it feels like there are long sections of filler. Quite simply, I'm not sure Seccuro had enough information to write an entire book; she may have done better to write a magazine article (or better, a series of articles, as she has more material than an article may have allowed for). Her story is powerful, and her quest for j...more
I read this book in less than 24 hours. It was quite consuming.
In the first chapter I didn't have a lot of sympathy for Ms. Seccuro as she described her privileged lifestyle. I thought, here we go, another pretty, popular sorority girl who married rich and had everything handed to her on a silver platter. However, she quickly won me over with her guts and fortitude.
The author never suggested that she might have been given a date rape on the night of her assault, but the symptoms she described s...more
In the first chapter I didn't have a lot of sympathy for Ms. Seccuro as she described her privileged lifestyle. I thought, here we go, another pretty, popular sorority girl who married rich and had everything handed to her on a silver platter. However, she quickly won me over with her guts and fortitude.
The author never suggested that she might have been given a date rape on the night of her assault, but the symptoms she described s...more
As a college freshman, Liz was invited to a frat party, given a suspect drink, and then raped. When she tried to report it to her university, she was discouraged from calling the police and pressing charges. Her rapist left the university a few days after the incident which caused Liz lasting psychological trauma.
Fast forward 20 year later. Liz is a successful party planner and happily married with a two year old daughter. Her rapist decides to send her an apology letter which sends her life int...more
Fast forward 20 year later. Liz is a successful party planner and happily married with a two year old daughter. Her rapist decides to send her an apology letter which sends her life int...more
Crash Into Me: A Survivor's Search For Justice by Liz Seccuro (Bloomsbury 2011) (Biography) is the story of a college freshman who was raped at a fraternity party in 1984 at the University of Virginia. This case made the national news in the early 2000's when the attacker contacted the victim out of the blue over twenty years later to apologize or "make amends" to her as part of the Twelve Steps program of Alcoholics Anonymous. As things turned out, there is no statute of limitations on rape in...more
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Writing about my own deep trauma several years ago was almost impossible so I admire Seccuro's honesty and her ability to put this experience into a simple account. Her commitment to justice for the people who harmed her and her willingness to accept the limits of what the courts could do were admirable. This story and her work as an advocate for similarly traumatized women will certainly help many to come to terms with such experiences. Like Seccuro, I wanted to understand how the experience of...more
Two decades after she was brutally raped, the author received a letter of apology from her attacker, seeking to make amends for harm as part of his AA program. Unsurprisingly, this turned the author's life upside down. After a brief correspondence with her rapist revealed that he'd rewritten the crime in his mind as a gentler, almost romantic encounter gone wrong, the author sought the justice she'd been unable to receive years before. This book is the chronicle of the long, frustrating journey...more
A First Reads win that I was really excited about; I read a short article in Marie Claire or Glamour about Seccuro and her forthcoming book and was instantly curious.
Seccuro was raped at a fraternity party in 1984. 22 years later, she receives a letter in the mail from her rapist apologizing to her. Will Beebe, her rapist, is a member of Alcoholics and Anonymous and got to the step about righting past wrongs. Not only is this just flat-out creepy, but Seccuro begins a brief email correspondence...more
Seccuro was raped at a fraternity party in 1984. 22 years later, she receives a letter in the mail from her rapist apologizing to her. Will Beebe, her rapist, is a member of Alcoholics and Anonymous and got to the step about righting past wrongs. Not only is this just flat-out creepy, but Seccuro begins a brief email correspondence...more
I picked this up at the library after seeing it on the 'New Books' shelf. I flipped it open and immediately knew I wanted to read it, I remembered the crime being in the news a few years ago. It is the story of the AAer that sent an 'I'm sorry I harmed you' letter to his rape victim of 21 years prior. Except this is her story not his. He was portrayed in the media as trying to set things right. But the only thing he was trying to set right was his guilty conscience. From the book, AA's 9th step...more
A wonderful book about a woman who was raped in college and how she eventually found healing. She was married and had a little girl when one day she received a letter from her rapist. The story really hits home about the problem of alcohol and rape on our college campuses andhow the way the justice system really does a poor job of protecting victims. Ms. Seccuro is lucky in ways that some victims are not. She is alive to tell her story and now has become a victims rights advocate for those who a...more
This book was very interesting. It's a quick read and the author somehow manages to express her victimization, without overplaying the role of victim. The resulting story allows the reader a glimpse into Seccuro's brave decision to come forward several years after the tragedy without questionning her motives or being bogged down by the emotional turmoil the rape has caused. Not to say that isn't important, but I think the book is much better for it. I would recommend this book to every teenage g...more
Liz Seccuro's story is absolutely terrifying. Raped during a fraternity party during her freshman year of college, Seccuro's attacker suddenly contacts her some 20 years later. "Crash Into Me" recounts the life altering event that took place in college, as well as the pain and triumph in the years that followed. Rape victims are too often silenced, but Seccuro's voice is clear and strong. Rape is not a taboo word - it is a horrific crime. "Crash Into me" opens up a dialogue that has been sealed...more
I read this for a story I am writing about LIz for Marie Claire Australia and was astounded by Liz Seccuro's bravery and honesty. In this book, she stands up for all victims of rape and shows, in an unflinching way, just how biased our world is when it comes to violence against women--as if somehow victims are to blame for their aggressor's actions. Her story is a hard one to read, but so well told and so important--I urge everyone to buy this book! One for yourself, one for your best friend, wh...more
I couldn't put this book down yesterday once I started reading it. It's repugnant, it's offensive, and it's very sad. This book is you, holding the hand of Liz Seccuro, as she walks you through her nightmare. The author is a living urban legend. She has met the bogeyman, and he's worse than anything that ever lived under your bed.
Ms. Seccuro does a solid job of walking the reader through the events that led up to the rape, to the rape itself, and her life in the aftermath of such a horrific expe...more
Ms. Seccuro does a solid job of walking the reader through the events that led up to the rape, to the rape itself, and her life in the aftermath of such a horrific expe...more
Jun 20, 2011
Erin Dutro
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Everyone, especially college students
Recommended to Erin by:
received in goodreads giveaway
Shelves:
first-reads,
favorites
I received an Advance Reading copy of this book from a goodreads.com giveaway...thanks, goodreads!
This is a book that is not easy to read, by any stretch of the imagination, but it's a book that NEEDS to be read, especially by women. Further, I think it should be required reading for all college freshmen as part of their student orientation. I started and finished this book in one day, not because the story is action-packed, but because it's compelling. The stark and spare tone of the narrative...more
This is a book that is not easy to read, by any stretch of the imagination, but it's a book that NEEDS to be read, especially by women. Further, I think it should be required reading for all college freshmen as part of their student orientation. I started and finished this book in one day, not because the story is action-packed, but because it's compelling. The stark and spare tone of the narrative...more
This book was a disturbing glimpse into the inefficiency of the justice system in dealing with victims of sexual assault. Ms. Securro told a saddening story of her experience as a freshman at the University of Virginia. After being raped at a frat party, she does what one would expect to do after being violated in such a terrible way - she goes to the campus authorities. Unfortunately, the school does nothing for her and "brushes it under the rug." She tries to move on with her life, but 21 year...more
This book was a very interesting read about the author, Liz Seccuro who was raped at the University of Virginia in 1984. The university tried to sweep it under the covers. Chief of police, Tim Longo supports Liz and brings William Beebe to trial 20 years later with the help of Detective Nicholas Rudman. Liz now speaks as a human rights speaker and supports other rape victims. Everyone should read this book. This book was just written in 2011!
http://abookofadifferentcolor.blogspo...
This book is the true story of Liz Seccuro who survived a very violent sexual assault in college and who, 22 years later brought charges against the man that raped her.
This book was really good, but it was very sad and described a very violent sexual assault scene and the ramifications of that event in Seccuro's life.
Check out my full review at http://abookofadifferentcolor.blogspo...
Happy Reading!!
This book is the true story of Liz Seccuro who survived a very violent sexual assault in college and who, 22 years later brought charges against the man that raped her.
This book was really good, but it was very sad and described a very violent sexual assault scene and the ramifications of that event in Seccuro's life.
Check out my full review at http://abookofadifferentcolor.blogspo...
Happy Reading!!
Wow. It's amazing that the author went through such a horrific experience and not only survived but also overcame, and it's almost more incredible that she's been able to have write about it in a way that is engaging and interesting while also being disturbingly honest and yet not vindictive. She gives a very clear picture of what her experience was like, from the initial rape to the contact by the rapist 20 years later.
NOTE TO MY YOUNG ADULT READER FRIENDS: Please seek advice and guidance from your parents before choosing this book to read.
This book is a compelling first person narrative of Liz Seccuro's brutal violent attack while she was a freshman at UVA. The non-fiction account includes her memories and court transcripts. It is written in a way that makes it impossible to put down after the first sentence.
This book is a compelling first person narrative of Liz Seccuro's brutal violent attack while she was a freshman at UVA. The non-fiction account includes her memories and court transcripts. It is written in a way that makes it impossible to put down after the first sentence.
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Apr 27, 2011 01:08pm