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If He Hollers, Let Him Go
Lissa Braum leaves rural Maine to embrace a world of diverse people she yearns to know. Unfortunately, the big city that awaits her includes strangers that don't share the same empathy. The brutal assault she endures catapults her on a jarring course of self-doubt and dysfunction that leads her into the most unlikely of places, a maximum security prison for men. Her choice to seek healing among damaged souls puzzles all who are close to her. Lissa quickly learns that on the inside there are only two blue and tan. Right from wrong and Us versus Them, or so it seems. Fast forward... Under her new identity, Elise Abrams guides the inmates in her domestic violence group with compassion and composure. She knows all about the power to overcome. After all, it has taken decades for her to get this healthy. But is she really? Elise strives to keep her chaotic impulses in check as she leads eleven abusive men through the process of change. Thinking she is a safe distance from her traumatic past, Abrams suddenly suspects her assailant is much closer than she knew. Can she rely on her devolving conscience and unreliable memory to help sort out the good guys from the bad?
334 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 2, 2015
12 people are currently reading
9 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
May 13, 2025
Beth Harden's "If He Hollers, Let Him Go," is a bit like looking through a kaleidoscope. The perspective changes each time you tilt things a bit. And, within this gripping novel, things certainly tilt a lot. The novel is narrated by the lead character, Lissa Braum, a wounded victim (warning: there is a very troubling attack scene) who has put her life back together following the attack by changing her identity and becoming a teacher/warden in a men's prison. Throughout the novel, you feel embraced by the goodness she exhibits in serving those who could be her attackers.
Until the goodness wears off. Yes, it seems once you are convinced she is on her way to sainthood, things shift and our narrator reveals a side which shows she could is quite capable of doing some serious damage. And, damage she does, until she finds a way to redeem herself of everything that has scarred her.
The characters in this book are both believable and amoral, so if you're bothered by how people truly behave rather than how they should, you might find yourself casting a disapproving smirk or two. I myself, loved that fact that the characters were so three-dimensional. I was truly fascinated by the world of the prison and it is obvious this gifted writer spent a great deal of time researching her work. "If He Hollers" is a book that will stay with you - and make you hope you are never imprisoned like the narrator or those she works with.
Until the goodness wears off. Yes, it seems once you are convinced she is on her way to sainthood, things shift and our narrator reveals a side which shows she could is quite capable of doing some serious damage. And, damage she does, until she finds a way to redeem herself of everything that has scarred her.
The characters in this book are both believable and amoral, so if you're bothered by how people truly behave rather than how they should, you might find yourself casting a disapproving smirk or two. I myself, loved that fact that the characters were so three-dimensional. I was truly fascinated by the world of the prison and it is obvious this gifted writer spent a great deal of time researching her work. "If He Hollers" is a book that will stay with you - and make you hope you are never imprisoned like the narrator or those she works with.
November 30, 2015
Duality is at the heart of the human experience. Up and down. Him and her. Good and bad. Beth Harden’s second novel, "If He Hollers, Let Him Go," explores several of life’s inherent dichotomies beautifully—while at the same time telling a gripping story that will keep readers turning pages long past their bedtimes.
The novel’s central character (and narrator) is a walking dichotomy herself, having traded her given name for a fictional one in the wake of a violent, life-changing experience. In her role as a counselor in a correctional institution, she’s a rose among thorns—but one who cares deeply about the men in her charge. It’s not a pleasant environment, and Harden describes it in such vivid detail that her novel could easily serve as a textbook in a “scared-straight” curriculum. The insights this book offers into the realities of prison life are eye-opening, while the characters are sharply drawn, captivating and real. If you were to read this book for nothing more than the behind-the-scenes look at prison life that it provides, you wouldn’t be disappointed. But "If He Hollers, Let Him Go" is much more than just an exposé.
The central character, Elise, commands our attention from the opening paragraph to the last. Her first-person narrative voice is both compelling and intriguing. How did a liberal arts major from rural Maine end up doing this kind of work in a maximum-security prison? Why does such a people-person live alone in her own high-security compound in the woods? And when one of the demons that has haunted her unreliable memory for years suddenly seems to have reappeared, how should she deal with it? (The answer may surprise you.)
As good as the storytelling is here, though, it’s the wisdom and artistry inherent in Harden’s writing that elevate this novel to the highest of literary shelves. Her insights into the human mind—into what makes one psyche go psycho while another one fights to stay sane—illuminate the human condition in a way that only the very best novels do. On page after page, she lays bare the soul of what it means to be human. But at the same time, there’s a beauty to the writing in this book that belies its sordid subject matter—another duality that makes it so enjoyable to read (and so hard to put down). Harden’s command of language—and in particular her facility with description and mastery of metaphor—destine her to be regarded as one of America’s finest modern writers.
This impressive novel is not only worth reading—it’s worth reading twice.
The novel’s central character (and narrator) is a walking dichotomy herself, having traded her given name for a fictional one in the wake of a violent, life-changing experience. In her role as a counselor in a correctional institution, she’s a rose among thorns—but one who cares deeply about the men in her charge. It’s not a pleasant environment, and Harden describes it in such vivid detail that her novel could easily serve as a textbook in a “scared-straight” curriculum. The insights this book offers into the realities of prison life are eye-opening, while the characters are sharply drawn, captivating and real. If you were to read this book for nothing more than the behind-the-scenes look at prison life that it provides, you wouldn’t be disappointed. But "If He Hollers, Let Him Go" is much more than just an exposé.
The central character, Elise, commands our attention from the opening paragraph to the last. Her first-person narrative voice is both compelling and intriguing. How did a liberal arts major from rural Maine end up doing this kind of work in a maximum-security prison? Why does such a people-person live alone in her own high-security compound in the woods? And when one of the demons that has haunted her unreliable memory for years suddenly seems to have reappeared, how should she deal with it? (The answer may surprise you.)
As good as the storytelling is here, though, it’s the wisdom and artistry inherent in Harden’s writing that elevate this novel to the highest of literary shelves. Her insights into the human mind—into what makes one psyche go psycho while another one fights to stay sane—illuminate the human condition in a way that only the very best novels do. On page after page, she lays bare the soul of what it means to be human. But at the same time, there’s a beauty to the writing in this book that belies its sordid subject matter—another duality that makes it so enjoyable to read (and so hard to put down). Harden’s command of language—and in particular her facility with description and mastery of metaphor—destine her to be regarded as one of America’s finest modern writers.
This impressive novel is not only worth reading—it’s worth reading twice.
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