Overcoming

by Ann-Marie Wilson

Across the world a girl is subjected to Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) – often without consent.

Health issues, trauma and unfulfilled economic potential are just some of the costs to over 200 million cut women and girls. Annually, three million girls currently remain at risk of FGM.

This book addresses some of the origins of FGM, while also telling the story of one woman willing to sacrifice her comfortable, professional London life to help end its practice. Volunteering across fourteen African countries, Ann-Marie Wilson trained in basic midwifery, ran a fistula rehabilitation project, and qualified in psychology and theology before launching her charity, 28 Too Many. Built on the voices of over 3000 FGM survivors’ stories as well as meetings with heads of state and the Pope, the book offers an insight into how Ann-Marie leaned on her Christian faith in her darkest moments to continue to offer hope.

If you are moved by a battle against the odds for justice, this book will inspire and encourage you to keep fighting for what is right.

224 pages, Paperback

Published June 18, 2021

Reviews

[Natalie all_books_great_and_small · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received an advance reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review via netgalley and the publishers.

Overcoming is a book about the fight against FGM - female Genital Mutilation.
This was a (in places) hard to read book but also a very important book to read. This book is more about the business side of the author rather than the stories of the victims which is briefly mentioned in the book. I would have preferred it to cover the stories more but do understand the need to show the business side in being able to help, support and bring awareness to these cases and women and children subjected to this horrendous abuse.
This book is very informative and we all need to be more informed, aware of and able to recognise this abuse to help victims and end it once and for all.

[Hayley Russell]

I was given a free copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review. Many thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley.

Firstly, this book discusses female genital mutilation (FGM) which some readers may find triggering.

I went into this book expecting to love and it left me feeling a bit confused and disappointed. I think this may be because what I expected the book to be about was different from the reality.

This book is more focused on the author's life and the business aspects of running a charity than it is about FGM. I felt that FGM wasn't actually discussed that often and that I learnt more by briefly looking at the charity's website than I did by reading the book for several hours. Instead, this book is really the memoir of the author, who started a charity to combat FGM after meeting a 10-year-old girl in Sudan, who was a) pregnant and b) suffering after having been cut.

The author has certainly had a very diverse and interesting life. But this book felt quite surface level. The chapters didn't seem to follow a clear chronological order and I found it quite confusing as we seemed to rapidly switch year and country. The author has also done a lot, to the point it was hard to keep up. The book followed the style of "I did this, and then I did this and then I did this and I also did this". What I felt it really lacked were discussions. How did the author find out about that course, why did she want to take it, what did she discuss with these people?

I would have liked to learn more about FGM and how the charity actually works in the field. There were lots of mentions of the individual country reports that the charity produce but no real discussion of how they actually obtain the information.

I also felt uncomfortable at times with some of the things that the author said. Generally, I am uncomfortable with the idea of voluntourism, pushing religion on those in other countries in exchange for aid and white savourism. Sometimes I felt that the author, maybe not intentionally, demonstrated that behaviour without actually discussing it. At one point she's discussing how some locals in Kenya were coming into their new compound to bless it, and that she thought it was inappropriate that the woman weren't wearing clothing that was modest whilst dancing in front of Christian men. In my opinion, that's quite a problematic viewpoint.

If you've never heard of FGM at all, then there may be something for you to gain from reading it but otherwise, I would only recommend to those who are interested in the business side of charity.

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a biased review because I am lucky enough to know Anne Marrie briefly from the UCLH Macmillan Cancer writing group. However I did not know her story or amazing work with FGM. This book taught me a great deal and am so pleased to have read it.

[Jen · Rating 2 out of 5]

In reading this you will learn about an amazing woman who has dedicated her life to improving the lives of others. She is inspiring and the world is better for having her in it.

My low rating is because I was expecting something very different. This is a memoir, not a book about FGM. The description is misleading as it leads one to believe they will be learning about FGM, the realities facing those women, and a recounting of what these charities are like to the people accessing them. However, even when talking about FGM, the descriptions were vague and brief. Dr. Wilson wrote about what she accomplished and the difficulties of a charity organization but left much wanting otherwise. She never really got into the subject matter and the chronology was difficult to follow. It was disappointing as I wished she had gone in-depth when describing the women, the cultures, or her own face-to-face experiences. The chapters on the author's educational paths and cancer diagnosis were more extensive. Dr. Wilson is an amazing woman and I hope she tells her story, in full detail, one day.

As a side, if you are interested in how charities are started, the challenges facing them, and how to go about fundraising- then this would be informative.

[Keila (speedreadstagram) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. What a story to read on International Women’s Day. This beautiful memoir follows the life of Dr Ann-Marie Wilson on her quest to bring reform to FGM.

Dr Wilson tells a wonderfully written book stating in her youth to current day. I have yet to travel out of North America, yet Dr Wilson has traveled all over Africa and Europe.

When I picked this title I expected many more details into FGM, however, the book kept details brief while still revealing pertinent relevant information. I was pleased with how Dr Wilson handled this sensitive topic, while still educating.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would recommend it to others. I received an ARC of this book via NetGalley and courtesy of the publisher.

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Across the world, millions of girls are subjected to Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). Ann-Marie Wilson decided to do something to end the practice, so she started a charity, 28 Too Many. This book tells the story of the charity's inception and growth. It also gives readers a look at Dr. Wilson's professional life and battle with cancer.
I appreciated the insights into FGM and the relentless energy and effort Dr. Wilson and others do to end this practice. The book is pretty dry and boring, though. She also throws at least one other charity under the bus, which I didn't appreciate. The writing style is also choppy, which could be due to the author's writing it while under the effects of cancer treatment. However, as someone who knew nothing of Dr. Wilson, the book didn't help me like her. But I do admire her tenacity, courage and work ethic.

[Sue Hayward-Ault · Rating 2 out of 5]

My thanks to #NetGalley and #Monarchbooks for the opportunity to review this book.
Unfortunately this book wasn't what I was expecting. It tends to focus on a career pathway and the general business side of charity.
I was hoping it would focus more on the voices of the victims of FGM.
Well written but not for me.

[Angie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book chronicles the decades long journey the author embarked on following her calling to end female genital mutilation (FGM). The first few chapters dive into her career and educational experience that led to her starting an organization to bring awareness to and help save the women in at least 28 countries who are survivors and victims of FGM. While the cause is extremely compelling and telling this story is very important as part of bringing awareness to the cause, I don’t think that this book will hold the interest of many readers unfortunately. As an anthropology major, and someone with an interest in rites of passage and human rights issues like FGM, I had a hard time sticking with this book and I think I’m likely the target audience. I think the author got a bit bogged down in the minor details like describing fundraising efforts and telling her related experiences rather than really exploring the issue and bringing it back to the victims she has worked tirelessly to help. That being said I think this is an important work of writing and if you are interested in the process of starting up NGOs or if you have limited understanding of FGM and other similar rites of passage or human rights issues this might be just the book for you! Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me the chance to read and review this book!

[Michelle Kidwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Overcoming
My Fight Against FGM
by Ann-Marie Wilson
Lion Hudson Ltd
Monarch Books
Biographies & Memoirs | Nonfiction (Adult)
Pub Date 18 Jun 2021


I am reviewing a copy of Overcoming: My Fight Against FGM through Lion Hudson Ltd/Monarch Books and Netgalley:


Across the world there are girls that are subjected to fgm, female genital mutilation, even without permission.


Trauma, Health issues, and unfulfilled economic potential are just a few of the life altering results for over 200 million cut women and girls, and annually another 3 million girls are at risk of FGM.



In this book some of the origins of FGM are addressed, as well as telling the story one woman willing to sacrifice her comfortable, professional London life to help end its practice. Volunteering across fourteen African countries, Ann-Marie Wilson trained in basic midwifery, ran a fistula rehabilitation project, and qualified in psychology and theology before launching her charity, 28 Too Many. This book is built on the voices of over 3000 FGM survivors’ stories as well as meetings with heads of state and the Pope, the book offers an insight into how Ann-Marie leaned on her Christian faith in her darkest moments to continue to offer hope.



I give Overcoming five out of five stars!


Happy Reading!

[Mary Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This memoir of Dr. Ann-Marie Wilson is very emotive and was difficult for me to read although it is certainly of utmost importance. Dr. Wilson begins a crusade to right the terrible injustices of female genital mutilation (FGM) regarding the mistreatment and torture of young girls and women is tough to read but the truth must be brought to light. For too long this horrific practice has been shrouded in secrecy in the cultures that practice this. It cause these young girls tremendous physical pain and suffering from years on end. They are haunted by the trauma of the "procedure" and the emotional anguish of knowing it is most often completed by someone who is a member of the family. The resulting health issues, scorn, social isolation, and lack of economic outlets for work and service follow them the rest of their lives.. But DR. Wilson perserved and showed extreme courage to try to make a change regarding Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) aroung the world. Dr. Wilson had many challenges to overcome in her own life but she never let go of her quest to have this volatileand emotional subject, shrouded in secrecy brought out into the light where people must face their discomfort head on and work for change..

[Camilla · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting memoir of a very full life. The author's drive and purpose are admirable.

I would have liked the book to have a bit more structure, and explain more about why FGM is happening and why many of the women it has happened to still support it and subject their daughters to it.

For a woman with so much vision, the vision for the book seemed to be lacking. It read as part memoir, part garnering support for her charity, but if I was the editor I would have put much more structure in it to make it flow better and achieve the apparent aims of the book.

[Kasi · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wasn’t expecting this book to be what it is. It’s relatively reliant on religion, which I am not able to connect with, making it difficult for me to really emotionally invest. I’ve done a lot of research into FGM before so I was expecting some enlightenment... unfortunately, I didn’t get that. This book might be better for someone who is religious and perhaps not much familiarity with FGM. I’d rather read a story by a woman who has actually gone through FGM.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a free copy in exchange for an honest review.