Unbound: My Story of Liberation and the Birth of the Me Too Movement

by Tarana Burke

While she was simply trying to lean into what I had promised her—family, connection, love—I was desperately trying to run away from all she reminded me of: betrayal, loss, shame. Inside, I was running from room to room like the house was on fire. And then my brain did what I had trained it to do. It went into protection mode. You are not a social worker or a counselor, I insisted in the solitude of my mind. As she was walking away from me, possibly forever, I kept thinking about her face when she finally got me to stop and listen. She knew what she was about to say to me, but there was no fear in her eyes. Instead, she looked relieved. I wondered where that courage came from. How had she managed to do the thing that I had still not figured out how to do with a head start almost double her twelve short years? I wondered how, at the very least, I had not been able to meet her at the apex of her courage.