jessdownes's review against another edition

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challenging emotional informative medium-paced

5.0


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katiiekhaos's review against another edition

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challenging emotional informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

If you are someone who says “why didn’t they just leave?” When you hear about a woman being killed by her partner, this book is one you need to read! 
This is an incredibly hard book to get through at times, but Jess Hill has done an incredible job of telling people’s stories respectfully and with reason. 
This book made me cry and yell out in anger at so many ways the system has let down women and children. But I’m grateful for the knowledge Jess put into this book, it’s a book I wish all police officers, lawyers, social workers and psychologists had to read while in university. You can tell a lot of time and hard work went into this book and she really tried to show all the different lens domestic violence can be seen through. 

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tingu's review against another edition

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challenging informative slow-paced

5.0

Just intense. But so well written, insightful and informative. I did find it very challenging to read and had to take breaks to read some more light hearted material. 

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tylahmonroe's review against another edition

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challenging emotional informative reflective medium-paced

5.0


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paperindy's review against another edition

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challenging informative medium-paced

5.0

This was a powerful, honest, raw look at domestic abuse in Australia that was told with such incredible feeling, empathy and intelligence. Jess Hill turned over so many stones in writing this book to look at what lived in the dark places underneath, and then stepped back to look at the foundations that have allowed this issue to fester. 

This is one of the best structured non-fiction books I’ve read. Each chapter, themed and informative, builds upon the previous in a way that leaves you with a feeling of a broad reaching overview of domestic abuse and takes you on a real journey through the topic.  

She covers everything from the complex factors underpinning “women who stay” and confrontingly empathetic investigation into the psyche of men who abuse, to the messy intersection of children, custody and the law, to the impact of colonialisation on abuse rates in Indigenous communities - and more.

But she doesn’t just look at the problem, she looks at the problems in trying to address the problem - why there aren’t tangible metrics set against policy goals around domestic abuse? What programs have worked? Why? How can we learn from them at a bigger scale?  How can we can use the knowledge discussed in this book to talk more openly and empathetically about addressing this serious issue in our country? 

Peppered with real stories, interviews, research, critique - this was a highly insightful, gripping, important read and just so, so well done. 

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avadore's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative tense fast-paced
Huge struggle, totally harrowing, but one of those reads that I would recommend to everyone who wants to really know about domestic abuse, spousal and child murder, and how there are more options available to this huge problem in Australia outside of white ribbons and awareness raising campaigns.

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jesshadlow's review against another edition

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challenging emotional informative slow-paced

5.0


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unatang's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative sad slow-paced

4.0

Uni Textbook level of information about domestic violence! Highly recommend. The author used a lot of true stories to helps readers understand what does it like for people who live with domestic  violence 

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natasharockyroad's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad fast-paced

5.0

This book changed my life and inspired my decision to become a social worker

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pipnewman's review

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challenging dark emotional informative slow-paced

4.0


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