I’LL NEVER CALL HIM DAD AGAIN by Caroline Darian

Caroline Darian is the daughter of Gisele Pelicot, the French woman whose husband drugged her night after night and let men sexually assault her while she slept. Her father’s trial attracted international attention and highlighted her mother’s bravery, as she opted for an open courtroom.  Darian’s memoir, I’ll Never Call Him Dad Again, was written before the trial and focuses on her relationship with her mother after learning about the assaults, as well as her anger at her father for abusing his wife and destroying his family’s lives. Darian has also become a vocal advocate for women who have experienced sexual assault and chemical submission. This was an extremely disturbing and powerful book, and I commend mother and daughter for opening themselves up in order to prevent other women from going through the same unthinkable violation. Darian, the child of both the victim and the perpetrator, found an outlet for her fury and confusion in this book and managed to find some way to turn her experience into something positive – the exposure of this awful crime.