Being Mean

“Being Mean excavates the caverns of the author’s childhood trauma to expose how its tendrils tormented her long after the horrible fact. Eagle’s account is harrowing in its honesty. Traumatic as the shaping circumstances of her childhood are, she never uses them as a shield. Such frank analyses are refreshing and may provide empathetic assurance to other victims who are still in the gauntlet of recovery.” ―Foreword Reviews

“Not since Alice Sebold’s Lucky have I read a memoir that leans into the soul-shattering experience of early sexual trauma with such courage and intelligence. Patricia Eagle elevates the difficulty of her subject matter through her clear prose and a cohesive narrative that weaves recurring themes of betrayal, devotion, the secrets that keep us, and the redemptive wisdom of love. I wept real tears at the complexity and beauty of the healing. This book will rinse you clean.”

―Kathleen Adams, LPC, author of Journal to the Self and Expressive Writing: Foundations of Practice and founder/director of Center for Journal Therapy Inc

“Patricia Eagle’s extraordinary memoir, Being Mean, is a testament to the power of the human spirit to prevail over childhood sexual trauma, heal itself in the act of truth-telling, and emerge from the depths of confusion with survivor’s wisdom and an open, generous heart. Eagle’s humor, candor, and determination to bring compassionate understanding to the darkest of crimes separates this book from the majority of abuse memoirs; so does her spirited refusal to sacrifice sexual freedom and pleasure to the fire of childhood incest. Daring, beautifully written, and filled with unforgettable moments, Being Mean is one brave woman’s story of soul retrieval and finding her way through the mysteries of love. It deserves a place on your bookshelf next to Kathryn Harrison’s The Kiss, Eve Ensler’s The Vagina Monologues, and Bass-Davis’s The Courage to Heal. I could not recommend it more highly.”

―Mark Matousek, author of The Boy He Left Behind and When You’re Falling, Dive

“When I first began speaking of my sexual abuse, I looked for just one woman who had relived her experiences and her feelings, and who had survived and thrived. I became that woman whom I was looking for, and Patricia Eagle can now count as another.”

―Marilyn Van Derbur, author of Miss America by Day