4.5 stars

Reading this in tandem with watching the coverage of the Johnny Depp and Amber Heard trial was surely something. It took me a few weeks to get through it because of that, though I think that it's an important and informative read that is probably even more needed as we see the aftermath of that trial and the turn of public opinion about domestic abuse and its victims.

This is a really interesting piece as it exists somewhere between journalistic and narrative non-fiction. Snyder infuses her reporting with stories and feelings in ways I think make this readable and worked for the project of humanizing a subject matter where people too often dismiss the humanity of its subjects. If you are looking for something that is more straightforward reporting or for a truly narrative non-fiction read, I have a feeling this won't satisfy for either of those.

I highly recommend for anyone who can withstand the subject matter.

cw: domestic violence, misogyny, murder, drug use, poverty, racism, incarceration