Introduction

From the bestselling author of The Vagina Monologues--a powerful, life-changing examination of abuse and atonement.

“A triumph of artistry and empathy.” --Naomi Klein

“A crucial step forward . . . This is an urgently needed book right now.” --Jane Fonda

“Unflinching candor . . . immeasurable grace.” --Anita Hill

“Courageous, transformative, and yes--healing.” --Anne Lamott

"Unflinchingly increases our understanding of the human experience." --Michael Cunningham

“[The Apology] will change how all of us think about our souls.” --Johann Hari

“Shatteringly brilliant.” --The Times

"The geometry of toxic masculinity is contained within these pages.” --Marc Maron

Like millions of women, Eve Ensler has been waiting much of her lifetime for an apology. Sexually and physically abused by her father, Eve has struggled her whole life from this betrayal, longing for an honest reckoning from a man who is long dead. After years of work as an anti-violence activist, she decided she would wait no longer; an apology could be imagined, by her, for her, to her. The Apology, written by Eve from her father's point of view in the words she longed to hear, attempts to transform the abuse she suffered with unflinching truthfulness, compassion, and an expansive vision for the future.

Through The Apology Eve has set out to provide a new way for herself and a possible road for others, so that survivors of abuse may finally envision how to be free. She grapples with questions she has sought answers to since she first realized the impact of her father's abuse on her life: How do we offer a doorway rather than a locked cell? How do we move from humiliation to revelation, from curtailing behavior to changing it, from condemning perpetrators to calling them to reckoning? What will it take for abusers to genuinely apologize?

Remarkable and original, The Apology is an acutely transformational look at how, from the wounds of sexual abuse, we can begin to re-emerge and heal. It is revolutionary, asking everything of each of us: courage, honesty, and forgiveness.

Editorial Review

An Amazon Best Book of May 2019: Mahatma Gandhi once said: “The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.” This quote came to mind as I was reading Eve Ensler’s slim but profoundly powerful The Apology. Written as if it were a letter from Ensler’s father, it recounts the sexual, physical and psychological abuse he inflicted on her from the ages of five to 10, and acknowledges the reverberating effects on her life. Moreover, it does what the master gaslighter and coward couldn’t before he died: take accountability for his crimes and ask for absolution. This brutal purging will be understandably triggering for some, but for Ensler—and hopefully for other survivors—it provides a pathway to healing. The scourge of sexual abuse is very much at the forefront of the cultural conversation right now. The Apology is a potent and extraordinarily compassionate addition to it. —Erin Kodicek, Amazon Book Review

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