Authors Series: "Don't Fight Back" with Meg Stone In-Person
Join us for an Author Series conversation with Meg Stone about her new book, "DON'T FIGHT BACK" and 10 Other Myths About Crime, Personal Safety and Gender-based Violence.
About the Book:
A specific image of violence and how to avoid it lives in a lot of our imaginations. What some of us fear most is shaped not by the strongest evidence but by the most viral horror stories. Meg Stone, a violence prevention expert, traces the origins of these myths and how they are used to scare us into submission. While political leaders and social-media influencers use myths about crime to divide us, this book equips readers with facts and concrete action steps.
Stone breaks down these myths into four parts:
-
"How Attackers Behave: what the research shows about whether fighting back makes attackers more angry
-
"What (or Who) to Fear": a treatise on the impact of media inaccurately reporting a "crime wave"
-
"What You Should Never Do": including the myth that an attacker could grab your ponytail-very unlikely!
-
"What You Should Always Do": should you really always trust your intuition?
Each chapter offers practical strategies for people to keep themselves safer and how to contribute to social change that builds a safer world.
"Finally, a book that empowers, rather than weakens, a book that tells women we can and should expect more. We no longer have to be eternal victims. Meg Stone has delivered!” —Rachel Louise Snyder, author of No Visible Bruises and Women We Buried, Women We Burned
"Meg Stone debunks the myths about sexual assault with humor, passion and piles of data. This is an essential book for anyone who plans to walk up stairs, wear a ponytail and feel empowered." —Pagan Kennedy, author of The Secret History of the Rape Kit
"While it may not go down as easily as an episode of Law and Order: SVU, each chapter, each debunked myth, empowers readers with both individual and social actions that can be taken to protect themselves and to advocate for a better, safer world for everyone." —Booklist 
About the Author:
Meg Stone is the Executive Director of IMPACT Boston, an abuse prevention and empowerment self-defense organization. Her first book, THE COST OF FEAR: Why Most Safety Advice is Sexist and How We Can Stop Gender-based Violence, was called a "deeply needed resource that expands rather than diminishes options for women" by Booklist. Her second Book, "DON'T FIGHT BACK" and 10 Other Myths About Crime, Personal Safety and Gender-based Violence was called "a book that tells women we can and should expect more" by bestselling author and domestic violence expert Rachel Louise Snyder.
Meg has worked in domestic violence and sexual assault advocacy organizations since 1993 in capacities including court advocacy, prevention education, and staffing the night shift in an emergency shelter. Her writing has been published in Huffington Post, Boston Globe, Newsweek, Washington Post, and other publications.
