Review:
As a child, Rachel Denhollander was a gymnast with the USA Gymnastics (USAG) organization. When she started experiencing severe pain in her back and her wrists from the physical strain of her training regimen, she received a referral to see USAG team doctor Dr. Larry Nassar. At her first medical appointment with him, he sexually molested her for the first time. She was fifteen years old. The abuse would continue throughout the year and a half of her treatment.
Fifteen years later, Denhollander saw a news article about the rampant sexual abuse of USA Gymnasts, and the failure of USAG to report cases or deal with them in an effective manner. At the end of the article, there was an email address where people could send in additional tips. Denhollander decided to speak up about Nassar’s abuse of her. She would become the first of over two hundred and fifty people to come forward as survivors of Nassar’s abuse. In What is a Girl Worth, Denhollander shares her story of breaking the silence. Because of her courage, and the courage of the other survivors who spoke up, one of the most prolific child molesters in history is currently in prison, where he won’t be able to hurt any more children.
This is one of the most powerful books I have ever read, and also one of the most horrifying. I was so angry and sad and sick to my stomach while reading it. We live in a hard world, y’all. Yet I also can’t urge you strongly enough to read this book. Sexual abuse thrives in conditions of silence, when the stigma is placed on those who were abused rather than the abusers. I applaud Rachael Denhollander for not only being willing to speak publicly about the abuse, but to write this moving memoir and continue to fight for change.
Favorite Passage:
“Over the last few years I’d explored every other option. Removing God from the picture, changing how Scripture defined Him, considering other faith traditions — none of them fixed my problems or answered my questions. I’d explored science and information theory, history, and philosophical concepts. I’d considered principles of evidence and grappled with the critiques of the Christian faith. No matter where I looked, I was confronted with things I couldn’t explain without God. And specifically, without the gospel. Every other faith tradition relied on some form of good works to absolve people from guilt or reach “heaven” or some higher order. But justice didn’t work that way. Doing good didn’t erase the bad. Not for Larry. Not for me. And while it felt good to say all the ideas were right, that didn’t work either. Each faith tradition made specific truth claims that didn’t fit with other faiths. They couldn’t all be true. I needed real answers. Not just what felt nice. And the more I tried, the more convinced I became that, while I couldn’t explain everything, I had more real answers through my faith than I had without it. Where else would I go, Lord?”
— 9
What I Loved Most:
I didn’t go into this book expecting to read about the Gospel. When I got to the chapter where Denhollander shares her experience of wrestling with God in the process of healing from her abuse, I read the whole thing with tears in my eyes. She experienced the worst of this fallen, sinful world. She doesn’t use platitudes, or pretend that God made it all easy for her to handle. Yet she shares the truths she is confident of – that right and wrong and truth all exist; that there is a God who defines good and evil; that this God is the one proclaimed in the Bible; that God is just and loving. Praises be to Almighty God, who gives us hope.
Read this book if you like:
Social justice, speaking hard truths, #MeToo, the songs Rescue by Lauren Daigle and/or The Sun is Rising by Britt Nicole, a bold proclamation of the goodness of God in the midst of terrible pain
Book Details:
The Lamp Post 