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| photo: Joyce Tenneson | |
Few books have made the impact that Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak has made--on young adult literature and on young adults. Despite repeated efforts from conservative groups to ban the book (they've called it "soft porn" and "child pornography" for the narrator's frank discussion as a rape survivor) as recently as a week ago, Speak has sold more than three million copies since it was published in 1999. It was a National Book Award Finalist and a Michael L. Printz Honor Book. Here Anderson describes what reaching readers through her books has meant to her.
I never expected to be me.
I never expected to publish a book, much less 27 of them. I never dreamed that any of my books would be a bestseller, or translated, or used in classrooms, or turned into a movie. I am incredibly grateful that all of those wonderful things have happened, but they pale in comparison to the kindred spirits I've met.
Since Speak was published in 1999, I've corresponded with and met tens of thousands of readers for whom Speak was a life-changing book. Most of these people were survivors of sexual assault, but what they all had in common was that something terrible had happened to them and they couldn't talk about it. That secret poisoned them. It often led to depression, anxiety and a host of dangerous self-medication methods: drugs, alcohol, cutting, eating disorders, promiscuity, and suicide attempts.
My book gave them the courage to speak up. These readers saw themselves in Melinda. They walked in her footsteps and for the first time, found their voice. They wrote me letters and e-mail. They slipped notes into my hand when I visited their school. They walk up to me at book signings, tears puddling. After a quiet conversation, there is a lot of hugging. (This is why I always have a box of tissues next to the pens at my book signings!)
It's bewildering that my book could make such an impact, but I'm so grateful that it has. The heart-felt connection forged with my readers has completely changed my life for the better. That's why I jumped at the chance to help RAINN (Rape Abuse & Incest National Network). I wanted to give back some of the love and courage that my readers have shared with me.
When Melinda helps survivors speak, RAINN is there to listen. Their compassionate, trained volunteers save lives and spirits every hour of every day. In addition to their work with survivors, they provide fantastic data and information about sexual assault, and they are helping to shape public policy as we fight against rape culture and try to make our world safer.
It was an honor to help RAINN's fundraising campaign in April. With the help of a $10,000 donation from Macmillan, we brought in $30,965 that directly benefitted survivors. The publicity about the campaign increased awareness about the help that RAINN offers and, in turn, led to more healing.
When I was a teenager, I didn't have anyone who understood the battles I was fighting. Books kept me alive and more; they helped me find my path and my people. Now I try to write books that can help today's readers. Not everyone is as messed up as I was (thank goodness), so sometimes my books give teens insight into people or situations that they haven't experienced.
We are all hungry for real stories to enlighten and connect us to each other. That's the role of literature in our lives: to bind our hearts together and to make us stronger.