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Port in a storm

A memoir of early betrayal
by
May 2025, no. 475

Groomed: A memoir about abuse, the search for justice and how we fail to keep our children safe by Sonia Orchard

Affirm Press, $34.99 pb, 356 pp

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Port in a storm

A memoir of early betrayal
by
May 2025, no. 475

There is no shortage of statistics pointing to the prevalence of misogyny and violence against women, not least the oft-cited figure that one woman is murdered each week in Australia. But sometimes anecdotes reveal the systemic nature of a problem in a way that figures cannot. In her memoir, Groomed, Sonia Orchard recalls attending a social gathering in St Kilda thirty years after she was abused as a fifteen-year-old high school student. At the party, she recognises a male teacher from her school, who, when he sees her, exclaims loudly in front of other guests: ‘I remember you! You used to think you were so hot, didn’t you? Strutting around in your little school dress.’

Groomed: A memoir about abuse, the search for justice and how we fail to keep our children safe

Groomed: A memoir about abuse, the search for justice and how we fail to keep our children safe

by Sonia Orchard

Affirm Press, $34.99 pb, 356 pp

Buy this book

ABR receives a commission on items purchased through this link. All ABR reviews are fully independent.

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