Book Review: No Visible Bruises
The 2019 book "No Visible Bruises" by Rachel Louise Snyder hits the reader pretty hard. Each day, more than 20,000 calls to domestic violence hotlines are placed. On average, it takes the victim seven tries before staying away from the perpetrator for good. Intimate partner violence has links to mass shootings. It is the direct cause for more than half of women experiencing homelessness.
At once, the reader is reminded that each intimate partner statistic is a story that does not just have an often deadly outcome of the partner victim, but also children, parents, extended family, and even the perpetrator themselves.
Snyder is able to captivate the reader with jaw-dropping research, from a variety of United States organizations and institutions. The author then weaves in specific stories of mainly women whose lives were devastated by intimate partner violence. Snyder takes the reader into shelters, prisons, and group therapy sessions to be introduced to groundbreaking work that can help stymie this Global Health Epidemic.
Written in a pre-COVID world, we at NOW understand that intimate partner violence has been intensified since the start of the pandemic.
If you or someone you love is experiencing domestic violence, please reach out to The Hotline at 800.799.SAFE (7233).
Review by Amber Koens