One of Us: Sex, Violence, Injustice. Resilience, Love, Hope

In this autobiographical narrative, Sandi Giver describes a harrowing experience with the military judicial system. As a civilian victim of sexual assault, she vividly brings to light the challenges of seeking legal justice when all odds are against the victim. Giver takes the reader from the night of the assault in Uganda as a Peace Corps volunteer to a Norfolk, Virginia, courtroom recounting intimate details to help protect others from a sexual predator. At a time when the Peace Corps was under scrutiny for not supporting victims of sexual assault and the military for not keeping alleged perpetrators accountable, this case was the perfect storm.

In its poignant retelling of an all-too-familiar story in exotic jurisdictions, One of Us demolishes societal assumptions about rape, sex, virtue, honor, and even friendship. It shreds our false notions of white or black, of virgin or slut, of safe or asking for it, of consensual sex or ‘legitimate rape.’ As individuals, we kid ourselves into thinking that if we take enough precautions, we will be safe in an unsafe world. In her journey from not being able to ‘think straight enough to verbalize it cohesively’ to writing this book, Sandi Giver forces us to realize the uncomfortable reality: that an edifice that produces rapists needs restructuring.

• Bethany Quinn, Social Justice Consultant

One of Us tells a story that is at times frightening, aggravating, heartbreaking, and hopeful. It’s a story that’s all too real and all too common, and is threshold reading for anyone who cares to stem this epidemic.

• Mike Santonocito, Feminist and Friend of Survivors