Burn It Down: Women Writing about Anger

About the Book

The rage of women is at a high: sparked by the Women's March of early 2017, stoked by countless policies of the Trump administration, and finally reaching incineration levels over the confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh in October 2018. But this issue isn't just timely--there's depth to the idea of women's rage: who gets to be angry (white women, black women, young women)? How do women express their anger? And what will they do with it as a collective?

In BURN IT DOWN, a diverse group of women authors explore what rage means to them--from the personal to the systemic, the unackowledged to the public, and more. One woman describes a complicated rage at one's own body--for being ill with no explanation--while another writes of the rage she inherits from her father. One Pakistani-American contributor says, "to openly express my anger would be too American," and explains why.

Edited by Lilly Dancyger, a Catapult editor and writing instructor, BURN IT DOWN is an anthology that offers literary catharsis and narrative variety to the many readers who have propelled Rebecca Traiser's GOOD AND MAD to the NYT bestseller list.

About the Author :
Lilly Dancyger is the memoir editor at Narratively, a contributing editor at Catapult and assistant books editor at Barrelhouse. Her essays and journalism on sex, politics and culture have appeared in Rolling Stone, the Rumpus, the Washington Post, Psychology Today and more. Dancyger is at work on a memoir about her father's art and heroin addiction and the legacy of both in her life. She lives in New York.

Review :
"Burn It Down is a potent literary offering--a revolution born within the collective rage--expressed, unleashed, sublimated, and capsuled to honor our feminist legacy. Scorched earth speaks through these brilliant women who teach us that vulnerability and ire writ large will save those who have been shamed and condemned. Glorious, punk as hell, and utterly necessary."--Sophia Shalmiyev, award-winning author of Mother Winter "Burn It Down is deeply affirming for any woman who has struggled with anger in this difficult world. There is no judgment here; only alchemy."
--Kelly Sundberg, author of Goodbye, Sweet Girl "Burn It Down is both educational and cathartic. It infuriates and simultaneously relieves."--Bust "Burn It Down legit changed my brain. I found myself thinking about anger in general and women's anger in particular in a whole new way, and seeing how reigning in and policing our anger has been sustaining patriarchal structures for centuries. Read this beautiful book and feel your beautiful rage."--The Rumpus "An extraordinary collection of talent."--NPR.org "Brutally honest and enlightening."--Washington Independent Review of Books "Comprising essays from an amazing cast of contributors...this cathartic and incendiary anthology rages against the notion that women should temper their fury."--OprahMag.com "Dancyger collects essays from 22 female writers contemplating (and unleashing) anger, continuing the #MeToo ethos of emotional transparency and righteous indignation, to bracing and powerful effect. The writers are a diverse group and cover a wide range of experiences.... [Burn It Down is] a cathartic and often inspiring reading experience."--Publishers Weekly "If you've got a fired-up woman on your list (or a man who needs to hear about it) they'll find communion in this cathartic anthology of women writing about anger, how it drives us, how it consumes us, and how we can use it as fuel."--Good Housekeeping "It's the literary equivalent of screaming into a pillow, and reading it will make you feel so much less alone."--HelloGiggles "More necessary than ever."--Bustle "Powerful and provocative, this collection is an instructive read for anyone seeking to understand the many faces--and pains--of womanhood in 21st-century America."--Kirkus Reviews "Practically hot to the touch."-- BookPage (most anticipated fall nonfiction) "The twenty-two essays collected in Burn It Down are a gift of sanity and clear-eyed moral vision in an increasingly degraded moral world. This book galvanizes women's collective and individual rage, even as it redefines how we could and should understand that anger--and ourselves."--Lacy M. Johnson, author of The Reckonings and The Other Side "This book gives powerful voice to women's rage in all its glory."--Pacific Standard