The Chain - by Chimene Suleyman (Hardcover)

About the Book

Book Synopsis

A devastating personal testimony and a searing indictment of persistent misogyny.

In January 2017, Chimene Suleyman was on her way to an abortion clinic in Queens, New York with her boyfriend, the father of her nascent child. It was the last day they would spend together. In an extraordinary sequence of events, Chimene was to discover the truth of her boyfriend's life: that the man she'd loved had gaslit, lied to, stolen from, and painfully betrayed her and many others.

In this spellbinding memoir, Suleyman exposes one man's control over many women and the trauma he left behind and celebrates the sisterhood that formed in his wake despite--and in spite of--him. With radiant prose and incisive observation, Suleyman questions society's complicity in allowing those who would do women harm to flourish and contemplates why others remain silent witnesses by accepting and normalizing shameless behavior towards women. She demonstrates how women themselves are acculturated to perform prescribed roles of giver and nurturer, to be self-sacrificing and subordinate, and to bolster the egos of others by remaining silent and ignoring their own protective instincts.

A soul-baring story, brilliant cultural critique, and celebration of the healing power of sisterhood, The Chain is a book for any woman who has questioned her relationship and buried her doubts, for any woman who can't quite identify the source of her unease and for any woman who has been sheltered by the fierce protection of her female friends.

Review Quotes

"The Chain is at once a jaw-dropping story of a betrayal, an indictment of a society in which misogynistic abuse is normalized as boys-will-be-boys behavior, and a paean to sisterhood. I can't talk about this memoir without raising my voice, without feeling my pulse quicken, without using expletives, but I'm on my best behavior here. The Chain is a formidable book--a triumph of mind, body, and spirit--and Chimene Suleyman is a formidable writer." -- Maggie Smith, New York Times bestselling author of You Could Make This Place Beautiful

"[The Chain] is impressive as much for the author's skill and elegance as for the terror of the story that fuels it. A maddening tale told with insistence, insight, and beauty." -- Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"The Chain is a devastating account of brutal misogyny told with the careful precision of a brilliant storyteller. The power of Suleyman's language combined with her poetic words culminate in a story that has been etched on my soul forever. A truly incredible feat as both memoir and story, The Chain took my breath away from the first page and did not let go of me till the very last." -- Nikita Gill, poet and author of Where Hope Comes From and These Are the Words

"The Chain is a love letter to the sisterhood and resilience of women in spite of terrible men." -- Book Riot

"I was utterly floored by The Chain. In its astonishing specificity it finds a way to speak to huge and unsettling aspects of the human experience. It has the pace of a thriller and the weight of poetry. I can immediately think of so many women whose hands I want to press it into." -- Evie Wyld, author of All the Birds, Singing and The Bass Rock

"Urgent, unflinching, and yet so full of love and nurture for women and womanhood, it is chilling and it is familiar and it is redemptive to read and beautifully written. This book makes women feel seen and understood; it is deeply powerful." -- Josie Long, comedian and author of Because I Don't Know What You Mean and What You Don't

"A bruising, moving, harrowing, and staggeringly beautiful memoir. The Chain is a rare and special book, and I'm grateful to have read it." -- Chris Whitaker, author of Tall Oaks, All the Wicked Girls, We Begin at the End, and The Forevers

"A searing memoir . . . a powerful tribute to female solidarity that you won't be able to stop thinking about." -- Glamour