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Hysterical: A Memoir
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About This Book
Equal parts medical mystery, cultural criticism, and rallying cry, writer Elissa Bassist shares her journey to reclaim her authentic voice in a culture that doesn't listen to women. Between 2016 and 2018, Elissa Bassist saw over twenty medical professionals for a variety of mysterious ailments. Bassist had what millions of American women had: pain that didn't make sense to doctors, a body that didn't make sense to science, a psyche that didn't make sense to mankind. But then an acupuncturist suggested some of her physical pain could be caged fury finding expression, and that treating her voice would treat the problem. It did. Growing up, Bassist's family, boyfriends, school, work, and television had the same expectation for a woman's voice: less is more. She was called dramatic and insane for speaking her mind; she was accused of overreacting and playing victim for having unexplained physical pain; she was ignored or rebuked like women throughout history for using her voice "inappropriately" by expressing sadness or suffering or anger or joy. Because of this, she said "yes" when she meant "no"; she didn't tweet #MeToo; and she never spoke without fear of being "too emotional." So, she felt rage, but like a good woman, repressed it. In Hysterical, Bassist explains how girls and women internalize and perpetuate directives about their voice, making it hard to emote or "just speak up" and "burn down the patriarchy." But her silence hurt more than anything she could ever say. Hysterical is a memoir of a voice lost and found, and a primer on new ways to think about a woman's voice, where it's being squashed and where it needs amplification. Bassist breaks her own silences and calls on others to do the same—to unmute their voice, listen to it above all others, and use it again without regret.
Reviews
"We know that hetero-patriarchy is all about power and control."
"In this powerful, beautifully written, and utterly important book, Bassist's voice rings clear and true."
"Bassist's resounding voice will echo in readers' heads long after they have finished the book."
"Only it's not really the story of her life; it's a passionate, conversational and discursive exploration into all the ways in which women are oppressed, shunned, not listened to and hated, and how all of that is why she has such a hard time telling her story ..."
"Disruptive, tender, and beautiful, this book is a reversal of women's apologies and a demand for more."
"One of the most compelling elements of Bassist's memoir is her exploration of rape culture, how women are groomed to participate in their own violent suffering, and the problematic co-opting of the word consent ..."
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