Beautiful Justice: Reclaiming My Worth After Human Trafficking and Sexual Abuse

by Brooke Axtell

Overview

A story of healing and a guide to seeking justice after sexual abuse from Brooke Axtell, one of the foremost survivor experts on sexual assault, domestic violence, and human trafficking

When Brooke Axtell was seven years old, her nanny subjected her to sex trafficking. Today, she is a champion and advocate for women around the world who have experienced sexual violence and trauma.

Beautiful Justice shares Brooke's own gripping story, both the trauma of sex trafficking and also her pathway through healing, moving on, and reclaiming power. Along the way, she imparts warm wisdom for others who have experienced similar violence, providing lessons from her own life and from the thousands of women, advocates, and lawmakers she's spoken with. Relying on her own experiences and a keen awareness of public policy, she provides a clear-eyed awareness of the ways that our culture and government work against women experiencing violence around the world.

Inspiring and powerfully redemptive, Brooke encourages readers to take part in a creative resistance as a path to justice.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781580058254
Publisher:	Basic Books
Publication date:	04/02/2019
Sold by:	Hachette Digital, Inc.
Format:	eBook
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

Brooke Axtell is the founder and director of She is Rising, a healing community for women and girls overcoming rape, abuse, and sex-trafficking. Her work as a human rights activist led her passionate, widely talked-about appearance on the 2015 Grammy Awards. Brooke's story has since been featured in a wide range of outlets, including Salon, Slate, Washington Post, Forbes, Wall Street Journal, Psychology Today, and Fox News. This is her first book.

Table of Contents

An Invitation to Beautiful Justice ix

Part 1 What the Fire Sang to Me 1

Chapter 1 Worthy of Love 3

Chapter 2 Underworld Girl 9

Chapter 3 The Artist and the Destroyer 21

Chapter 4 A Soundtrack for Survival 41

Chapter 5 Mary Magdalene Blues 63

Chapter 6 House of Lies 73

Chapter 7 Take Refuge 89

Chapter 8 Searching for Persephone 107

Chapter 9 Descending with Inanna 125

Part 2 The Art of Survivorship 141

Chapter 10 Untamed Light: How Survivors Become Leaders 143

Chapter 11 Creating Beautiful justice: What Survivors Deserve 163

Chapter 12 God of Little Girls: Returning to the Divine Feminine 175

Chapter 13 Waking the Priestess: Honoring the Sacred Within 183

Part 3 A Healing Guide for Survivors 203

Editorial Reviews

"Beautiful Justice is a fierce declaration of survival, grace, and dignity. Axtell bares her soul to the world in searing prose that demands we hear the voices of survivors with respect and compassion. Her perseverance in the face of brutality reminds us of all that is noble in the human spirit."
—Siddharth Kara, author of Modern Slavery: A Global Perspective and Sex Trafficking: Inside the Business of Modern Slavery

"Beautiful Justice is a powerful, poetic call to remember that our worth as women, as survivors, can never be taken from us. Our worth is right here for us to reclaim, from within. Brooke Axtell's story of healing her trauma, returning to her body, and finding fierce love for herself, leads to the greatest triumph of all, to the light no darkness can extinguish; the voice of her own soul."
—Meggan Watterson, author of Reveal and The Sutras of Unspeakable Joy and coauthor of How to Love Yourself

"As a survivor of sexual exploitation and abuse, Brooke takes us on her journey with painstaking honesty and integrity. She takes the reader through her music and poetry and shows us how strong the spirit is. We intimately meet the girl, the woman, the survivor, the advocate, the artist, as she inspires others to their healing. Brooke is an inspiration to all sexual abuse survivors, and as she eloquently writes, 'The pain we feel is not infinite, love is.' The is a lot of love in Beautiful Justice."
—Dr. Patti Feuereisen, founder of Girlthrive, and author of Invisible Girls: Speaking the Truth About Sexual Abuse

"Brooke Axtell's genius book Beautiful Justice proves that every woman has a story that deserves to be heard, and no matter its contents, can be transformed. You will find your story in hers. You'll be reminded that we can all play a part to create a world where women are valued."—Gina DeVee, creator of Divine Living

"In her reclamation of worth, Brooke is a beacon. A white hot burning flame of truth. The words and wisdom held within this book are fierce and much needed medicine for these times."—Lisa Lister, author of Witch and Love Your Lady Landscape

"Axtell [is] an example of the power in speaking out."—Rolling Stone, Rolling Stone

"Beautiful Justice lives up to its name. Brooke Axtell's beautifully written story is born of personal tragedy and triumph. Told with warmth, humor and pride, she shares lessons we can all learn from."—Terry Lickona, co-producer of The Grammy Awards

"Beautiful Justice perfectly describes Brooke Axtell's deeply compelling book. Her poetry weaves her personal story of abuse and child'sex trafficking through her own heroine's journey to healing. She reveals how she turned the pain of her trauma into passion for social justice. And she offers a handbook for sexual abuse survivors (and, frankly, all women), gently coaching us to reclaim our bodies, our voices, and our power to lead and live as we freely choose."—Gloria Feldt, cofounder and president of Take the Lead and author of No Excuses: 9 Ways Women Can Change How We Think About Power

"Axtell plumbs the horrors of her trauma as a poet, bard, seeker, and seer and establishes herself firmly as a moral and spiritual authority-and, endearingly, as a teacher and as a friend . . . It is in fact Axtell's unflinching candor that allows the reader to grasp the full extent of trauma and the turbulence of the healing journey. Axtell assumes nothing and therefore reveals everything. If one ever doubts the importance of artists and authors to serve as moral beacons for society, let them read this exceptional book."
—Sanjay Rawal, award-winning documentary filmmaker and activist

"A powerful voice."
—Austin-American Statesman

"Brooke is a multi-talented, inspiring and impressive woman. A rising star."
—Debra Condren, bestselling author of Ambition Is Not a Dirty Word

"Brooke is a dynamic young force."
—Suzy Spencer, New York Times-bestselling author of Wasted

"In Brooke Axtell's stunning book of fierce love, fierce devotion, and fierce healing, she shares her personal journey through abuse, step by step, and integrates it into a roadmap for others. She honors the many different paths of a woman's spiritual and psychological inner terrain and affirms there are as many paths as there are women. Brooke generously reveals the way art healed her life and in turn shows us the way to do the same with our own."—Deborah Kampmeier, filmmaker and director of Hounddog and Split

From the Publisher

2019-01-16

A survivor of sexual abuse and human trafficking shares her story and healing process.

When Axtell (Kore of the Incantation, 2010, etc.), a poet and musician, was a child, her male nanny abused her and sold her to other men for sex. Though she grew up believing the lies she was told by her abusers, part of her knew they weren't true. While many women have recently stepped forward to tell their stories of abuse or harassment, Axtell's story is different, as she focuses primarily on her healing and advocates for other women to do the same. "We are not victims, or even merely survivors," she writes. "We are the new generation of leaders, fiercely devoted to creating a world where our lives are valued. And that begins with valuing our own voices." The author released some of her pain through dance, writing, and singing, but she also used alcohol and unhealthy sexual relationships to mask her pain. In this candid retelling of her story, Axtell chronicles her traumatic past and the long, continuing road she has traveled to release her grief, fears, and anger and reclaim her sense of strength. Though her story is consistently heart-wrenching, readers will also share in her joy and optimism as she finds effective methods to cope with her anguish. Axtell has gone on to become an advocate for other sex abuse survivors, founding the healing community She Is Rising, and she shares the stories of a few others among her own. Perhaps the most useful section of the book is the end, where Axtell provides readers with the therapeutic techniques, mantras, meditations, and questions she has used to overcome her own pain.

A sometimes grim but ultimately uplifting and tender memoir from a woman who moved beyond victim status and embraced her full potential despite the unimaginable suffering she endured as a child.

Kirkus Reviews