Rachel Louise Snyder is the author of Fugitive Denim, the novel What We’ve Lost is Nothing, and No Visible Bruises, winner of the J. Anthony Lukas Award, the Hillman Prize, and the Helen Bernstein Book Award for Excellence in Journalism, and finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award, LA Times Book Prize, and Kirkus Prize. Her work has appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Times, Slate, and elsewhere. Snyder is a Professor of Creative Writing and Journalism at American University and a 2020–2021 Guggenheim Fellow. She lives in Washington, DC.
‘Clear, smooth and accessible … never folksy but never academic and
so matter-of-fact you can feel the writer holding herself in check
so as not to overwhelm us with painful details.’
*The Observer*
‘Powerful … No Visible Bruises is a call for action, not
a cry of despair. Snyder has written not only an admirable book,
but one that should spur change.’
*The Sunday Times*
‘No Visible Bruises is a seminal and breathtaking account of why
home is the most dangerous place to be a woman. Through brilliant
insights and myth-busting research, compelling storytelling, and a
passionate focus on truth-telling, Rachel Louise Snyder places
domestic violence exactly where it should be, smack in the centre
of everything. A tour de force.’
*Eve Ensler, author of The Vagina Monologues and The
Apology*
‘Powerful … Snyder exposes this hidden crisis by combining her own
careful analysis with deeply upsetting and thoughtfully told
accounts of the victims … To her credit, Snyder takes seriously the
underlying causes of violence, interviewing perpetrators and noting
that many have often been victims themselves … [An] important
book.’
*New York Times*
‘A book that manages to be both personal and panoramic, angry and
hopeful.’
*The Economist*
‘This chilling, vital, and urgent book deserves to be read by
everyone.’
*The Independent*
‘This is terrifying, courageous reportage from our internal war
zone, a fair and balanced telling of an unfair and unbalanced
crisis in American family life. Snyder writes with stark lucidity
and great compassion, and tells stories of utmost urgency with
considerable narrative skill.’
*Andrew Solomon, National Book Award-winning, bestselling author of
The Noonday Demon, Far from the Tree, and Far and
Away*
‘Tightly paced, compelling, fascinating and heart-breaking in equal
measures … The writing style is always clear and accessible as
Snyder deftly dismantles myths around violence against women.
It’s an extraordinary book that deserves to be widely read.’
*Irish Examiner*
‘Deeply impactful and thoroughly researched … a truly unique and
beneficial account of abuse and its cultural context.’
*The Irish Times*
‘An extraordinary book.’
*Marie Claire*
‘Gut-wrenching, required reading.’
*Esquire, ‘Best of Spring’*
‘A passionately written, highly intelligent and lucid book … Snyder
weaves compelling personal accounts through her deeply researched
narrative … it’s literary non-fiction at its best, an
authoritative, multi-dimensional work that melds hard-headed
reporting with self-reflective analysis.’
*Irish Independent*
‘Rachel Louise Snyder has uncompromising truths to tell about
domestic violence.’
*The Oldie*
‘Compulsively readable … In a writing style that's as gripping as
good fiction, as intimate as memoir and deeply informed, [Snyder]
takes us into the lives of the abused, the abusers and the
survivors … The stories are devastating, but Snyder keeps us
reading by pointing us toward possible solutions … After a few
chapters, I was telling a prosecutor friend that everyone in her
office — no, everyone in the state who deals with family violence —
had to read this book. Because it will save lives.’
*The Washington Post*
'Snyder debunks pervasive myths and writes movingly about the lives
(and deaths) of people on both sides of the equation. She doesn’t
give easy answers but presents a wealth of information that is its
own form of hope.’
*New York Times*
‘A meticulous study of the often-overlooked risk factors for women
being killed by current or former partners.’
*The Economist*
‘A brilliant work … what makes it move with the suspense of a beach
novel is Snyder's passionate storytelling, [which] often soars to
the point of lyricism but remains unfailingly honest.’
*Ms. Magazine*
‘Extraordinary … [No Visible Bruises] takes apart the myths that
surround domestic violence … In its scope and seriousness — its
palpable desire to spur change — this book invites reflection not
only about violence but about writing itself … [Snyder] brings all
of fiction's techniques to this new book — canny pacing, an eye for
the animating detail and bursts of quick, confident
characterisation. There is a fullness and density to every one of
her subjects … She glides from history to the present day, from
scene to analysis, with a relaxed virtuosity that filled me with
admiration. This is a writer using every tool at her disposal to
make this story come alive, to make it matter.’
*Parul Sehgal, New York Times, ‘Editor's Choice’*
‘This sympathetic look at victims, perpetrators, and intervention
efforts by law enforcement and social agencies makes for compelling
reading ... Snyder’s chilling body of evidence shows that domestic
abuse is a pervasive epidemic that can and does happen
everywhere.’
*Booklist*
‘A powerful exploration of the sinister, insidious nature of
domestic violence in America … Bracing and gut-wrenching, with
slivers of hope throughout, this is exemplary, moving reportage on
an important subject that often remains in the dark due to shame
and/or fear.’ STARRED REVIEW
*Kirkus Reviews*
‘I cannot imagine how Rachel Louise Snyder had the strength to
write this book — it’s like the journal of a war correspondent. By
witnessing the toll of family violence, she wants to take public
this private horror. No Visible Bruises is a keening for the
battered and a shout of outrage for the lost, a case for the higher
awareness that could make us better humans.’
*Ted Conover, author of Newjack, and director of NYU’s
Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute*
‘No Visible Bruises snapped open my eyes to the direct link between
patriarchal entitlement and violence against women, between the way
men are raised to the way women are treated. From her dismantling
of the term ‘domestic violence’, which not only couches a pervasive
public menace in homey, private terms, but echoes a sick culture in
denial, to her connecting the dots between acts of terror and acts
of domestic terror, Snyder’s is an indispensable, important
book.’
*Carina Chocano, author of You Play the Girl*
‘Snyder’s singular achievement is that she illuminates the dark
corners of this spectre as a way to understand it and thus
eliminate it.’
*J. Anthony Lukas Prize, judges’ citation for No Visible
Bruises*
‘[Snyder] has written a book about everything about men who beat
and kill their wives or girlfriends; about people who work to
predict murder, and those who try to heal the abusers; and also,
deeply, about gender, poverty, depression, despair, privilege, law
enforcement, incarceration, justice, mental health, and politics …
It takes a writer of uncommon talent and confidence to pull this
off. Snyder's stories are about people, every single one of whom is
drawn empathically. Her investigation is intellectual and
unsparingly complex.’
*Masha Gessen, The New Yorker's ‘Page-Turner’ blog*
‘Snyder [goes] both wide and deep … her empathy for the victims is
powerful, and infectious. But so is her interest in the
perpetrators, some of whom may be able to recover, to change and
atone. And as she makes very clear, those who undertake reform —
studying and quantifying risk, asking smart questions about whether
women's shelters help or hurt, counseling survivors and getting
them the support they need — are heroes.’
*Los Angeles Times*
‘Should be required reading for lawmakers across the country.’
*Minneapolis Star Tribune*
‘[A] powerful investigation into intimate partner abuse … with
closely observed, compassionate portraits of victims, advocates,
abusers and police. Penetrating and wise, and written in sometimes
novelistic prose, Snyder's sobering analysis will reward readers'
attention.’ STARRED REVIEW
*Publishers Weekly ‘Best of the Year’*
‘A searing examination of domestic violence in the US’
*HuffPost*
‘Snyder's willingness to tell the intimate stories of domestic
violence sheds light on an often neglected subject. All of us have
a stake in becoming more aware of and responsive to private
violence, and this book proves why.’ STARRED REVIEW
*BookPage*
‘We can't afford not to be talking about domestic violence. Snyder
argues that it has reached epidemic proportions in the country — it
accounts for 15 percent of all violent crimes — with devastating
effect. She combines her analysis with interviews with survivors,
advocates, and occasionally, the perpetrators themselves.’
*The New York Times, ‘Books To Watch For In May’*
‘An incredible piece of reporting’
*BookRiot, ‘Best of the Year So Far’*
‘By focusing on case studies — individuals' stories — Snyder
returns humanity to the horrifying larger issue … placing domestic
violence in relationship to issues of economics, education,
employment, the criminal justice system and other, more 'public'
types of violence … No Visible Bruises speaks with urgency about
solving a problem that, however invisible, affects us all. This
thoroughly researched examination of the domestic violence epidemic
is chilling but deeply important and surprisingly accessible.’
*Shelf Awareness*
‘No Visible Bruises is a compelling account of the root causes of
the domestic violence epidemic in the US and attempts to respond to
it … an excellent read.’
*Australian Financial Review*
‘It pains to read this latest work from American University
professor and novelist Snyder … [W]hile graphic, this book is not
gratuitous; rather, it illuminates the realities of domestic
violence, working off the premise that instead of only targeting
survivor recovery, our concern must be eradicating the behaviours
of those who commit abuse … A compelling treatise on how domestic
violence correlates with larger societal problems detracting from
the quality of life for all genders.’
*Library Journal*
‘A meticulous study of the often-overlooked risk factors for women
being killed by current or former partners.’
*The Economist*
‘Snyder’s in-depth reporting and vivid writing imbue the book with
drama and tension … A welcome addition to the efforts that bring
this brutal crime out from behind closed doors and provide hope for
the future.’
*Los Angeles Review of Books*
‘There is a compelling determination to Snyder’s writing as well as
to her suggestion that if we tell these stories enough, that if we
find the right way to tell them, then maybe someday we won't have
to tell them anymore.’
*Ploughshares*
‘Invaluable, deeply reported ... Snyder’s discussion ... regarding
mass shootings, is particularly astonishing ... “Domestic violence
is like no other crime,” Snyder writes, and by the time you finish
this book, you will believe it ... Snyder is unsparing on the role
of guns in our culture, acknowledging that the US is “the most
dangerous developed country in the world for women.”’
*The New York Review of Books*
‘Snyder provides a valuable tool for understanding domestic
violence and for thinking about a way forward. In its mix of
storytelling, cultural analysis, and skilled reporting, No Visible
Bruises is an essential part of the ongoing conversation ... Before
it all seems too bleak, Snyder manages to find some light ... With
its harrowing stories and lack of easy answers, No Visible Bruises
is a demanding read, even though Snyder’s prose and pacing carry it
well. For many readers – and not only those new to these topics –
the book will bring vital information and at least some hope. Our
continuing culture of violence in general and of domestic violence
in particular creates some grim situations, but advancement remains
possible, first through knowledge and then through effective
change. Snyder’s look at these matters should become an important
part of that process.’
*Spectrum Culture*
Praise for Fugitive Denim: ‘Contains a number of surprises about
the most ubiquitous of clothes … Ultimately Snyder gets readers to
think about the real costs of clothing, and it’s likely they won’t
look at $30 or $200 jeans the same way again.’
Praise for What We've Lost Is Nothing: ‘Rachel Louise Snyder writes
with the rigorous scrutiny of an investigative journalist and the
deep and roving empathy of a natural-born novelist; the result is a
bold and mesmerising exploration of daily truths we don't talk
about nearly enough: class prejudice and racism; the chasm between
newly arrived immigrants and those of us who've been here for
generations; the painful division between husbands and wives and
the children they've made; and that razored air between what we
believe and what is. What We've Lost is Nothing is a stellar debut
by an important and necessary new voice among us.’
*Andre Dubus III, author of House of Sand and Fog and
Townie*
Praise for What We've Lost Is Nothing: ‘Veteran journalist Snyder
crafts a muscular and fearless debut novel that boldly tackles the
heady themes of prejudice, self-preservation, poverty and privilege
… Snyder's drama provocatively reveals the escalating tensions of a
community about to implode.’
*Booklist*
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