• Recollections of My Non-Existence

  • By: Rebecca Solnit
  • Narrated by: Rebecca Solnit
  • Length: 6 hrs and 41 mins
  • 4.9 out of 5 stars (8 ratings)

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Recollections of My Non-Existence

By: Rebecca Solnit
Narrated by: Rebecca Solnit
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Publisher's Summary

In 1981, Rebecca Solnit rented a studio apartment in San Francisco that would be her home for the next twenty-five years. There, she began to come to terms with the epidemic of violence against women around her, the street harassment that unsettled her, and the authority figures that routinely disbelieved her. That violence weighed on her as she faced the task of having a voice in a society that preferred women to shut up or go away.

Set in the era of punk, of growing gay pride, of counter culture and West Coast activism, during the latter years of second wave feminism, Recollections of My Non-Existence is the foundational story of an emerging artist struggling against patriarchal violence and scorn. Recalling the experience of living with fear, which Solnit contends is the normal state of women, she considers how oppression impacts on creativity and recounts the struggle to find a voice and have it be heard.

Place and the growing culture of activism liberated her, as did the magical world of literature and books. And over time, the clamour of voices against violence to women coalesced in the current feminist upheaval, a movement in which Solnit was a widely audible participant. Here is an electric account of the pauses and gains of feminism in the past forty years; and an extraordinary portrait of an artist, by a seminal American writer.

©2020 Rebecca Solnit (P)2020 Rebecca Solnit

What listeners say about Recollections of My Non-Existence

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  • Simone George
  • 12-11-20

Stunningly lyrical and important

This book changed me as I listened to it. Thank you Rebecca for articulating what we might feel but can’t find language for. I recommend this book as both a life saver and a thing of great beauty x

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  • PPG
  • 04-05-22

Positive and well balanced voice

Adored Rebecca Solnit’s book and her narration

Very resonating to hear the account of her journey, especially how far feminism has advanced and yet still how far we have to go.

Beautiful and sometimes funny

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  • Elizabeth
  • 05-10-20

Inspiring and moving

Cannot recommend this highly enough. Beautifully read by the author. This book is a series of insightful, moving musings about Solnit's experiences living in San Francisco, feminism, activism and her career as a writer.