We Were Witches

By: Ariel Gore

Narrated by: Ariel Gore

Length: 6 hrs and 19 mins

Publisher's summary

Buying into the dream that education is the road out of poverty, a teen mom takes a chance on bettering herself, gets on welfare rolls, and talks her way into college. But once she's there, phallocratic narratives permeate every subject, and creative writing professors depend heavily on Freytag's pyramid to analyze life. So Ariel turns to a rich subcultural canon of resistance and failure, populated by writers like Audre Lorde, Adrienne Rich, Gloria Anzaldua, Tillie Olsen, and Kathy Acker. Wryly riffing on feminist literary tropes, We Were Witches documents the survival of a demonized single mother. She's beset by custody disputes, homophobia, and America's ever-present obsession with shaming strange women into passive citizenship. But even as the narrator struggles to graduate - often the triumphant climax of a dramatic plot - a question uncomfortably lingers. If you're dealing with precarious parenthood, queer identity, and debt, what is the true narrative shape of your experience? Finalist for the Lambda Literary Award.

©2018 Blackstone Publishing (P)2018 Ariel Gore

This was the best book I read in 2022! I loved it

An honest, painful , joyful ,and beautiful rollercoaster of raw womanhood. I could not stop reading , and the consecutively, could not stop listening. The journey the author took me on was SO relatable. I highly recommend .

Very relatable memoir for the modern woman

This was a delightful memoir of a woman who lived to the beat of her own drum. It chronicles teenage pregnancy, motherhood as a single woman, struggling to push through poverty, and living against the grain.

If I could give it more than five stars I would!

Truly stellar storytelling and lovely narration. Deep, introspective, and so very real... this book nailed life and parenthood from the birth-givers perspective. It spoke my truth. Never has fiction felt so personal or so raw, and the writers named were the who's who of feminist poetry... all my favorites from University! I can't wait to share this book with my wife!

A poignant reminder, perfect timing

What an incredible story. A reminder of what it means to be an artist, a woman, a mother - in the face of society dictating those definitions. It’s often a slow, difficult path with a lot of doubt, but when you get through the hardest parts - you can see it made you and your art. I appreciate that the author is the narrator, it feels more personal and real.

Not a princess book

I adore this author. This book has one of my favorite quotes about having to pretend to be a princess, when we were meant to be witches.

Slap me alive

This is eye opening in many aspects. How can this even be real to be called a welfare sl*t only for raising a child on your own like isn’t that hard enough? Also all the facts that were outlined about violence against women on many levels, it chilled my blood and enfuriated me at the same time. The story is also engaging, so real, and very well written. I loved to hear it read by the author.

Great voice

This book really resonated with me. I’ve listened to it 3 times now and I still learn something new each time.

written for writers, and educating non-writers

I am not a writer, but this is a book has so many stories within this story, however delivered in a manner that ties up so well, and allowed me to be transported right to the moments Ariel described. Much like life, it needn't always make sense to those outside of you. When it does, its magic. That's how I felt while listening to this. There are many writers and poets Ariel mentioned that I feel I need to learn about, understand their style and philosophy, and their personal stories too. I'm going to be circling back to this book often I feel.

I feel educationally more rich having heard this book, I feel my world has gotten a bit bigger, with additions of all these powerful womens narratives along with Ariel's.

Captivating

I love how Ms. Gore circled back to previous stories, literary quotes, fairy tales, and spells to illustrate her life and growing sense of self. I was blown away by several of the conclusions she drew from the various research lines she studied, then synthesised.

This was not an easy book to listen to: it was brutally, heart- breakingly honest. It was, however, an important book. In addition to recommending it to several of my friends, I also plan on picking up a physical copy. This has become an increasingly rare occurrence for me, as I recently donated, sold, or gave away 10 boxes of books, and Kindlized as many as I could. But a physical copy sounds right: I want to dog-ear the pages, put colorful flags to mark things, and write all over this book.

Thank you, Ms. Gore, for your everyday courage to just keep living, trying to create your best life.

an unique gem

the writer uses poetic language and magic realism to tell the story of day to day survival as a poor single mother. she finds her way with the help of many women whether they be face to face or through books. her life is not unique but she tells stories in a way no one else does. i loved this book and was sad it had to end.