Burn It Down: Women Writing about Anger Book Review

In public, men are allowed to be angry. However, when it comes to women in public, its another story. At best, it is considered to be unseemly. At worst, she is labelled a harpy, a shrew or a bitch.

In the new book, Burn It Down: Women Writing about Anger, editor Lilly Dancyger compiles a list of stories from different women are angry. They come from different walks of life and have different beliefs, but their anger unites them. They are told to keep quiet and smile politely, but in a world in which women are still second class, the anger refuses to stay put.

I really liked this book. Anger is a natural emotion. But in our culture, it is a negative trait in women and a positive trait in men. What I liked about this book is that I felt like it was not only a release for the women whose essays were included in the book. It was also a release for the female reader who is angry but has subscribed to the idea that public anger is wrong.

I recommend it.

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