Assume Nothing, Tanya Selvaratnam
Assume Nothing, Tanya Selvaratnam
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Assume Nothing
A Story of Intimate Violence

Author: Tanya Selvaratnam

Narrator: Tanya Selvaratnam

Unabridged: 6 hr 9 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: HarperAudio

Published: 02/23/2021

Includes: Bonus Material Bonus Material Included


Synopsis

Award-winning filmmaker Tanya Selvaratnam bravely recounts the intimate abuse she suffered from former New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, using her story as a prism to examine the domestic violence crisis plaguing America.

When Tanya Selvaratnam met then New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman at the Democratic National Convention in July 2016, they seemed like the perfect match. Both were Harvard alumni; both studied Chinese; both were interested in spirituality and meditation, both were well-connected rising stars in their professions—Selvaratnam in entertainment and the art world; Schneiderman in law and politics. Behind closed doors, however, Tanya’s life was anything but ideal. Schneiderman became controlling, mean, and manipulative. He drank heavily and used sedatives. Sex turned violent, and he called Tanya—who was born in Sri Lanka and grew up in Southern California—his “brown slave.” He isolated and manipulated her, even threatening to kill her if she tried to leave. Twenty-five percent of women in America are victims of domestic abuse. Tanya never thought she would be a part of this statistic. Growing up, she witnessed her father physically and emotionally abuse her mother. Tanya knew the patterns and signs of domestic violence, and did not see herself as remotely vulnerable. Yet what seemed impossible was suddenly a terrifying reality: she was trapped in a violent relationship with one of the most powerful men in New York. Sensitive and nuanced, written with the gripping power of a dark psychological thriller, Assume Nothing details how Tanya’s relationship devolved into abuse, how she found the strength to leave—risking her career, reputation, and life—and how she reclaimed her freedom and her voice. In sharing her story, Tanya analyzes the insidious way women from all walks of life learn to accept abuse, and redefines what it means to be a victim of intimate violence.Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.

About Tanya Selvaratnam

Tanya Selvaratnam is the author of The Big Lie: Motherhood, Feminism, and the Reality of the Biological Clock. Her essays have been published in the New York Times, Vogue, The Art Newspaper, SheKnows, Glamour, McSweeney's Internet Tendency, and on CNN, and she has been a fellow at Yaddo and Blue Mountain Center. She is an Emmy-nominated and Webby-winning filmmaker, and she has been a producer for Aubin Pictures, For Freedoms, Glamour Women of the Year, the Meteor, Planned Parenthood, and the Vision & Justice Project.


Reviews

This is a eye-opening account of verbal, physical and sexual abuse by a powerful man. I can only admire the author for sharing her experience and preventing him from abusing other women as well. In addition to shedding light on the abuse cycle which might be helpful for others as well, I liked how s......more

Goodreads review by Tessa

I feel really bad not giving this a 4 or 5 star review. It was incredibly brave of Tanya Selvaratnam to come out and tell her story of intimate partner violence at the hands of Eric Schneiderman, then Attorney General of New York State. Reading her account of the physical and emotional abuse was hea......more

The really wanted to love this book, but somehow I didn’t. It was an interesting premise for a memoir - a feminist finds herself in an abusive relationship with a powerful man, and how she extracted herself to safety. But somehow, the book was too journalistic, and held back in several emotional par......more

Goodreads review by Barbara

First, I want to applaud the author for her bravery in coming forward, especially against someone so powerful as the New York State Attorney General. Eric Scheidernman. She lives in a world I am not familiar with, one of wealth and privilege. Of people wearing a public mask and not being who they por......more