Suffer a Witch : A Memoir

A stunning memoir in verse about sexual abuse, survival, and sisterhood from the New York Times bestselling author of Blood Water Paint.

“Suffer a Witch is a searing, precise testament on the long tradition of not believing women. The juxtaposition of the Salem victims with modern patterns, expressed in verse, pulses and aches on the page. McCullough’s words burn in this crucible of truth: these are the lengths men will go to when a woman cries abuse.” —Tia Levings, New York Times bestselling author of A Well-Trained Wife

Joy McCullough’s earliest memories are of time spent in church, moments when she climbed the steps to recite from the pulpit, just like her preacher father. But when she was a teenager in San Diego in the 1990s, her connection to her family and church were forever altered when a youth pastor groomed and sexually assaulted Joy.

In her debut memoir, McCullough pairs achingly raw poems recalling her abuse and its aftermath with hopeful, challenging verses about her life today as she seeks healing and justice in a country that rewards men for sexual abuse and still insists “girls these days will say anything.”

Among the poems, McCullough also weaves prose letters to historical girls and women—from Joan of Arc to Abigail Williams—whose lives and stories were ignored when they were caught in the maelstrom of witchcraft accusations.

Suffer a Witch shines a bright, unsparing light on one woman’s experience—and on those of generations of women who came before her.