The No You Never Listened To

"It's a strange thing when the highest praise you can offer for someone's work is, "I wish this didn't exist," but that was the refrain that echoed in my head after I read Meggie Royer's third book. As fans of her work know, Meggie takes the universal and makes it personal. With The No You Never Listened To, she takes the personal and makes it universal. As a sexual assault survivor, Meggie is well-acquainted with trauma: the aftermath, the guilt, the anger. She has never...
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"It's a strange thing when the highest praise you can offer for someone's work is, "I wish this didn't exist," but that was the refrain that echoed in my head after I read Meggie Royer's third book.

As fans of her work know, Meggie takes the universal and makes it personal. With The No You Never Listened To, she takes the personal and makes it universal. As a sexual assault survivor, Meggie is well-acquainted with trauma: the aftermath, the guilt, the anger. She has never shied away from taking Hemingway's advice - write hard and clear about what hurts - and that strength has never been more of an asset than with this body of work.

The No You Never Listened To is the book you will wish you'd had when trauma climbed into your bed. It is the book you will give to friends who are dragged from their "before" into a dark and terrifying "after". And yes, it is the book you will wish didn't exist.

But it is also the one that will remind you, in your darkest moments, where the blame really belongs. It will remind you that your memory will not always be an enemy. And it will remind you that none of us have ever been alone in this."

- Claire Biggs, To Write Love on Her Arms Editor / Writer

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"Nietzsche once warned us to be careful gazing into the abyss, that we run the risk of staring so long that the void consumes us. The poems in this book were born of the abyss, of conflict & trauma & survival. And through these poems, Meggie Royer stares - hard, unflinching, courageous - and instead of gazing back, the abyss looks away."

- William James, Drunk In A Midnight Choir editor & author of rebel hearts & restless ghosts

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"The No You Never Listened To educates those who don't understand the aftermath of sexual assault, encourages survivors of similar trauma, and empowers everyone who reads it. This collection of poetry is absolutely breathtaking due to Meggie Royer's beautiful, rhythmic writing style combined with the powerful messages conveyed through each of her poems. The categories in which the poems are organized take the reader through her different stages of emotions - beginning with her initial shock, denial, and anger and ending with her journey toward healing and forgiveness - and I was completely swept away from the start. In a culture where "victim-blaming" is far too common, Royer's articulation of passion and brutal honesty is exactly what society needs to wake up and improve how it views survivors of sexual assault."

- Briana Bailey, Literary & Managing Editor at Germ Magazine

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"Meggie Royer's poetry is a bittersweet reading of pain shared. Royer vividly paints on the page what we as a culture often give up on as unspeakable. Her poetry comforts and disturbs as all great art should."

- Luis Silva, Editor of Electric Cereal