A Woman, a Plan, an Outline of a Man by Sarah Kasbeer
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Sarah Kasbeer‘s book was one of my favorite essay collections from 2020. Both funny and excruciatingly honest, A Woman, a Plan, an Outline of a Man is an examination of not only of how violence can shape women’s lives, but also how the healing continues to impact the lives of women and those around them.
I have a difficult time articulating the narrative themes in this essay collection because it’s so deeply personal and beautiful, and very much unlike much of what I’ve read before. Here’s what the publisher said:
With wry humor and raw emotion, Sarah Kasbeer re-examines the most painful experiences of her youth, including a violent boyfriend and a sexual assault…Artful and entertaining, these essays explore sexuality, desire, privilege, shame, and the ways we find to heal.
But for me, that description doesn’t quite capture what Kasbeer did. Her book is a non-linear memoir told through intimate essays that explores all of those ideas—sexuality, desire, privilege, shame, healing—while also pulling her lens back to examine the aftermath—for her and the people in her life, including her partner—of that violence and healing.
I can’t express how much I admire Kasbeer’s willingness to lay bare who she is—and who she was—as she tells her story. Without giving away too much, I’ll say this: She opens up every part of her life in these essays, laying out the emotions and events that so many of us try to keep out of the light. And in doing so, she paints a picture of not only a woman in full, but also a culture that shaped her.
You can listen to my conversation with Sarah on Episode 108 of The Downtown Writers Jam podcast.
