Crash Into Me - 9781596915855

"Crash Into Me is a true story that reveals how the trials of rape victims continue far beyond the halls of justice. Every college, university, and high school should have this book on their library shelves."---Jennifer Thompson-Cannino, coauthor of Picking Cotton

"Seccuro's account of rape and its aftermath is a keen and personal portrayal of the long-lasting feelings of fear and isolation that many victims of sexual violence experience. Crash Into Me is a powerful account of how recovery from this crime is possible."---Rainn (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network)

"I congratulate Liz for stepping up to the plate, naming names, and doing what she knew was the right thing to do. The legacy of this book will hopefully be the mustering of courage in sexual assault victims who will see the justice sought here by a lady who would not back down."---Mickey Sherman, author of How Can You Defend Those People?

"Crash Into Me stands out because of its precise attention to every detail, the quality of the writing, which makes you feel like you are sitting down talking with your best friend, and its intensely compelling indictment of the college administration. It is not only a substantial contribution to the scholarship on rape trauma, it is a must-read for everyone who cares about other people." ---John D. Foubert, Ph.D., author of The Men's and Women's Programs and national founder of One in Four

In September 2005, Liz Seccuro received an apology letter from William Beebe, the man who had raped her twenty-one years earlier. Liz was only seventeen when she was assaulted at a fraternity party at the University of Virginia. Although she reacted as best she knew how---going straight to the hospital and taking her story to the college administration---the school's deans discouraged her from going to the city police, and effectively denied her the kind of justice she sought.

For years, Liz struggled to put the trauma behind her and lead a normal, happy life. The letter brought it all raging back. Terrified that her rapist had tracked her down, Liz began an e-mail correspondence with Beebe, and became determined to pursue the criminal investigation that should have happened years earlier. She wanted justice, and the case seemed clear-cut: she had a confession from the man whose face had long haunted her. But as the highly publicized investigation progressed, a narrative unspooled that was darker than she had believed: a gang rape with at least two other assailants and numerous onlookers, and a wall of silence among the fraternity brothers that persisted two decades later.

Liz Seccuro's experience of campus assault and justice deferred is an all-too-common one, but it is a story we too rarely hear. In Crash Into Me, Liz tells her story with candor, courage, and hard-won hope.