The Anatomy of Silence

Overview

Before #MeToo, there was silence.Let's talk about that silence.The Anatomy of Silence is a collection of voices speaking out loud - often for the first time - about what it means to stay silent, to be silenced, and to break the silence that surrounds sexual violence. About how we are all complicit in creating that silence. It offers an unflinching account of how a culture of shame perpetuates a culture of violence against our bodies—and reflects on what it would take to create a world in which that silence — once broken — stays broken.

Author Biography

Cyra Perry Dougherty is a space holder for spiritual growth and healing for 21st century leaders. She began her career fighting for justice-rooted service programs in the public sector, made her way to Partners In Health, a global social justice organization. As a single mother, building her career in the social justice sector, she overextended herself and burnt out following her work in response to the earthquake that ravaged Haiti in 2010. In the years that followed, she found herself building Still Harbor, an organization committed to spiritually accompanying those engaged in social justice work, and in seminary where she was ordained an Interspiritual Minister. In seminary, she discovered the practical tools to sustain herself and others in justice work. She carries a deep respect for and understanding of the practices that can connect us to our most authentic selves, to others, and to the unknown that is greater than all of us. The majority of her work is in secular spaces where people are seeking to connect across differences, tap into a sense of personal or shared purpose, and co-create meaning that stimulates radical social transformation. Perry is the founder and CEO of Rootwise Leadership, Senior Partner at Still Harbor, and an Instructor of Leadership Programming at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.