Description

In Her Shoes : Women of the Eighth {published September 2020 with New Island Books}
is part memoir, introduced by Erin Darcy to the grassroots project In Her Shoes : Women of the Eighth, an online storytelling platform for repealing the 8th Amendment in Ireland in 2018.  Erin first brings you to Ireland with her on her discovery for love, weaves through the paths of motherhood, searching for connection and sisterhood with women, and through the devastating loss of her mother. Grief propels Erin forward, and the reader is brought along through grassroots activism, grief, motherhood, and lifting the veil of the most taboo subject ; abortion.

Nestled in the heart of the book are 32 anonymous contributor stories, a small representation to the thousand stories sent anonymously to the Facebook page during the campaign to Repeal the 8th Amendment. 32 stories have been selected as a nod to the island of Ireland’s 32 counties fight for reproductive rights and decriminalization.

The book leaves the reader with a feeling of hope, in the knowing that we can achieve things that feel impossible. A feeling and knowing of being able to make a difference in the world around us.

To hold this book in your hands is to hold the living stories of the women of Ireland. For too long, our history has not been recorded. For too long, women’s experiences at the hands of patriarchy have been conveniently written out. We write our stories into history, and within this book, we are not forgotten.

What people are saying ::

I thought this book would just be about the Repeal campaign however it is much more personal than that. The author encapsulates the mood of the time but in an intimate way.

I loved this book for its perspective of the campaign through the eyes of the author. Her story is beautifully written, interwoven with details of her personal journey, I was hooked from the start. Its raw, honest, emotional and so powerful.

The 32 women’s stories follow after the authors story and that really resonated with me. Even if you had never experienced that particular aspect of the 8th amendment you could still put yourself “in her shoes”.

I feel like this book is part of our living history. It documents the women of Irelands lived experience and is so important in recording a huge social movement from the perspective of those who are so often left out of history.

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I’m still reeling from the impact of this book. An essential read if you want to understand how women’s bodies can be policed and the impact it has on their lives, their families and their country. I was really taken in by Erin’s beautiful telling of her story, and what brought her to create In Her Shoes. The writing is profoundly personal and also poetic in its style. I expected to need to take time to read the book, but her story of losing her mother, coming to activism, followed by burnout and depression really made it hard to put the book down. It’s like reading these women’s diaries, and the stories they tell are vital.

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This book is one that should be part of the required reading for all Secondary School students in Ireland. The sad and swept under the rug history of punishing women and avoiding scandal. This book highlights how much the Catholic Church had a hold on Ireland and how FINALLY the country is breaking free from these binds. Such a poignant collection of stories and beyond heartbreaking to read but absolutely vital.

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