Kill the Silence

May 15, 2015
A former Southern Methodist University track star's account of how she survived a brutal rape that changed her life. Going to the United States to study on a full scholarship was a dream come true for the Norwegian-born Korra. In 2009, just as she was finishing her third semester at SMU, the young runner was kidnapped and raped by three men. The author vowed that her life would go on just as it had before the attack, but in the two years that followed, she found out just how difficult it would be to keep that promise to herself. Korra describes in detail her struggles with the extreme fear and insomnia that plagued her in the aftermath and the AIDS anti-viral drugs she was forced to take to protect her brutalized body against possible infection. She sought therapy only to discover that having to retell the story of her rape was "overwhelming." Journalists in Dallas hounded her for her story to the point that she and her roommates had to move to another location in secret, and friends in Norway she had known for years stayed away, unsure of how to treat her. Korra's athletic performance suffered for more than a year; so did a relationship she had, which eventually ended. But Korra was also fortunate in that she had a strong support system that included her family as well as coaches, friends, and teammates in Dallas. When her rapists were captured not long after the attack, her support structure helped her through the wrenching court appearances that followed and did not conclude until 2011. Korra speaks from a socially and educationally privileged position, which may somewhat limit her memoir's appeal, but both the book and the foundation she later started to help rape survivors are clear expressions of a personal strength and integrity that are profoundly admirable. An intimate and honest memoir of survival after trauma.

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July 1, 2015
In 2009, Norwegian author Krra was a student and track star at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. Leaving a party one night with friends, she was literally ripped from their arms in the parking lot at gunpoint by three men who kidnapped and repeatedly gang-raped her. After being set free, she was taken to the hospital and her captors were soon arrested. As she relates in wrenching detail, her athlete's drive to succeed initially led her to try to handle the attack on her own in a way that made her physically ill. With the support of others and lessons learned on the track, Krra was able eventually to focus on the future and not be destroyed by the violence committed against her. By sharing her story, which includes the trials of her attackers and the enormously stressful attention of the media (who win no awards for compassion here), Krra seeks to help others who have been raped. This is an uplifting and generous memoir by a strong woman who survived a truly brutal attack.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)