The Chain

“The Chain is at once a jaw-dropping story of a betrayal, an indictment of a society in which misogynistic abuse is normalized as boys-will-be-boys behavior, and a paean to sisterhood. I can’t talk about this memoir without raising my voice, without feeling my pulse quicken, without using expletives, but I’m on my best behavior here. The Chain is a formidable book–a triumph of mind, body, and spirit–and Chimene Suleyman is a formidable writer.” - Maggie Smith, New York Times bestselling author of You Could Make This Place Beautiful“The Chain is a devastating account of brutal misogyny told with the careful precision of a brilliant storyteller. The power of Suleyman’s language combined with her poetic words culminate in a story that has been etched on my soul forever. A truly incredible feat as both memoir and story, The Chain took my breath away from the first page and did not let go of me till the very last.” - Nikita Gill, poet and author of Where Hope Comes From and These Are the Words“I was utterly floored by The Chain. In its astonishing specificity it finds a way to speak to huge and unsettling aspects of the human experience. It has the pace of a thriller and the weight of poetry. I can immediately think of so many women whose hands I want to press it into.” - Evie Wyld, author of All the Birds, Singing and The Bass Rock“Urgent, unflinching, and yet so full of love and nurture for women and womanhood, it is chilling and it is familiar and it is redemptive to read and beautifully written. This book makes women feel seen and understood; it is deeply powerful.” - Josie Long, comedian and author of Because I Don’t Know What You Mean and What You Don’t“A bruising, moving, harrowing, and staggeringly beautiful memoir. The Chain is a rare and special book, and I’m grateful to have read it.” - Chris Whitaker, author of Tall Oaks, All the Wicked Girls, We Begin at the End, and The Forevers“[The Chain] is impressive as much for the author’s skill and elegance as for the terror of the story that fuels it. A maddening tale told with insistence, insight, and beauty.” - Kirkus Reviews (starred review)“A searing memoir … a powerful tribute to female solidarity that you won’t be able to stop thinking about.” - Glamour“The Chain is a love letter to the sisterhood and resilience of women in spite of terrible men.” - Book Riot“In the poetic qualities of its prose and in its emotional intensity, I felt echoes of Elizabeth Smart’s classic On Grand Central Station I Sat Down and Wept in this raw memoir. But The Chain is bang up to date, an urgent, powerful, and cautionary story about love and relationships in our modern age, and one where female connection emerges like a phoenix from the ashes. The wrongs that men do to women and the ways in which women stay strong are centuries old stories, but this book tells us that we, right now, have every reason to hope.” - Gilly Macmillan, author of The Manor House

Chimene Suleyman is a poet and writer of Turkish Cypriot descent who lives in London. She has written on the politics of race and immigration for the Guardian, the Independent, the BBC, NPR, and Sky News. She is the coeditor of The Good Immigrant.