Shame on You

How to Be a Woman in the Age of Mortification

By: Melissa Petro

Narrated by: Melissa Petro

In the spirit of Rebecca Traister's Good and Mad and Roxane Gay's Bad Feminist comes a courageous, in-depth investigation into the modern epidemic of shame in our society—what it is, why women are uniquely susceptible, and how we can shift the shame off our plates and live our best lives in an over-exposed, image-obsessed world.

For millions of women, shame is a vicious predator. It tells us we are less than, that we are unworthy. We try everything to escape shame—ignoring it, intellectualizing it, and even, ironically, shaming ourselves for feeling it. The reality is that women experience shame more frequently and more intensely than men—a direct result, as acclaimed journalist Melissa Petro explains, of a patriarchal culture that “urges women to feel bad about themselves, and then punishes them when they do.” Why can’t we figure out how to break the shame cycle once and for all?

In Shame on You, Petro takes on the issue of women’s shame directly with an unflinching look at the social systems that encourage women to believe we are deeply inadequate. From shame’s beginnings (Maybe she’s born with it? Nope, it’s misogyny.) to its effect on our lives as adults (How the humiliation of “bad women” affects us all.), shame poisons our friendships, romantic relationships, and work lives. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Blending investigative reporting, science, literature, and hundreds of women’s personal stories—including her own shameful account of winding up as an unwitting New York Post cover girl—Petro offers us a new way forward. No matter what you do, she explains, there is no escaping being judged. And yet, the women we can become—sometimes as a consequence of shame, rather than in spite of it—are powerful indeed. And maybe that’s what others are afraid of.

©2024 Melissa Petro (P)2024 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

“Equal parts self-help, memoir and social investigation, Petro’s triumphant debut methodically presents how shame has pervaded almost every aspect of our lives, and offers up ways to free ourselves from it…Petro invites us to get ‘quiet and curious’ in our efforts to flush shame into the light and challenge its control over our lives.”—BookPage (starred review)

"A candid, assured debut that demonstrates the insight, authority, and resiliency that can be wrought from even the most excoriating experiences. Petro is a wise and humane guide who has performed that alchemy and is generous with her findings."—Melissa Febos, author of Girlhood, winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award in Criticism

“Melissa Petro’s work on shame is vital and necessary, and this book will feel like your best friend.”—Jennifer Pastiloff, author of On Being Human and creator of Shame-Loss

We lived in a F$$$ up world that penalized women for just existing!

I do recommend this book for anyone who wants to feel seen and heard! I loved every part of it! Thank you for this book!