Untitled

by anonymous

[Heather]

If you've been on Twitter any time at all you're familiar with Gamergate.  (Side note - Can we please stop naming everything -gate?  It is so annoying.)

This is Zoe Quinn's story from the day that she found out that her ex boyfriend had written a manifesto against her and the death threats started.  They escalated and quickly included threatening items like pictures taken outside her apartment.  Out of her frustration at not being better able to protect herself, she founded Crash Override to help others who have found themselves in similar situations.

This book is part memoir and part primer on how to better protect yourself online.  It would benefit people who worry about online security and those who think that women are overreacting to online threats.  It is a reminder of the lengths that people will go to to hurt strangers online.  She also talks to former trolls to see what the mindset is behind that behavior.





Have you ever had your mother reminisce about spending time with your friends'/teammates' moms while waiting for you to get done doing sports or plays or whatever you were into?  Imagine instead of talking about what she did on the sidelines of your soccer game, she was talking about what she got up to with Kurt Cobain's mom on the Nevermind tour.  That's the spirit of this book.

She interviews moms of musicians from all genres and at all stages of their careers.  Some are still performing.  Some have retired or moved into other aspects of the business.  Others are moms of musicians who didn't survive their fame.  She asks what they remember, how they nurtured their kids, and what they wished they had done differently.

The book is fun because she still is enthusiastic about her son's career and always talks about it like a proud mom.  She talks about the kids getting back together when Nirvana was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  She always refers to her son as "David."  She still gets starstruck like when she got to meet Paul McCartney and her friends couldn't get her to shut up about it. 

 This review was originally posted on Based On A True Story