Christine Blasey Ford never wanted to be a household name, she never wanted to be part of the #metoo movement. She wanted to provide information she knew about a Supreme Court nominee, go through a news cycle, and carry on with her life.

It didn’t work out that way.

She received death threats, lived with hired security, moved her family to undisclosed locations, stopped going out in public, and had to endure continual libelous and slanderous accusations.

Telling the truth came at a price she didn’t know she was going to have to pay.

Plenty of people have written about the Stanford professor’s allegations against Brett Kavanaugh. But none, according to Ford, told her story in full and accurately.

That is why she wrote her truth in the memoir One Way Back (St. Martin’s Press, 2024).

I listened to the book, which Ford read. This made it even more gripping. She included her actual audio from testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

As a surfer, Ford uses this discipline as a metaphor for many aspects of life. It added a unique perspective in how she approached circumstances and decisions.

This isn’t simply a rehash of the sexual assault or the hearing. It goes much deeper and last years later because her life continued to spiral out of control mostly because of others.

This is a look at the complexities of what it’s like for a victim to come forward. To even think about coming forward. The hell that is relived all over again and the hell that ensues from speaking out.

I was riveted by her story. It also made me mad.

Something is so wrong with our system when people are more worried about the accused’s future than the victim’s. When support is thrown behind the perpetrator and not the victim. When a man’s word is believed over a woman’s.

There is more depth to this story than one person’s experience. It is a story that is too common. It is a story we all should learn from. It is a story worth reading.