The Apology cover art

The Apology

 Preview
Try Premium Plus free
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

The Apology

By: Eve Ensler
Narrated by: Eve Ensler, Edoardo Ballerini
Try Premium Plus free

£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £8.99

Buy Now for £8.99

Confirm Purchase
Pay using card ending in
Switch payment method
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.
Cancel

About this listen

This program includes a bonus interview with Tony Award-winning author Eve Ensler and Audible Editor Rachel Smalter Hall, as they talk about the inspiration behind this story.

Like millions of women, Eve Ensler has been waiting much of her lifetime for an apology. Sexually and physically abused by her father, Eve has struggled her whole life from this betrayal, longing for an honest reckoning from a man who is long dead. After years of work as an anti-violence activist, she decided she would wait no longer; an apology could be imagined, by her, for her, to her. The Apology, written by Eve from her father's point of view in the words she longed to hear, attempts to transform the abuse she suffered with unflinching truthfulness and compassion and an expansive vision for the future.

Remarkable and original, The Apology is an acutely transformational look at how, from the wounds of sexual abuse, we can begin to re-emerge and heal. It is revolutionary, asking everything of each of us: courage, honesty, and forgiveness.

©2019 Eve Ensler (P)2019 Audible, Ltd Abuse Activists Art & Literature Authors Child Abuse Dysfunctional Families Gender Studies Parenting & Families Politics & Activism Relationships Social Sciences

Listeners also enjoyed...

 Queer Intentions cover art
Most relevant
This is a powerful narrative made all the more so by the male narrator and an interview with the author being included makes the audio format the best way to get this book.

Eve Ensler gives a graphic and detailed account of being physically, sexually and emotionally abused by her father from an early age. Neither does she shy away from including the consequences of this as she went on to adult life and the low self-esteem and self-destructive behaviours fostered by this upbringing. She shows a remarkable ability to put herself in the abuser's place and ascribes thoughts, feelings and motives to her father through the medium of a letter of apology that she wished her father had written. That he is dead and unable to acknowledge or apologise in any way for his treatment of his daughter gives Eve licence to get it all out without challenge, but that is important for her healing.

Writing his apology was obviously cathartic for her and she gives an excellent model of how other survivors of such abuse can unload the doubts and self-loathing that comes from being treated this way. She is not prescriptive, however, and recognises that this method and timing of its use is not for everyone. It is admirable writing as well as engendering respect for her courage in making such personal experiences and feelings public.

Offering a template for healing

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I read it in one sitting. Only some will understand the essence of this book. But I hope one day everyone will understand the importance of it.

V. powerful

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I found it beautiful and very moving. The concept is totally original and surprising. The performance is superb. The last line I will cherish as a mantra.

Unbeaten track through the landscape of healing

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Beautifully narrated by what I thought was an Irish man, but find out after is an American. Edoardo Ballerini makes the awful story of Eve's abusive father bearable. It is difficult to say you enjoyed a story of such abuse, but I did. I found it an excellent book. Very affecting.

Powerful and heartbreaking

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I don't really know how to rate this. An enjoyable listen it is not. Quite a few times I considered not finishing the book because it was so unpleasant. I even wondered why on earth anyone would publish this account of child abuse. And then I realized that's the point. Stories like this aren't intended as entertainment. It's not inended as a good read. Stories of abuse, by their very nature are stories that people don't want to listen to and so the voices of the abused get shut down. I listened to the end because I realized that this is a voice that should be heard.

Despite the themes it was beautifully written and a very interesting approach to making peace with something so life destroying. I found the author's insight and interpretations of her Father"s behaviour fascinating. She struck me as extremely generous in her assessments, but then that seemed very much a part of the catharthism.

The interview at the end was essential and probably the best part. She answers questions about the process of writing such a difficult piece and she discusses societal influences on male behaviour and sense of worth. Again, I thought her rather generous in her conclusions about men's behaviour - but she presents very interesting perspectives.

If you can get through the awfulness of the subject matter this is worth a listen to gain a unique insight into the mental processing of and recovery from child abuse.

Tough going

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
The book is written from the heart!!
Incredibly upsetting but a story that needed to be told!!

The Apology- fantastic

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
So raw and painful to read the utter devastation caused by an abusive father. Incredible to see the progress in forgiveness as she prayed and channeled her father from the darkness.

beautifully raw and honest

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I appreciate why this book was written but it was not what I was expecting and I found it deeply triggering. WHEN OH WHEN ARE AUDIBLE GOING TO PUT PROPER TRIGGER WARNINGS ON THEIR BOOKS?

Very disturbing

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Couldn't get past chapter 1 as it's so graphic in describing sexual abuse it disturbed me

Disturbing

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.