It Happened Like This

Book excerpt: A searing, inventive memoir that interrogates misogyny, heroism and women's power in an often-unsafe world through the lens of Vicky's Foster's own traumatic background. How do you get close to people when the people close to you keep shattering your world? Vicky Foster thought she'd finally escaped violence when her abusive ex-partner was murdered. Vicky was 25. She tried to draw a line under the past and move on with her life. This meant overcoming PTSD, trusting people again, building her career and ultimately, learning to return to herself. But, 16 years later, the past came crashing down on her, when one of her ex-partner's murderers hit the headlines. This time, as the 'hero' of the 2019 London Bridge terrorist attack. Lyrical and raw, It Happened Like This is a book about misogyny in all its forms, about heroism and villainy, about class and the climate of neglect created by austerity, but most importantly it's a book about women and their power, explored through the prism of Vicky's story.