Doing It Better

Doing It Better - Conflict Resolution after Abuse in Leftist Communities

Joe Biel / Microcosm Publishing

11cm x 18cm, 40 pages

$4

Doing It Better is a timely proposal of ways allegations of abuse should be handled, in most instances that means differently than they are currently. 

At long last there has been change in public consciousness surrounding the exploitation of others by men in positions of power. There are now seen to be consequences for abuse and exploitation, although, as Joe points out, for those in true positions of power "a person's finances can insulate them sufficiently from true accountability for their actions".

Joe relates cases of perpetrators of abuse within the radical zine and activist communities, and how those perpetrators have been dealt with in the past. Often it has been with a form of vengeance rather then justice. The problem is that ostracism of the abuser from a community doesn't lead to behavioural understanding by the perpetrator, or more importantly change of those behaviours, and they are just likely to be repeated elsewhere. 

The zine is in no way making apologies for criminal and unethical behaviour, and of course Joe isn't suggesting further contact between victim and abuser, but seeks to put forward a strategy for actionable accountability. It's a zine written with unflinching honesty, which is crucial for issue that often provokes knee-jerk reactions. And while those reactions are completely understandable, it's the more radical responses that will perhaps prove to be the most valuable. 

Doing It Better doesn't have all the answers, but it is a set of starting points for discussion and elaboration - a provocation for the open conversations we should all be having. 

Buy a copy direct from Microcosm: microcosmpublishing.com/catalog/zines/9119

Review by Nathan Penlington

Phases of the Moon #5

Phases of the Moon

114 pages, Digest

$10

"Phases of the Moon #5 is a book-length zine by Stacey-Marie about being in a relationship with an abusive alcoholic.  A young woman in a relationship with an abusive alcoholic man."

It's really beautiful.  It's disturbing, smart, and good.  The writing is fantastic.

It's memoir with interspersed quotes from other texts.  I preferred Stacey-Marie's words to the quotes, but I did value some quotes that explained abuse bonding.  They were insightful.

I grew up as a child of an alcoholic--I am familiar with alcoholism from a child's perspective.  I never thought about my mom's perspective very deeply--I didn't dare.

So this zine was triggering for me.  Just when I thought the story couldn't get any more disturbing, it did.  Around page 50, I felt sick.  Around page 80, I told Ming, "This zine is killing me."  

(We were walking down the street, walking through sunlight, away from the cafe where I'd been reading.  I felt stuck in a nightmare, disoriented, and unwell.  But good writing can do that to me...)

And the ending is worth it.  And I could relate to the speaker a lot.  These are two quotes I loved from toward the end, ideas I've thought about over and over, through the years.

Was that my true self?  What does a "true self" even mean if we can so easily change based on our surrounding environment?  

and

I felt like if I accepted the disease model of alcoholism, then I would have to accept that all the fucked-up behaviors resulting from addiction were merely symptoms of a impersonal disease.  

I noticed some repetition in the storytelling, but it seemed okay there--the repetition worked--that's how we think.

It's text-heavy but there's some visual art that definitely adds to the experience.  

Overall I loved this zine and recommend it to anyone who's strong enough to read about abuse.  And I wish Stacey-Marie lots of readers and success. 

Available at Portland Button Works
http://www.portlandbuttonworks.com/phases-of-the-moon-5

And at Selenographie
https://www.etsy.com/shop/Selenographie

Review by Laura-Marie