Anna Chen, Critique on Anonymous

Her work starts off with an ambiguous feeling. They’re traveling and someone asks an innocent question. Whatever happened to ___? An innocent question with a painful answer. Anonymous then starts her real story. The story of how women writers are undermined as whole in society and the struggle of her personal journey. Almost immediately the tone of her writing drops heavy. It is sad, tiring, helpless. She’s not speaking for only herself; this is a epidemic that has spread through other women in her field of work.

She gives an anecdote of her own. A rising fame and success leads to a false sense of security and “success” in her life. Her own husband turns against her, jealous of her and retaliates with hate and violence. In that moment- it didn’t matter that they have been together for years. Married. With a daughter. What mattered was her stealing the spotlight from him- to him she stole his identity. The audacity of her to shine brighter than him!

Her story flowed in a such a roller coaster. It built up in a hopeful way, sharing her struggles of having her work acknowledged to finally publishing her third book. But that hope was crushed when she hit the readers with the reality of women writers. And it goes on. It doesn’t end there. It doesn’t end where the abuse happens.

Her battle to survive and thrive is hard. She has not one- two- but three full time jobs; as a mother, writer, and survivor. They way she wrote it painted a vivid picture that any woman who can relate, saw. And she made it clear; this story isn’t just about her. It is a story that a lot of woman have experienced in their own terms