That’s What She Said is a provocative social documentary about eight unconnected men, who watch and respond to the theatre production Brutal Legacy about a woman’s harrowing story of domestic violence. Directed by Natasha Sutherland. Inspired by Tracy Going’s memoir, Brutal Legacy. The documentary premiers on M-Net tomorrow night, 25 November 2023, at 9PM. Watch the trailer here: That’s What She Said.
Tracy Going‘s powerful memoir, Brutal Legacy (originally published in 2018), was first adapted for stage by the award-winning theatre maker, Lesedi Job, with a cast including Natasha Sutherland, Charlie Bougenon and Jessica Wolhuter, and it has now inspired a documentary, That’s What She Said – A social inquiry: in it, Tracy offers up her story to be scrutinised by a random group of men in the present. They watch her account as it is displayed in a theatre production adaptation of her book. The film documents this process and the frank discussions that follow the performance. Offering a unique social dialogue, to bring an important message across as a relatable film without diminishing the abused, or men / women in general. You can watch the trailer here: That’s What She Said.
Karavan Press is publishing a new edition of Brutal Legacy to coincide with the release of the documentary and the annual 16 Days of Activism against GBV, beginning on 25 November. The book includes a new chapter, “Five years later”, and has been redesigned by Stephen Symons.
About the book:
Tracy Going vowed to herself as a little girl that her life would be different from her mother’s; that she would never be beaten up. But then she broke her own promise.
“As I stood before him all I could see were the lies, the disappearing for days without warning, the screaming, the threats, the terror, the hostage-holding, the keeping me up all night, the dragging me through the house by my hair, the choking, the doors locked around me, the phones disconnected, the isolation, the fear, the uncertainty.”
Brutal Legacy is an unflinching account of a romantic relationship that quickly turned violent. In mesmerising detail, the former TV and radio presenter tells the story of how she staggered into a police station battered and bruised, the harrowing two-and-a-half-year court process, the immediate collapse of her career due to the highly public nature of her assault, her decline into depression and the decades-long journey to undo the psychological damages in the search for safety and the reclaiming of self.
The legacy of violence forms the backdrop of the book as Going relives her childhood on a plot in Brits, laced with the unpredictable rage of an alcoholic father. Brilliantly penned, Brutal Legacy is ultimately uplifting in the realisation that healing is a lengthy process and that self-forgiveness and acceptance are essential in order to fully embrace life.
Parise for Brutal Legacy:
Publisher: This edition Karavan Press
Publication date: November 2023
ISBN: 978-1-7764581-8-9
(First published by MFBooks Joburg, an imprint of Jacana Media (Pty) Ltd, 2018)
About the author:
TRACY GOING is a best-selling South African author, documentary maker and domestic violence activist. She is a former award-winning TV news anchor and radio broadcaster.
karavanpress.com 