Today’s book is one that has been on my mind all year.Jess Hill’s See What You Made Me Do won the Stella Prize back in April and while I’m usually immersed in Australian literature for Final Draft, I knew this was a book that I had to read.I’ve spent the interceding months reading this work of incredible research and journalism. Before I get into the content I wanted to put a content warning on the book club today. See What You Made Me Do deals with abuse and with the systems that enable it and that may hit close to home to many people.If you want to tune out for the next few minutes, but also know that help is available and if you are in a difficult situation you can call 1800 Respect on 1800 737 732 for confidential information, advice and support services.See What You Made Me Do is a powerful and confronting book that flips the usual narrative of abuse, centered on why didn’t she leave, on its head. Combining deep research and heartbreaking storytelling Jess Hill turns the lens of abuse on the perpetrators and tries to understand why men abuse and how they are enabled by systems that are supposedly designed to protect victims.And before anyone starts angrily ‘#notall…’ tweeting, Jess Hill delves into relationship abuse perpetrated against men. But we have to deal with the reality that abuse and abusive behaviours are predominately committed by men against women and that this happens because the world is set up with messed up ideas around power and who gets what.This is a thoroughly researched piece of narrative journalism that explodes the assumptions and preconceptions that fuel our reactions when we hear about abuse, or read in the news about the horror of violence.It’s hard to encapsulate in a short review the detail that See What You Made Me Do goes into. A part of this is because the systems that Hill explores run throughout our society working to minimise and marginalise the voices of women who have been abused.Just as we have learned terms like gaslighting and privilege as part of our everyday understanding of the operations of power, Hill familiarises the reader with concepts such as coercive control; a form of abuse that sees insidious chipping away at the abused’s sense of agency through behaviours like controlling finances, isolating a partner from social supports and checking on their phone and social media.See What You Made Me Do sounds a call on the need to reexamine the systems of our world, whilst also reminding us that these calls have been made before. In a huge way I wanted to talk about this book because the call should be taken up by men. So much of what is described by Hill in the book is allowed because men who want to call themselves allies do not call out behaviours, do not believe women when they say things are wrong and do not want to give up any of the power and privilege that has buffered them from the consequences of their actions.Get out and read Jess Hill’s See What You Made Me Do, everyone.Loved this review?You can get more books, writing and literary culture every week on the Final Draft Great Conversations podcast. Hear interviews with authors and discover your next favourite read!https://player.whooshkaa.com/shows/final-draft-great-conversations