LET ME DOWN: REFLECTIONS ON ABUSE AND LOVE offers a vivid and vulnerable account of my experience in an abusive relationship. At 18, I met Reed, a quiet photographer six years my senior, and so began a young infatuation. But as the relationship deepened, what once seemed like innocent love soon morphed into a cycle of manipulation, control, and violence.
Loving someone who also hurts you—emotionally, physically, and sexually—is complex. LET ME DOWN follows as I grapple with the blurred lines of consent, shame, and trauma, and explores how these toxic dynamics infiltrated every corner of my life.
LET ME DOWN provides a candid reflection on the realities of modern relationships, highlighting issues like gaslighting, self-blame, and the impact of social media on survivors, while charting the nonlinear path of healing from the lingering effects of trauma.
"Demolished this book in an evening. I've never read such an honest and vulnerable memoir - that sometimes reads more as thriller in parts as the author escapes her abusive relationship. It's an unflinching look at the author's past, with sometimes brutal honesty as she reflects on her young adulthood. So many moments will resonate for those who have navigated toxic relationships of their own or cared for someone who has. Not only does the author take you through their own journey, they also pinpoint social flashpoints that allow you to see how our larger culture of abuse trickles down to individual stories. Since this memoir takes place in large part only a few years before 'me-too' it is a shocking reminder a time period before many women had the language and context to understand their own experiences. It's eye-opening to revisit that time and mull over how far, or not, we've come."
"An incredible memoir about a young woman's experiences in a physically and emotionally abusive relationship, and how it impacted her life for many years afterwards. I found the book very immersive; it was tough to read too much of it at a time and very easy to see how the relationship started and continued as it did."
"I knew that this book would be about a relationship that dealt with DV, but what I didn’t understand is just how parallel her story would be to my own. I have been in a very similar situation and walked a similar path that Callie did when it came to fighting on my own against the emotional and sexual abuse. There were some differences, but reading through her story hit hard.
I applaud Callie for being brave enough to share her story and air not only Reed’s dirty laundry, but her own as well. It’s hard to out everything out there and speak up even when you feel it won’t make a difference.
Callie - it did. And it does. Thank you."
"Callie Rae O'Reilly invites us into her tender, artist heart and reveals the warrior spirit it took for her to leave a dangerous manipulator she had once deeply loved and trusted. Through each urgent chapter, her unflinching honesty in sharing both the details of the abuse she silently endured and the trauma healing process kept me rooting for her. Let Me Down is a must read for survivors and for those who love them. By marrying difficult glimpses into her own painful story with a sober awareness of our misogynistic culture, this memoir is also a harrowing reminder of how it's often survivors who endure and embody the shame that should be claimed by abusers."
REVIEWS
"Demolished this book in an evening. I've never read such an honest and vulnerable memoir - that sometimes reads more as thriller in parts as the author escapes her abusive relationship. It's an unflinching look at the author's past, with sometimes brutal honesty as she reflects on her young adulthood. So many moments will resonate for those who have navigated toxic relationships of their own or cared for someone who has. Not only does the author take you through their own journey, they also pinpoint social flashpoints that allow you to see how our larger culture of abuse trickles down to individual stories. Since this memoir takes place in large part only a few years before 'me-too' it is a shocking reminder a time period before many women had the language and context to understand their own experiences. It's eye-opening to revisit that time and mull over how far, or not, we've come."
LET ME DOWN: REFLECTIONS ON ABUSE AND LOVE offers a vivid and vulnerable account of my experience in an abusive relationship. At 18, I met Reed, a quiet photographer six years my senior, and so began a young infatuation. But as the relationship deepened, what once seemed like innocent love soon morphed into a cycle of manipulation, control, and violence.
Loving someone who also hurts you—emotionally, physically, and sexually—is complex. LET ME DOWN follows as I grapple with the blurred lines of consent, shame, and trauma, and explores how these toxic dynamics infiltrated every corner of my life.
LET ME DOWN provides a candid reflection on the realities of modern relationships, highlighting issues like gaslighting, self-blame, and the impact of social media on survivors, while charting the nonlinear path of healing from the lingering effects of trauma.
REVIEWS
"An incredible memoir about a young woman's experiences in a physically and emotionally abusive relationship, and how it impacted her life for many years afterwards. I found the book very immersive; it was tough to read too much of it at a time and very easy to see how the relationship started and continued as it did."
"I knew that this book would be about a relationship that dealt with DV, but what I didn’t understand is just how parallel her story would be to my own. I have been in a very similar situation and walked a similar path that Callie did when it came to fighting on my own against the emotional and sexual abuse. There were some differences, but reading through her story hit hard.
I applaud Callie for being brave enough to share her story and air not only Reed’s dirty laundry, but her own as well. It’s hard to out everything out there and speak up even when you feel it won’t make a difference.
Callie - it did. And it does.
Thank you."
"Callie Rae O'Reilly invites us into her tender, artist heart and reveals the warrior spirit it took for her to leave a dangerous manipulator she had once deeply loved and trusted. Through each urgent chapter, her unflinching honesty in sharing both the details of the abuse she silently endured and the trauma healing process kept me rooting for her. Let Me Down is a must read for survivors and for those who love them. By marrying difficult glimpses into her own painful story with a sober awareness of our misogynistic culture, this memoir is also a harrowing reminder of how it's often survivors who endure and embody the shame that should be claimed by abusers."
