Eggshell Skull (book)

Eggshell Skull is a 2018 non-fiction memoir[1] by Australian author Bri Lee. It details Lee's experiences as a judge's associate in Brisbane's District Court of Queensland, where she oversees many cases, including those involving sexual harassment and assault. Two years into her job, she returns as the complainant in her own case.[2]

Eggshell Skull
AuthorBri Lee
CountryAustralia
LanguageEnglish
SubjectNon-fiction
Published2018 (Allen & Unwin)
Media typePrint (Paperback)
Pages368
ISBN9781760295776

First published in Australia in July 2018 by Allen and Unwin, the memoir has been widely well received,[3] including winning the People's Choice Award at the 2019 Victorian Premier's Literary Awards,[4] and being a recipient of the Davitt Award.

Premise
Brisbane's Supreme and District Court

Bri Lee, a law graduate from Queensland, begins her job as a judge's associate in Brisbane at the Supreme and District Court. She is confronted by a barrage of cases, many of them involving acts of violence and sexual assault against women. Many of the perpetrators are not brought to justice. Prejudice against the female victims and an overall patriarchal influence upon the general public is noted in many cases. This causes some instability for Lee, who begins to engage in acts of self-harm and alcoholism.

Her long-term boyfriend, Vincent, and a tight-knit family (consisting of a policeman father and an artist mother) make up her support network. Despite these solid personal relationships, Lee is plagued by her past: being a witness daily to the injustices in Queensland's District Court force her to confront her own traumatic childhood sexual abuse at the hands of her brother's teenage friend Samuel.[5]

Two years into her career as a judge's associate, she brings forward her own case against Samuel.

Title

The Eggshell Skull is named after the legal doctrine which stipulates that a defendant in a criminal case must "take their victim as they find them".[6]

See also

References
  1. "The book that lifts the lid on sexual assault in Australia". Sydney Morning Herald. 29 May 2018. Retrieved 31 October 2018.
  2. "Eggshell Skull: What happens when a sexual assault complainant is strong and angry?". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 2 June 2018. Retrieved 31 October 2018.
  3. "Revenge, justice and compassion: what you should read in July". The Guardian. 30 June 2018. Retrieved 31 October 2018.
  4. "Victorian Premier's Literary Awards 2019". The Wheeler Centre. Retrieved 2019-01-31.
  5. "Sexual assault: How I confronted a long-buried secret of sexual abuse". Sydney Morning Herald. 18 May 2018. Retrieved 31 October 2018.
  6. "Eggshell Skull: A Sexual-Assault Survivor's Defiant Memoir". Broadsheet. 4 July 2018. Retrieved 31 October 2018.
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