‘The broken shells I gathered have revealed a truth.
There is perfection in imperfection.’

Part memoir, part lockdown journal, part journey of healing and self-discovery, Stepping out of Silence is an extraordinary book. Judith Morris bravely takes us with her as she dismantles a lifetime of negative programming, giving us tools that we can use to do likewise, if we so choose.

Writing honestly and poetically about her daily life, her garden, her walks in a local park, she reconnects with her younger self and accesses memories that are sometimes painful, sometimes uplifting, always revealing. Underlying her journey is her lifelong experience with vaginismus, a condition surrounded by shame, silence and the idea that women need to be somehow ‘cured’ of it.

Gradually, Judith recognises the effects of her upbringing – how she learned to suppress her emotional responses and feel ashamed of her own body. She also realises that she needs to touch and accept her deepest wounds before she can start living fully. With the support of her devoted husband, she finds the courage to speak up for herself. In the process, she begins to connect with other women desperately waiting for someone to break the silence.