Book Event: "Don't Fight Back" by Meg Stone

From a nationally recognized violence-prevention expert, an accessible guide that debunks the most pervasive myths about crime and offers evidence-based strategies that make us safer
A specific image of violence and how to avoid it lives in a lot of our imaginations. And what some of us fear most is shaped not by the strongest evidence, but the most viral horror stories.
Meg Stone, an abuse and violence prevention expert, dives deep into dangerous safety myths and helps us understand what the evidence shows and what men in positions of authority just expect us to believe because they said so.
Meg debunks myths about:

• how attackers behave (“Don’t Fight Back. It Will Make the Attacker Angry and You’ll Get Hurt Worse"),
• what (or who) to fear ("Crime Is at an All-Time High and Going Up"),
• what you should never do ("Don’t Wear a Ponytail. An Attacker Could Grab It"); and
• what you should always do ("Trust Your Intuition")
  Each chapter offers practical strategies for protecting ourselves that also contribute to the activism it takes to change the conditions that cause or contribute to violence.
  You don’t have to diminish yourself or restrict your life to avoid being attacked. Critical thinking, not following simplistic directives, is the real way to be “smart” about safety.

Meg Stone is the Executive Director of IMPACT Boston, an abuse prevention and empowerment self-defense organization. Her first book, THE COST OF FEAR: Why Most Safety Advice is Sexist and How We Can Stop Gender-based Violence, was called a "deeply needed resource that expands rather than diminishes options for women" by Booklist. Meg has worked in domestic violence and sexual assault advocacy organizations since 1993 in capacities including court advocacy, prevention education, and staffing the night shift in an emergency shelter. Her writing has been published in Huffington Post, Boston Globe, Newsweek, Washington Post, Dame, Ms., and other publications.

Nancy Lanoue discovered martial arts and self-defense at the Women’s Martial Arts Center in New York City in 1977. She holds a 7th dan in Seido karate, her primary art, and a 2nd dan in Kajukenbo, which she learned from her partner in life and work, Sarah Ludden. Together, they co-directed the non-profit Thousand Waves Martial Arts & Self-Defense Center in Chicago for more than three decades. Now semi-retired, Lanoue continues to teach martial arts part-time as a volunteer at Thousand Waves. She also oversees the Center’s Empowerment Self-Defense team, with a focus on mentoring the next generation of teachers. She is also enjoying a new collaborative connection with Arlene Limas’ PAVE Prevention and is in the process of being trained as a facilitator for PAVE’s innovative workplace violence prevention programs.

Accessibility: This event is hosted at the bookstore, which is a wheelchair accessible space. Masks are strongly encouraged. Seating is on a first-come, first-serve basis. If you need a seat reserved for you for accessibility, please email [email protected] To request ASL interpretation for this event, please email [email protected] by no later than 14 days before the event. For scholarship tickets or other access needs please email .

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Host or Publisher Women & Children First