No Visible Bruises: What We Don't Know About Domestic

It pains to read this latest work from American University professor and novelist Snyder (Fugitive Denim). Descriptions of violence against victims can trigger unease and sadness, especially in those who have experienced relational trauma firsthand. And while graphic, this book is not gratuitous; rather, it illuminates the realities of domestic violence, working off the premise that instead of only targeting survivor recovery, our concern must be eradicating the behaviors of those who commit abuse. Alongside heartbreaking victim accounts, Synder uncommonly interviews abusers, finding a pattern of boxed-in masculinity (while abusers can be either sex, most are men), in which individuals are locked into expressing their emotions and experiencing their masculinity as dominance over another (or rarely, from failing to uphold masculine stereotypes). While new initiatives such as domestic violence forensic analysis, which provides an NTSB-like critique of domestic violence murders, help close loopholes that have cost lives, Synder reaches into optimism by profiling programs designed to help men healthily display emotions and shatter traditional gender roles of power.