by Holly Brown
Much like Cheyenne, I had a lot to learn. I’ve included my bibliography on the following pages, and you’ll notice that it’s bipartisan. Independent, if you will, just like my news network.
I started writing How Far She’s Come in November 2016, not so long ago, but so much hadn’t yet happened. Bill O’Reilly still had his job. So did Harvey Weinstein and Kevin Spacey and Louis C.K. and Charlie Rose and Matt Lauer and . . . the list goes on. (I’m writing this at the end of 2017, and I fully expect that by the time of publication, many other famous men will have been swept up in the tsunami of allegations.) In November 2016, #metoo hadn’t yet become a revolutionary Twitter meme, let alone a galvanizing movement. While sexism, harassment, and assault are, sadly, nothing new, what is new is the critical mass of women speaking up and organizing to take down some of the most powerful men in myriad industries. But we can’t stop there. It’s not about sniper fire, one by one. It’s about a much-needed shift in gender relations.
At least, that’s what I’m hoping for, that the empowerment is contagious, but it is still in its infancy. What still needs to change is a larger culture where perpetrators are protected, rather than victims. No longer will powerful men have their crimes covered up and their open secrets kept. #metoo will join with #nomore, and everyone will be treated with decency, respect, and equality.
Now that’s a virus I’m proud to spread.
Reading Group Guide
The opportunity at INN has “too good to be true” written all over it. If you were Cheyenne, would you have been able to turn it down? Or would you have placed different conditions that might have altered the outcome?
What do you think about INN’s mission? Was it worthwhile, and was anyone (including Edwin, Beth, and Cheyenne) sincere in its pursuit?
Elyse’s diary is set in 1991; Cheyenne’s story is present day. What parallels do you see? For example, now the term “rape culture” is in wide use; did rape culture exist in 1991, by another name?
Would you have reported the Until story, despite being in a relationship with Chase? Was this a turning point for Cheyenne, the moment she became ruthless, just as Graham said she would?
Was Edwin Gordon sexually harassing Cheyenne? Do you see him as similar to Roger Ailes or Harvey Weinstein? Because Cheyenne is attracted to Edwin, does that mean he’s not abusing his position of power?
Is female ambition stigmatized in a way that male ambition isn’t?
Do you have knowledge or personal experience with cyberbullying/cyberstalking, or with any form of real-life harassment or abuse? Were there any times when the book hit close to home?
There are a lot of layers of seduction and manipulation, right from the first meeting between Cheyenne and Edwin, with questions of who’s really being used. When Cheyenne turns the tables, her sexuality is a main strategy. Are these means justified by the ends?
In the novel, there are multiple times when either Cheyenne or Elyse wonder about the trade-off of anonymity for safety, that making their lives less public might mean they’ll be protected. Victims are often given the advice by police of getting off-line or staying home. Is that a fair bargain? And is it true safety?
In what ways are Cheyenne and Elyse shaped by their scars, for better and for worse? Do you believe the adage “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger”?
Bibliography
Attkisson, Sharyl. Stonewalled: My Fight for Truth Against the Forces of Obstruction, Intimidation, and Harassment in Obama’s Washington. New York: Harper Paperbacks, 2015.
Brock, David, Ari Rabin-Havt, and Media Matters. The Fox Effect: How Roger Ailes Turned a Network into a Propaganda Machine. New York: Anchor Books, 2012.
Carlson, Gretchen. Be Fierce: Stop Harassment and Take Your Power Back. New York: Center Street, 2017.
Carter, Bill. Desperate Networks. New York: Doubleday, 2006.
Cohen, Jeff. Cable News Confidential: My Misadventures in Corporate Media. Sausalito, CA: Polipoint Press, 2006.
Collins, Scott. Crazy Like a Fox: The Inside Story of How Fox News Beat CNN. New York: Portfolio, 2004.
Klein, Edward. Katie: The Real Story. New York: Crown Archetype, 2007.
Muto, Joe. An Atheist in the FOXhole: A Liberal’s Eight-Year Odyssey Inside the Heart of the Right-Wing Media. New York: Dutton, 2013.
Pao, Ellen. Reset: My Fight for Inclusion and Lasting Change. New York: Spiegel & Grau, 2017.
Quinn, Zoe. Crash Override: How Gamergate (Nearly) Destroyed My Life, and How We Can Win the Fight Against Online Hate. New York: Public Affairs, 2017.
Schofeld, Reese. Me and Ted Against the World: The Unauthorized Story of the Founding of CNN. New York: HarperCollins, 2001.
Sherman, Gabriel. The Loudest Voice in the Room: How the Brilliant, Bombastic Roger Ailes Built Fox News—and Divided a Country. New York: Random House, 2014.
Stelter, Brian. Top of the Morning: Inside the Cutthroat World of Morning TV. New York: Grand Central, 2013.
Tur, Katy. Unbelievable. New York: HarperCollins, 2017.
Weller, Sheila. The News Sorority: Diane Sawyer, Katie Couric, Christiane Amanpour—and the (Ongoing, Imperfect, Complicated) Triumph of Women in TV News. New York: Penguin Books, 2014.
West, Lindy. Shrill. New York: Hachette Books, 2016.
Whittemore, Hank. CNN: The Inside Story: How a Band of Mavericks Changed the Face of Television News. New York: Little Brown, 1990.
Discover great authors, exclusive offers, and more at hc.com.
Praise for Holly Brown’s This Is Not Over
“This Is Not Over moves with the unstoppable force of a runaway train. You won’t be able to look away as the shocking climax rushes toward you. This is storytelling at its best.”
—Tess Gerritsen, New York Times bestselling author
“Intelligently crafted and rivetingly dark, this chilling tale of two women waging psychological warfare will hook you, capture you, and keep you reading as fast as you can. Timely, terrifying, and disturbingly believable.”
—Hank Phillippi Ryan, author of Say No More and winner of the Agatha, Anthony, and Mary Higgins Clark Awards
“An intricately plotted and highly entertaining tale of she said, she said, This Is Not Over takes a phenomenon of our times—the home away from home vacation rental—and exposes its potential for wreaking havoc on a pair of ordinary lives. Holly Brown ratchets up the tension, twist by startling twist, as a homeowner and a vacationer refuse to let go of a minor dispute and insinuate themselves into each other’s lives. Brown manages to plumb the depths of social class, drug addiction, and family discord, all against a backdrop of everyday terror that should leave millions of readers wondering, ‘Whom did I tick off today?’”
—Jenny Milchman, USA Today bestselling author of Cover of Snow, Ruin Falls, and As Night Falls
“This Is Not Over is dark, twisting, and addictive. I devoured it in one sitting, absorbed by both the driving plot and the layered family psychology.”
—Flynn Berry, author of Under the Harrow
“This Is Not Over is an absolutely riveting novel that starts with a situation that could happen to any of us, and slowly and masterfully escalates it into a crisis of character for two women that is both nail-bitingly suspenseful and full of insight into our collective humanity.”
—Alice LaPlante, New York Times bestselling author of Turn of Mind
“Holly Brown’s This Is Not Over is a hypnotic, psychological thriller that had me hooked from the opening sentence. Cleverly paced and pulsating with tension, This Is Not Over is the heart-pounding account of two women who resort to desperate measures to protect what they love. With sharp wit and an eye for detail, Brown takes the reader on a wild ride right up to the mind-bending conclusion. I thought I knew what was going to happen and was I wrong—brilliant!”
—Heather Gudenkauf, New York Times bestselling author of The Weight of Silence and Not a Sound
“Brown, a licensed mental-health professional, offers a compelling look at
two women from very different walks of life who have more in common than they care to admit. It’s clear that Brown uses her expertise to the hilt—characters all have textbook issues . . . in fact, they don’t just have issues, they have a multiyear subscription!”
—Booklist
Also by Holly Brown
This Is Not Over
Stay Gone (novella)
A Necessary End
Don’t Try to Find Me
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
P.S.TM is a trademark of HarperCollins Publishers.
HOW FAR SHE’S COME. Copyright © 2018 by Holly Brown. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
Cover photograph © Anne Costello/Arcangel
FIRST EDITION
Digital Edition MAY 2018 ISBN: 978-0-06-274993-2
Version 04162018
Print ISBN: 978-0-06-274992-5
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