She wasn't Damaged
Poems of Survival
Hagit Vardi
- Literary Fiction
- Poetry
- Women's Voices
- Trauma & Healing
The Book
A voice for those who were silenced. A journey through pain, anger, and the courage to remain.
“It is spring again / Summer will follow / And the lotus will burst into bloom / As if nothing ever happened / As if nothing had shattered / The landscape of my life”
Raw and authentic, deep and visceral, She Wasn’t Damaged is a roadmap of survival: the journey of a woman who gradually comes to terms with her own vulnerabilities. Through her poetry, Hagit Vardi gives voice to victims, the abused, the dissociated, and the traumatized, while exploring themes of introspection, helplessness, anger, and justice.
Written in spare, precise language, the poems trace a path from silence to speech: a survivor of childhood sexual abuse meeting the girl she once was, refusing to erase or embellish, and placing the shame where it truly belongs, with the abuser. The result is a powerful work of healing that speaks to survivors, to those who support them, and to every reader of contemporary poetry.
Why This Book Matters
Childhood sexual abuse is one of the hardest experiences to put into words. She Wasn’t Damaged achieves what few books can: it gives that experience a clear, unflinching, and beautiful voice. As The US Review of Books noted, its authentic voice and minimalist forms recall poets such as Yrsa Daley-Ward, making it a collection that long-time poetry readers and newcomers to the genre can equally appreciate.
The book has resonated far beyond literary circles. In Israel, Vardi’s poetry has drawn the attention of mental health professionals and sexual assault support centers, and has been praised by leading trauma experts, including former presidents of the European Society for Trauma and Dissociation and the Israeli Society for Trauma and Dissociation, and the director of Lev Hasharon Mental Health Hospital.
The work also has a life beyond the page. It was staged as a performance at the HaEzrach Festival in Tel Aviv in 2015, adapted into a video in 2019, and screened at Tel Aviv’s One Billion Rising event in 2020, part of the global campaign to end violence against women.
About the Book
Genre: Poetry / Women’s Voices / Trauma & Healing
Published Title | 118 Pages
For readers of Yrsa Daley-Ward’s bone and Rupi Kaur’s milk and honey, She Wasn’t Damaged is a raw and moving poetry collection about surviving childhood sexual abuse and finding the courage to heal.
Author
Hagit Vardi
Hagit Vardi is a poet, musician, and Feldenkrais teacher. She grew up on Kibbutz Alonim in Israel and in recent years has lived and worked in the United States. Trained as a flutist and later in the healing arts, she has spent the past twenty years helping people as a Feldenkrais practitioner, including at the University of Wisconsin Integrative Health program, and teaches Feldenkrais for Musicians courses and workshops with her husband, Uri Vardi.
In her sixties, Vardi began writing poetry as part of her own healing process. She has published five books of poetry in Hebrew with Pardes Publishing, forming a journey from self-healing to, in her most recent collection, poems inspired by the people she has helped heal. Her poems have appeared in Israeli newspapers, literary magazines, and on radio.
Her work has attracted wide interest among mental health professionals and centers supporting survivors of sexual abuse, and has been staged and screened at cultural events in Tel Aviv.
Rights Status
Publishing Rights Available
Translation Rights Available: World excluding English and Hebrew
Audio Rights: Available
Comparable Titles
This book is suitable for readers who enjoyed:
- bone by Yrsa Daley-Ward
- milk and honey by Rupi Kaur
- salt. by Nayyirah Waheed
BISAC Categories
- POE005010 – POETRY / Women Authors
- POE024000 – POETRY / Middle Eastern
- FAM001030 – FAMILY & RELATIONSHIPS / Abuse / Child Abuse
Themes
- Survival and Healing From Trauma
- Breaking the Silence
- Meeting the Inner Child
- Anger, Justice, and Refusing to Forgive
- Returning the Shame to the Abuser
- Memory and Dissociation
- The Body and the Soul
- Art as a Path to Recovery
Keywords
For readers interested in:
- Contemporary poetry by women
- Poetry of trauma, survival, and healing
- Survivors of childhood sexual abuse
- Mental health and trauma therapy
- Israeli poetry in translation
- Minimalist, emotionally direct poetry
- Women’s studies and psychology
- Fans of Yrsa Daley-Ward and Rupi Kaur
FAQ
What is She Wasn’t Damaged about?
It is a poetry collection that follows a woman’s journey of survival and healing from childhood sexual abuse, giving voice to victims and exploring helplessness, anger, and justice.
Who is the author?
Hagit Vardi, an Israeli poet, musician, and Feldenkrais teacher who has published five poetry collections in Hebrew.
Has the work been presented in other forms?
Yes. It was staged at the HaEzrach Festival in Tel Aviv in 2015, adapted into a video in 2019, and screened at One Billion Rising Tel Aviv in 2020.
Has this book been published before?
Yes, the book is published in English, and the author’s poetry collections have been published in Hebrew by Pardes Publishing.
Who will enjoy this book?
Readers of contemporary poetry, survivors and their families, therapists and mental health professionals, academic programs in psychology, women’s studies, and creative writing, and organizations supporting victims of sexual abuse.
Rights Agent's Notes
She Wasn’t Damaged joins a growing body of poetry that speaks openly about trauma and healing, a space in which poets such as Yrsa Daley-Ward and Rupi Kaur have found large international readerships. Hagit Vardi brings an authentic, minimalist voice and a story told without compromise.
Endorsements from trauma specialists and its use by mental health professionals give the book a reach beyond the poetry shelf, into therapy, education, and survivor support. Its life on stage and screen, and the author’s five Hebrew collections, add depth for publishers interested in building her work in translation.