A Hymn to Life

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Brought to you by Penguin.

The sexual assault that rocked the world. A courageous woman’s rallying call for ‘shame to change sides’. For the very first time, Gisèle Pelicot tells her story. Narrated by Emma Thompson.

A BEST BOOK OF 2026 FOR THE OBSERVER, TELEGRAPH, GUARDIAN, FINANCIAL TIMES, NEW YORK TIMES, DAILY MIRROR, IRISH TIMES, GQ MAGAZINE, LIT HUB, BBC AND MORE

One November day, Gisèle Pelicot was called to a local police station and life as she knew it ended. Her husband of fifty years had been caught by a supermarket guard filming up women’s skirts. But on his computer was shattering evidence: for nearly a decade, he had been secretly drugging and raping her and inviting dozens of strangers into their home to abuse her.

Four years later, he and fifty other men were put on trial and Gisèle’s courage in waiving her right to anonymity made global headlines. ‘Shame must change sides,’ she declared, giving voice and hope to millions. Her words became a rallying cry and her decision marked a turning point in public feeling about sexual violence.

For the first time, and with unwavering honesty and grace, she describes a difficult childhood, first love, her career and motherhood. It is a life in determined search of happiness, both before and after her devastating discovery. She is an ordinary person who faces extraordinary catastrophe, whose example changes the world.

Ultimately, Gisèle Pelicot emerges with a renewed passion and reverence for living, and for love. A Hymn to Life is an unforgettable testament and promise: that victims have no reason to feel ashamed; that even after unimaginable betrayal we can go on; and that colour will always return to life.

'This is quite something – a really brave, honest and heart-rending memoir' SARAH JESSICA PARKER

'Extraordinary … inspires courage and compassion, but also, crucially, demands change' EMMA THOMPSON

'A page-turning memoir that will move you to live more' GINA MARTIN

‘A Hymn to Life is novelistic and resounds with grace … An extraordinary achievement’ FINANCIAL TIMES

‘A unique memoir by a figure of astonishing power’ GUARDIAN

‘Extraordinarily courageous’ THE TIMES

© Gisèle Pelicot 2026 (P) Penguin Audio 2026

Critics Review

Extraordinary … vibrates with necessity … A Hymn to Life is novelistic and resounds with grace. The language is precise and vivid; the story reverberates with echoes and patterns … an extraordinary achievement … There is beauty, love, hope. And there is rage, loss and fear of the void beneath her feet ... Many could be enriched by this alertly human account of 70 years of life. Here is a perspective that is full, candid and instructive
Financial Times
Extraordinarily courageous … what makes it so compelling is that it shows what happens when an atomic bomb of cruelty erupts within a seemingly normal family … Her modest humility makes her courage all the more impressive
The Times
A unique memoir by a figure of astonishing power … alive with the kind of detail that wouldn’t look out of place in a good novel ... Pelicot's riveting account of her ordeal refuses to conform to any agenda but her own
Guardian
Extraordinary … a powerful tale of a mighty woman
Daily Telegraph
An emblem of resilience for women everywhere
Vogue
The bravest woman in the world ... A powerful and devastating memoir
Daily Mirror
[A Hymn to Life] is gripping, it is heart-breaking, it is beautifully written
New York Times
A Hymn to Life is a reminder of organised narrative’s simple power ... Replete with details of modest domesticity in modern France, A Hymn to Life is also a rousing feminist manifesto ... It seeks a proper transfer of shame from sex-crime victims to their perpetrators, and the perpetrators’ enablers
New York Times Book Review
Staggering ... A lyrical book about monstrous events, a compelling exploration of what it feels like to hold two existences in your brain at once ... There is only whatever you do to put one foot in front of the other. There is only what it takes to survive
Washington Post
Stirring ... What could be a dark and depressing chronicle propels forward with the force of Ms Pelicot’s quiet courage and instinct for self-reflection ... Ultimately, Ms Pelicot offers a cautiously hopeful message about how people can overcome trauma to forge a new life ... A commendable heroine
Economist

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