A Hymn to Life: Shame has to Change Sides by Gisèle Pelicot (w/Judith Perrignon)

The extraordinarily powerful memoir by a heroine of our times, whose story inspires change, compassion and courage.

Synopsis -

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.

A Hymn to Life is an unforgettable testament and a promise. Its message is one of defiance and renewal – that victims have no reason to feel ashamed; that even after unimaginable betrayal we can go on; that the color can come back to life. Ultimately, Gisèle Pelicot emerges with a renewed passion and reverence for living, and for love.

Review -

Like the rest of the world, I was horrified when I heard of a French woman who was drugged by her husband and not filmed himself only raping her, but other men raping her as well. She had no idea this was happening. She was struggling with her memory, thinking she had a brain tumor, or was getting dementia. Her husband took her to countless doctors. Of course nothing was found.  In the end it was the knockout drugs and muscle relaxants her husband was dosing her affecting her mind. When she found out, her world crumbled. 

A Hymn to Life has several important points to share.  There was Pelicot's life journey leading up to this discovery. She had thought It was a happy one. There was the terrible aftermath this discovery had on her and her children. Then there was the trauma of the trial which saw 50 men charged (all with their own lawyers, and all in the courtroom) in addition to her husband. In a last minute brave move, she opened the trial up to the world.  She decided it would be too hard to be alone in that room with all those rapists and their lawyers. The trial was as expected - a typical male style attack on her as a woman.  Hundreds of videos of her rape were shown to all in attendance. Some over and over to prove she was knocked out and rapists aware. The men showed no remorse. The defense lawyers attacked her brutally.

Through it all Pelicot held tight to the belief that she would not let what happened and this trial turn her into a lifelong victim. One thing that helped make this possible was where she was completely knocked out, she has no traumatic memories of the assaults to haunt her. In court she sat tall and spoke with honesty and courage.  She spoke clearly about the unfair treatment of women in trials like this.  

This is a great story of taking control of the narrative, and of refusing to let go of life and love.  Of being willing to stand up and make the guilty pay for their crimes despite the trauma inflicted.  She was very brave. She doesn't consider herself strong or a hero, just a woman who did what needed to be done - for herself and for others.  

Note - I found out this bool was written with the help of Judith Perrignon, and she isn't acknowledged on the cover or in the book listings I saw.  I would love to see that corrected. 

Buy the Book: Amazon US ~ Amazon CA

Meet the Author -

Gisèle Pelicot is a French woman who became a feminist icon in 2024, when she waived her right to anonymity as the victim in the Pelicot rape case. Between 2011 and 2020, she had been drugged and raped by her husband Dominique and dozens of other men while she was unconscious, mostly in the couple's home in Mazan. She only became aware of the abuse in 2020, when Dominique was arrested for up-skirting women in a local supermarket and a police search of his computer equipment revealed images of her being raped.

The case attracted international media attention. Gisèle's courage and determination to speak out on behalf of all victims of sexual assault won her international support and admiration. She later appeared in the BBC's 2024 100 Women and the Financial Times list of the twenty‑five most influential women of the year. She was appointed a knight of the Legion of Honour on Bastille Day (14 July 2025). In February 2026, she published a co-written memoir.

WARNING: Pelicot does not have social media accounts. Information regarding her is managed by her legal team, publishers, and media entities, rather than her own social media accounts. X and Instagram profiles under the name of Gisèle Pelicot have been sharing and interacting with content as if it’s the French mass rape survivor herself. Additionally, a website exists in her name sharing articles about the Avignon trial, but it’s evidently AI-generated, with not one photo of the real Gisèle.