I was expecting this to be painful. I expected to feel rage, helplessness, fear, disgust.

I was not expecting serenity. That's an incongruous word for a book on this topic — I'm uncomfortable writing and even thinking it — but that's what fits. Dana, the protagonist, demonstrates an astonishing inner strength, a quiet fire manifesting as wisdom, patience, remarkable tolerance. The result is a nuanced and complex book: kindness, resilience, fortitude; also monstrous cruelty, with clear villains who — much like today's Republicans — are simply weak worthless subhumans, products of a deep-rooted and enormously broken system, incapable of breaking out of it and too stupid to understand a bigger, broader, better world. Butler, unlike me, is able to find compassion even for those creatures. Her Dana is a memorable character: soft front, strong back — Brené Brown would approve. Every character rings true, with believable emotions.