Prey Tell: Why We Silence Women Who Tell the Truth and How Everyone Can Speak Up

# Prey Tell: Breaking the Silence on Sexual Abuse and Power

"A welcome book offering an important wake-up call to the Christian community and beyond."  
— Gail Eubanks, *Library Journal*

Tiffany Bluhm wishes this wasn't her story to tell. Yet like many women today who are taking action against sexual harassment and sexual assault, it is. Bluhm explores the complex dynamics of power and abuse in systems we all find ourselves in. With honesty and strength, she tells stories of how women have overcome silence to expose the truth about their ministry and professional leaders—and the backlash they so often face. In so doing, she empowers others to speak up against abuses of power.

Addressing men and women in all work settings—within the church and beyond—popular author and podcast host Tiffany Bluhm sets out to understand the cultural and spiritual narratives that silence women and to illuminate the devastating emotional, financial, and social impact of silence in the face of injustice.

As readers journey with Bluhm, they will be moved to find their own way, their own voice, and their own conviction for standing with women. They'll emerge more ready than ever to advocate for justice, healing, and resurrection.

## Contents

Introduction  
Part 1: Why We Silence Women Who Tell the Truth  
1. Everything Is Just Fine  
2. His Way or the Highway  
3. Be Quiet  
4. But He's Done So Much for Me  

Part 2: How We Silence Women  
5. What Do You Have to Lose?  
6. The Questioning  
7. Puppets of the Patriarchy  
8. Look at Who I Am  

Part 3: How Everyone Can Speak Up  
9. Allies  
10. It's Not Her Fault  
11. He Is Not Indispensable  
12. Believe Women  

## Endorsements

*"Prey Tell* is a devastating look at how culture, theology, and economics combine to uphold abusers and to silence those who try to speak the truth in our day and age. Tiffany Bluhm lays out all the ways it costs women to speak up, inviting us into the terror of this situation while also asking us to grapple with our own role in enabling this cycle to continue. A must-read--a truly difficult read--for anyone who longs to see justice upheld in our world."  
— D. L. Mayfield, author of *The Myth of the American Dream: Reflections on Affluence, Autonomy, Safety, and Power*

"In what is at once a gut punch to the silencing of women as well as a call to action for the church to create a more just and equitable world, Bluhm leads the way by doing with this book what we all need to do--break the silence, tell the truth, believe women, protect the survivors, and end sexualized violence against girls and women. By illuminating both how predatory behavior occurs and the systemic forces that keep it from being spoken about or believed, *Prey Tell* reminds us that the church is not absolved from the legacy of sexualized violence, nor is it exempt from the responsibility of repairing unjust systems. The church is precisely the community that needs to be leading the way toward a future where all women are both safe and free."  
— Hillary McBride, psychologist, author, speaker, and podcaster

"Fueled by her lived experience and well-executed and helpful research and reporting, Bluhm bravely paints a poignant picture of the damage of unchecked misogyny both within and outside the church. Exploring the intersection of gender, race, class, and religion, she candidly calls out the evil of the abuse of power while maintaining hope for a brighter future. I am so grateful for Tiffany's courage and cogency and the role this book will play in our collective fight for justice, restoration, and dignity."  
— Liz Forkin Bohannon, CEO of Sseko Designs; author of *Beginner's Pluck: Build Your Life of Purpose and Impact Now*

"For too long the voices of women and girls who suffer violence have been marginalized, ignored, or worse, silenced within communities of faith and beyond. The global church has all too often stood by while the stories of the suffering of women at the hands of powerful abusers went untold. Tiffany Bluhm has lived this silence and out of the ashes written a clarion call to action, challenging our culture of deafening silence with her story and wisdom. *Prey Tell* is an absolute must-read book for our age, breathing courage into survivor and ally alike--reminding the world that silence is not spiritual, and action is not optional."  
— Belinda J. Bauman, author of *Brave Souls: Experiencing the Audacious Power of Empathy*; cofounder of #SilenceIsNotSpiritual

## About the Author

Tiffany Bluhm is a speaker and writer with more than fifteen years of experience in ministry and nonprofit leadership. She is the author of *Never Alone: Exchanging Your Tender Hurts For God's Healing Grace*, *She Dreams: Live the Life You Were Created For*, and *The Women We've Been Waiting For: A 40-Day Devotional for Self-Care, Resilience, and Communal Flourishing* and former cohost of the *Why Tho?* podcast. She speaks at conferences, companies, and churches around the world, and her work has been featured in *Publishers Weekly* and *Sojourners*. As a minority, immigrant woman with an interracial family, Bluhm is passionate about inviting all to the table of faith, equality, justice, and dignity. She lives in the Pacific Northwest of the USA.Read less