Unspeakable

Written as a kind of witness statement, Jessica Willis Fisher's memoir traces her journey from years of silence to finding her own voice. She was the eldest daughter in a large, tightly controlled fundamentalist Christian household, where she was trained from a young age to perform and to follow her father's unsettling and erratic teachings.

She was kept away from anything her father had not approved, yet she grew up curious about the outside world and constantly tried to work out what was ordinary about her upbringing and what might be dangerous. In 2014 the Willis family became famous after appearing on several televised talent competitions. A reality television series followed, and the family toured the world, singing and dancing for millions. Audiences saw a lively, cheerful, and seemingly extraordinary family.

As Jessica grew older, she came to understand that what was happening behind closed doors kept intensifying. The memoir examines the manipulation and codependency that shape abusive family relationships, revisiting her formative childhood moments through her own eyes.

This coming-of-age story captures longing, fear, confusion, and secrecy, and at its heart is a sense of hope for the future.