Coming August 18, 2026

For readers of Know My Name by Chanel Miller and fans
of Broadway’s John Proctor Is the Villain, a stunning memoir in verse
about sexual abuse, survival, and sisterhood from the New York
Times bestselling author of Blood Water Paint.

Joy McCullough’s earliest memories are of time spent in church, moments
when she climbed the steps to recite from the pulpit, just like her preacher
father. But when she was a teenager in San Diego in the 1990s, her
connection to her family and church were forever altered when a youth
pastor groomed and sexually assaulted Joy.

In her debut memoir, McCullough pairs achingly raw poems recalling her
abuse and its aftermath with hopeful, challenging verses about her life
today as she seeks healing and justice in a country that rewards men for
sexual abuse and still insists “girls these days will say anything.”

Among the poems, McCullough also weaves prose letters to historical girls
and women—from Joan of Arc to Abigail Williams—whose lives and
stories were ignored when they were caught in the maelstrom of witchcraft
accusations.

Suffer a Witch shines a bright, unsparing light on one woman’s
experience—and on those of generations of women who came before her.