Rose McGowan - Brave

An imprint of HarperCollins Publishers Ltd

1 London Bridge Street

London SE1 9GF

www.harpercollins.co.uk

First published in Great Britain by HQ, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers Ltd 2018

Copyright © Rose McGowan 2018

Rose McGowan asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

Some names have been changed in this book to protect people’s privacy.

Cover design © HarperCollins

Cover image © Josef Jasso

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.

Ebook Edition © January 2018 ISBN: 9780008291105

‘ Brave is a blisteringly raw, angry and graphic account of a life marred by growing up in a cult, abuse and tragedy . . . there are few who have dared to be as brutally honest and angry about their treatment by the Hollywood machine as McGowan.’

i News

‘Her memoir is an unapologetically furious read. Sweary, raw and unrefined, Brave is female rage as it is rarely allowed to be seen.’

The Pool

‘Sensationally explosive . . . A battle cry you want to get behind.’

The Sunday Times Culture

‘This memoir is more than just Brave, it’s a game-changing, tooth bared roar of defiance’

’The Mail on Sunday

‘McGowan set out to write a book that examines abuse, and she has done just that.’

The Guardian

‘Rose McGowan’s courage is palpable in an exposé that condemns Hollywood misogyny and the “monster”.’

The Observer

Dedicated to all of us survivors

1 COVER

2 TITLE PAGE

3 COPYRIGHT COPYRIGHT An imprint of HarperCollins Publishers Ltd 1 London Bridge Street London SE1 9GF www.harpercollins.co.uk First published in Great Britain by HQ, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers Ltd 2018 Copyright © Rose McGowan 2018 Rose McGowan asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work. Some names have been changed in this book to protect people’s privacy. Cover design © HarperCollins Cover image © Josef Jasso A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins. Ebook Edition © January 2018 ISBN: 9780008291105

4 PRAISE FORBRAVE PRAISE FOR BRAVE ‘ Brave is a blisteringly raw, angry and graphic account of a life marred by growing up in a cult, abuse and tragedy . . . there are few who have dared to be as brutally honest and angry about their treatment by the Hollywood machine as McGowan.’ i News ‘Her memoir is an unapologetically furious read. Sweary, raw and unrefined, Brave is female rage as it is rarely allowed to be seen.’ The Pool ‘Sensationally explosive . . . A battle cry you want to get behind.’ The Sunday Times Culture ‘This memoir is more than just Brave, it’s a game-changing, tooth bared roar of defiance’ ’The Mail on Sunday ‘McGowan set out to write a book that examines abuse, and she has done just that.’ The Guardian ‘Rose McGowan’s courage is palpable in an exposé that condemns Hollywood misogyny and the “monster”.’ The Observer

5 DEDICATION DEDICATION Dedicated to all of us survivors

6 CONTENTS

7 AUTHOR’S NOTE

8 PREFACE

9 INTRODUCTION

10 PART ONE CHILD OF GOD AMERICAN GIRL RUNAWAY THINKER BRUTALITY CAPTIVITY IT BEGINS DEATH OF SELF CIRCUS LIFE TELEVISED LIFE DESTRUCTION

11 PART TWO ASHES TO ASHES PHOENIX RISE CULT OF THOUGHT WE ARE BRAVE

12 P. S.

13 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

14 ABOUT THE AUTHOR

15 CREDITS

16 ABOUT THE PUBLISHER

Guide Cover Contents Chapter 1

iii iv ix vii x xi xii xiii xiv xv xvi 1 2 3 4 5 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 1415 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 5354555657 5960616263646566676869707172737475767778 7980818283848586878889909192939495969798 99100101102103104105106107108109110111112 113114115116117118119120121122123124125126127128129130131 133134135136137138139140141142143144145146147148149150151152 153154155156157158159160161162163164165166167168 169170171172173174175176177178179180181182183184185186187188189190191192193194195196197198199201 203204205206207 209210211212213214215216217218219220221222223224225226 227228229230231232233234235236 237238239240241242243244245246 247248249 251 252 253 254 255 256

2018. The Year of the Trigger. What a beast she was, what a beauty she was, too.

Beast because of the ugly truths that came to light. Beauty because we pressed reset on our value system.

My book, BRAVE , is not about #MeToo. It’s the backstory that led up to a cultural shift of tectonic magnitude. It is the story of an extreme life – mine – containing strong views – also mine. It is the story of an outsider-cum-activist. If you go on this journey with me then, through BRAVE , I promise you will think and see a bit differently by the end of it.

I have not been formed like most. It means I have kind of the ultimate outsider’s point of view. This is not a positive nor is it a negative, it is just a fact. You see, I’ve lived my life in cults and with cult leaders, with only small periods of my life lived in traditional society. They do say you’re more vulnerable to falling into another cult if you are born into one, and maybe that’s the explanation. Because the only real difference between Hollywood and a religious sect, is the evening gowns and the money. They both worship false idols. They are both cults.

I would know, I was in both. This is that story.

My life has always been one of extremes. Writing this book proved to be no different. While writing BRAVE , I endured being hacked, stalked, spied on, had parts of this manuscript stolen. My life was infiltrated by Israeli spies and harassing lawyers, some of the most formidable on earth. These evil people hounded me at every turn while I went about resurrecting the ghosts that have made up my time on earth. I can only say it was extraordinarily stressful, an incredible high-wire act that required great strategy. There was never any other choice. Justice would be served.

And it was. I am immeasurably proud of having a hand in this cataclysmic global reckoning and the felling of monsters. I truly believe that a win for one of us is a win for all of us.