So You've Been Publicly Shamed

From the Sunday Times top ten bestselling author of The Psychopath Test, a captivating and brilliant exploration of one of our world’s most under-appreciated forces: shame.

“superb and terrifying” The Guardian

‘It’s about the terror, isn’t it?‘
‘The terror of what?’ I said.
‘The terror of being found out.’

For the past three years, Jon Ronson has travelled the world meeting recipients of high-profile public shamings. The shamed are people like us – people who, say, made a joke on social media that came out badly, or made a mistake at work. Once their transgression is revealed, collective outrage circles with the force of a hurricane and the next thing they know they’re being torn apart by an angry mob, jeered at, demonized, sometimes even fired from their job.

A great renaissance of public shaming is sweeping our land. Justice has been democratized. The silent majority are getting a voice. But what are we doing with our voice? We are mercilessly finding people’s faults. We are defining the boundaries of normality by ruining the lives of those outside it. We are using shame as a form of social control.

PRAISE FOR SO YOU’VE BEEN PUBLICLY SHAMED

“Immensely readable” The Independent

“A work of original, inspired journalism” Financial Times

“A magnificent book, subtly argued, often painfully funny and yet deeply serious … I’m not sure I can recommend it highly enough” Daily Mail

“The book slowly turns out to be something bigger than it seems: a survival guide to living with shame both public and private, an inevitable consequence of being human” Saturday Paper

Author Biography

Jon Ronson is an award-winning writer and documentary maker. He is the author of many bestselling books, including Frank: The True Story that Inspired the Movie, Lost at Sea: The Jon Ronson Mysteries, The Psychopath Test, The Men Who Stare at Goats and Them: Adventures with Extremists. His first fictional screenplay, Frank, co-written with Peter Straughan, starred Michael Fassbender. He is the creator of podcasts including Things Fell Apart and The Butterfly Effect. He lives in London and New York City.