Elizabeth Beier
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An open letter to anyone who is suffering after a rape

The Lily·7 April 2019A feminist project by the Washington Post

Written and illustrated by Elizabeth Beier · Art direction by Rachel Orr

What helped, offered directly, from one survivor to another.

content noteThis piece is written for survivors and is about recovering after a rape.

Published by The Lily, where the original sits behind the Post’s paywall. The complete piece is below, republished by the author.

A title banner in black and bright turquoise reads "AN OPEN LETTER / TO ANYONE WHO IS SUFFERING AFTER A RAPE." Below, a short-haired person in glasses and a turquoise t-shirt turns toward the reader with both hands open, speaking from a large speech balloon; a black ribbon at the bottom reads "BY ELIZABETH BEIER."A banner asks "WHAT are you FEELING right now?" above a large cracked heart split down the middle: the bright turquoise left half is lettered FEAR, SHAME and RAGE over drawn mountains, the dark grey-green right half is lettered Sadness, numbness and NOTHING over cracked ground. Black clouds along the bottom carry white text about the feelings being valid.A wide-eyed person holds their hands up as their words, "HELLO?" and "ARE YOU ALL RIGHT?", curve away in wobbling turquoise ribbons toward a second figure trapped inside a black blob, pressing outward with both palms and thinking "WHERE AM I?". A turquoise caption box beneath gives a grounding exercise.A dark-haired woman with her eyes closed sits calmly at the center while pale turquoise memories stream out of her hair like smoke — two friends laughing "HA HA HA HA HA HA!", a girl in pigtails holding an ice cream cone, a palm-lined beach, a figure hiking toward mountains at sunrise — all set against faint jagged shapes. Captions above and below explain the idea.Two friends sit facing each other on a big turquoise couch holding mugs — one cross-legged in a polka-dot top and sneakers, the other in a vest, skirt and tall boots with a shaved-side haircut and a choker. A large caption box above them talks about telling trusted people how you really feel.At night, a small lone figure stands at the bottom of a glowing turquoise path, shading her eyes to look up a steep grey mountain tangled with dark thorny brambles; a tiny lit flag marks the distant summit under a starry sky. A white caption box floats at the upper left.The same mountain path in daylight and pale blue: a smiling woman stands at the summit beside a planted flag, one arm swept out toward clouds and sunbeams. Text in the lower right invites the reader to picture their future self.Two versions of the same woman embrace against a glowing turquoise and near-black night sky flecked with stars; one holds the other close with her eyes closed, both drawn in luminous outline. A white caption box at the top poses a question.A hand-lettered turquoise note fills the panel, headed "READER," with a pale drawn hand holding a brush at the lower right as if it has just written the words. Small black text under the note points to a hotline and resources.

The comic closes with RAINN, which runs a 24 hour hotline at rainn.org.

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