My Search for Revolution
& How we brought down an abusive leader
by Clare Cowen
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Pub Date 19 Nov 2019 | Archive Date 19 Dec 2019
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Description
In October 1985, Gerry Healy was expelled from the Workers Revolutionary Party (WRP) on charges of sexual abuse and violence. His defenders included leading Party members Vanessa and Corin Redgrave and sympathiser Ken Livingstone. Clare Cowen was one of five Party members who secretly laid plans to challenge Healy.
Now, in a tell-all book, she sets the record straight.
Cowen joined the Trotskyist Young Socialists and Socialist Labour League, later to become the WRP, as a student in Bristol in the heady days of the late 1960s. It was exhilarating; she felt in tune with major class struggles and believed her actions were making a difference. But by the early 1980s she began to question Healy’s autocratic control of the Party’s policies, members and finances.
The 1984-85 miners’ strike raised troubling questions among the members about Party policies. On 1st July 1985, Healy’s secretary went into hiding, leaving a letter exposing his decades-long sexual abuse of Young Socialists and women Party members. The work of the five conspirators was beginning to bring about his downfall.
A Note From the Publisher
Advance Praise
"This book is dynamite. In telling her own story Clare uncovers the workings of a psychopathic predator and the devastating impact on those around him. She gives a voice to Gerry Healy's victims to whom she dedicates this book. The book sheds light on the inner workings of a cult that operated through fear, humiliation, bullying and absolute control. Read it and learn."
Available Editions
| EDITION | Ebook |
| ISBN | 9781838597061 |
| PRICE | US$10.99 (USD) |
| PAGES | 200 |
Featured Reviews
Cristie U, Book Trade Professional
The author wrote a great account of the personal journey they embarked on. The honest and detailed writing made it easy for the reader to feel invested in their journey.
Mandy J, Reviewer
An absorbing and truly fascinating account of Clare Cowen’s life in the Workers Revolutionary Party and her rebellion against its charismatic but monstrous leader Gerry Healy, who was eventually expelled on charges of sexual abuse and violence. What an abominable man he was! Beats me how he managed to control so many of his acolytes for so long – and these included not only the author of this honest memoir, but also such luminaries as Vanessa Redgrave and Ken Livingstone. So many were in thrall to him, unbelievably fearful of his power, and none of the young women he took advantage of had the courage to stand up against him, until Cowen took matters into her own hands with a few other courageous members of the party. The book is not only a gripping tale of political shenanigans but an insightful picture of how revolutionary parties start out with the purest of aims and ambitions and how quickly they degenerate into factions and opposition groups. A great read – and an important one.
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