Readers looking to One Way Back for a magic bullet to prove Kavanaugh’s guilt or innocence are out of luck. Ford doesn’t remember anything more than she’s already publicly recalled; there are no new witnesses or unearthed diary entries. What she gives instead is a thoughtful exploration of what it feels like to become a main character in a major American reckoning ... At times, she comes across as either deeply optimistic or unfortunately naive ... A blisteringly personal memoir of a singular experience. But it was most piercing to me as a memoir of the past half-decade ... If you believed Ford in 2018, One Way Back will give you a deeper appreciation for the woman behind the headlines. If you didn’t — well, I don’t know if the book will change your mind. But it might wiggle your mind a little bit.
An important entry into the public record — a lucid if belated retort to Senator Chuck Grassley’s 414-page, maddening memo on the investigation — but a prosaic one. A Big Book like this has become the final step in the dizzying if wearily familiar passage through the American media wringer.
Proof that Ford has emerged from the abyss, but what makes her account unusual and valuable is the way it refuses the comfort of firm ground. The psychologist, by the end of the book, might offer closure. The scientist might offer conclusions. The author might offer catharsis. But Ford can offer none of those. Instead, she offers a model of resilience.
Explains much ... Tragic ... The first time Ford tried to write this book, she was so angry about her loss that she had to abandon the attempt. She still worries that her story will discourage other victims from coming forward, and it very well could.