Crying Wolf by Eden Boudreau

It’s a tale as old as time. Girl meets boy. Boy wants girl. Girl says no. Boy takes what he wants anyway.

After a violent sexual assault, Eden Boudreau was faced with a choice: call the police and explain that a man who wasn’t her husband, who she had agreed to go on a date with, had just raped her. Or go home and pray that, in the morning, it would be only a nightmare.

In the years that followed, Eden was met with disbelief by strangers, friends, and the authorities, often as a result of stigma towards her non-monogamy, sex positivity, and bisexuality. Societal conditioning of acceptable female sexuality silenced her to a point of despair, leading to addiction and even attempted suicide. It was through the act of writing that she began to heal.

Crying Wolf is a gripping memoir that shares the raw path to recovery after violence and spotlights the ways survivors are too often demonized or ignored when they belong to marginalized communities. Boudreau heralds a new era for others dismissed for “crying wolf.” After all, women prevailing to change society for others is also a tale as old as time.

Praise for Crying Wolf

“Eden Boudreau’s debut memoir is a searing and unflinching record of the assault and aftermath of sexual violence. Admirers of Alice Sebold and Sarah Polley should make room on their shelf for this evocative account of rape by a third partner within a polyamorous marriage—and the internal and systemic wounds which occur as a result. With her incisive wit, heartbreaking insight, and riveting storytelling, Boudreau has earned my admiration as both a talented writer and a steadfast survivor.” —Amber Cowie, author of Last One Alive

“Crying Wolf is a phoenix rising from the ash of Boudreau’s pain. In her stunning and eloquent debut, Boudreau takes readers on a harrowing journey through some of her darkest days, while holding a mirror to a society that perpetuates the shaming of those who live in the margins. Readers will close Crying Wolf with a sense of having been changed by the story of healing and returning to oneself, but most of all, will find themselves hopeful for the future.” —Kelly S. Thompson, bestselling author of Girls Need Not Apply and Still, I Cannot Save You

“Searing. Raw. Essential reading, now more than ever. Boudreau razes ground that most fear to tread.” —Bianca Marais, bestselling author of The Witches of Moonshyne Manor and co-host of The Shit No One Tells You About Writing podcast

“Crying Wolf is one of those books that will forever stay with me. It’s an intimate portrayal of survival, a tender vignette of marriage, and a rallying cry that we are the shepherds and we will guard our flock against the wolf. That we will be messy, we will be flawed, and we will be powerful. All I can say is, thank you, Boudreau, for telling your story when so many survivors aren’t ready to tell their own.” —KJ Aiello, award-winning author of The Monster and The Mirror

“Boudreau is a hugely talented writer, unflinching. She painstakingly explains why so many women remain silent or choose not to put themselves through the secondary assault of trying for a conviction against their assailant. Thankfully, both for Boudreau and the reader, she recounts, too, the journey toward healing: not being healed, as that’s not a conclusive thing, but embracing “the choice to move forward.” —Charlene Carr, author of Hold My Girl and We Rip the World Apart

“Crying Wolf is a vivid, searingly honest account of violence against women and the aftermath of an assault. After being raped, author Eden Boudreau faced judgement, dismissal and a lack of support from both systems and individuals in her life. While Crying Wolf is ultimately a moving story of triumph and recovery, it illustrates the obstacles and additional layers of violence women often face when reporting sexual assault (and in this case, the stigma attached to ethical non-monogamous relationships). Boudreau’s writing is clear, engaging and insightful, letting readers into her healing journey while allowing space for levity and hope. A must-read book for all Canadians.” —Erin Pepler, author of Send Me into The Woods

Press Coverage:

“Boudreau’s early passion for writing and reading turned out to be key to her recovery. On the advice of her therapist, she took up her pen and joined a writing retreat with a literary idol. In the end, she weighed the potential shame of going public with a trial against taking charge of her own story and how it would be told. Crying Wolf is the result of that choice: a battle cry for women who have survived assault.” —Suzanne Kamata, Foreword Reviews

Most Anticipated: Our Spring 2023 Nonfiction Preview —49th Shelf 

Memoirs That Risk Everything, Featuring Eden Boudreau —Write-Minded Podcast

Eden Boudreau on Memoirs That Risk Everything —Lit Hub

March’s most anticipated LGBTQIA+ books —Lambda Literary

March Writer in Residence Eden Boudreau Talks About Battling Rape Culture in Her Searing Memoir, Crying Wolf —Open Book

S14, Episode 6: Writing About Trauma, with Eden Boudreau —The Shit About Writing podcast

Lives of Girls and Women: Books for International Women’s Day —49th Shelf

Read an excerpt from Crying Wolf by Eden Boudreau —Hamilton Review of Books

The Book Nook: Interview with Eden Boudreau —Lori Walker, DIY MFA

Books That Saved Me by Eden Boudreau —49th Shelf

Women Asking Women: Eden Boudreau and Gabrielle Boulianne-Tremblay —All Lit Up

Eden Boudreau’s affecting memoir ‘Crying Wolf’: read a sneak peek of her story —Toronto Star

Ten Canadian writers share their favourite independent bookstores —The Globe and Mail

70 works of Canadian nonfiction to check out in spring 2023 —CBC Books

Episode 358, with Eden Boudreau —Get Lit podcast, with host Jamie Tennant

“People are quick to question what a victim was wearing, where she was going, how much she had been drinking, always putting the onus on the women who was assaulted as opposed to the person who actually attacked her. When I read that Eden Boudreau’s book, Crying Wolf, explores her own struggle to seek justice due to the nature of her polyamorous marriage, I knew that hers was a story that I wanted to share with as many people as possible.” —Katie Carroll, Portal Magazine

Eden Boudreau was born and raised in a small rural area just outside Halifax. In 2016, she relocated to Ontario with her family. As a bisexual, polyamorous woman who has survived her fair share of adversity, Eden’s work draws on her life experiences to inspire vulnerable and relatable stories. Her essays have been featured in Flare, Today’s Parent, and Runner’s World, amongst others. She is the host and creator of the podcast, Dear Lonely Writer, aimed at destigmatizing mental health struggles during the writing process. Boudreau lives in Georgina, Ontario. Crying Wolf is her first book.