Biography & Autobiography Women
The Moment
Standing Up to Bill Cosby, Speaking Up for Women
- Publisher
- Penguin Group Canada
- Initial publish date
- Sep 2021
- Category
- Women, General, Sexual Abuse & Harassment
-
Hardback
- ISBN
- 9780735240476
- Publish Date
- Sep 2021
- List Price
- $32.95
Classroom Resources
Where to buy it
Description
An inspiring story of resilience and bravery by the woman who became the linchpin of the case to bring Bill Cosby to justice. Andrea Constand did the right thing, not just for herself, but for more than sixty other women.
When Bill Cosby was convicted on three counts of aggravated indecent assault in 2018, the verdict sent shock waves around the globe. Some were outraged that a beloved icon of family values, the man dubbed "America's dad," had been accused, let alone convicted. Others were stunned because they had waited so long to see justice; in accusations going back decades, more than sixty women recounted how they'd been drugged, raped, and assaulted at Cosby's hands. Andrea Constand is just one of these women, but her case could still be criminally prosecuted.
Constand's legal marathon required her to endure an excruciating civil suit, and two harrowing criminal trials. It was her deep sense of personal and social responsibility, fostered by her close-knit immigrant family and values earned through team sports, that gave her the courage to testify at the criminal trial--something she agreed to do not for herself, but for the more than sixty other women whose stories would never be told in court. Ultimately, Constand's testimony brought a powerful man to account. Cosby spent nearly three years in prison before his conviction was overturned on a procedural technicality in June 2021.
In The Moment, Constand opens up about the emotional and spiritual work she did to recover from the assault and the psychological regimen she developed to strengthen herself. She also gained a new understanding of the resiliency of human spirit, and the affirming knowledge that stepping up and doing the right thing, even when the outcome is uncertain, is the surest path to true healing. From the woman who has been called "the true hero of #MeToo," The Moment is a memoir about the moment a life changes, as hers did when she was assaulted; about the moment, nearly a decade later, when she stood up for victims without a voice and put herself through an arduous criminal trial; and about the cultural moment, signified by the #MeToo movement, that made justice and accountability possible.
A portion of the author’s proceeds of The Moment will go to the Hope, Healing and Transformation foundation. https://hopehealing.ca
About the author
Contributor Notes
ANDREA CONSTAND is a Registered Massage Therapist specializing in medical massage. The New York Times has called her "the linchpin of the Bill Cosby case," and The New York Daily News hailed her as "the true hero of #MeToo...the first female courageous enough to stand up to all the power of Hollywood and demand the impossible and win the unbelievable." She has been the Director of Operations for Temple University's women's basketball program, a sports marketing specialist for Nike, and a professional basketball player in Europe. She lives in Toronto.
Excerpt: The Moment: Standing Up to Bill Cosby, Speaking Up for Women (by (author) Andrea Constand)
CHAPTER 1
A MOMENT LOST
I was perched on the corner of my bed at my parents’ cozy cottage-style house in Pickering, Ontario, as a chilly mid-February day faded outside. This place had been my refuge for almost a year now—ever since I’d returned from Philadelphia and my many years far from home. I was holding my cellphone to my ear, listening carefully. I’d known this conversation was coming, but there was part of me that wasn’t quite ready to have it.
A few hours earlier, I had been out running errands with my sister when my mother phoned. “Dolores is going to give you a call,” she said. This was Dolores Troiani—she and Bebe Kivitz were my lawyers. Diana and I cut short our trip so I could be in the house when the call came.
When we pulled into our quiet street, I knew that whatever my lawyers were going to tell me was big news. The road in front of our house was lined with vans and cars emblazoned with the logos of TV stations and newspapers. Reporters had been harassing my parents and me for weeks now. They called our home phone non-stop; they turned up on our doorstep at all times of the day and night. Sometimes they showed up en masse, like troops camped right outside our front door. That was the scene this day. Clearly something major had just happened.
Diana and I hadn’t been in the house long before my cell rang.
“Andrea”—Dolores’s tone was kind but measured and matter-of-fact—“we’re sorry to tell you this, but the DA isn’t going to move forward with the case. There won’t be any charges.”
I wasn’t surprised. Not really.
My lawyers and I had sensed that the case we were attempting to pursue wasn’t looking good. It was yet another sharp blow in what had already been, without a doubt, the most difficult year of my life.
A little more than twelve months earlier, everything had been different. I was a happy, confident thirty-year-old with a great job as the director of operations for the women’s basketball team at Temple University in Philadelphia. My work at Temple was a natural fit. Sports had always been my passion. I was an active child, and athletics had helped me channel my considerable energy and have fun at the same time. By high school, I was a star basketball player, and in my final year, I was lucky enough to see dozens of university scholarships flood in. In the end, I headed to the University of Arizona to play college ball. It turned out to be a wonderful choice, not just because I enjoyed the team and the school so much, but also because my paternal grandparents decided to retire to Tucson when they learned that I was a bit homesick. I saw them almost every day and was delighted to have my family close by once more.
At the end of my time at university, I had hoped for a spot on the fledling WNBA roster, but when that didn’t materialize, I wasn’t disappointed for long. After a wonderful year spent teaching basketball skills to middle-school children in North Hollywood, California, I made the Canadian team for the 1997 World University Games in Italy. While there, I was recruited by Sicily’s professional women’s basketball team, and I played for two seasons before returning to Canada. I worked for Nike in Toronto for a short while before taking the Temple position, then spent almost three years in Philly. But in early 2004, I was ready to shift my path again. I was planning to move back to Canada to rejoin my large extended family and my old friends, and to pursue a career in the healing arts, as both my mother and my father had done.
I had a good future before me. I knew who I was and I liked who I was. I was at the top of my game, certain that the groundwork laid by my education and my athletic training had prepared me for whatever challenges were ahead.
But I was wrong. Very wrong.
Nothing could have prepared me for an early January evening spent at the home of a man I considered a friend.
That was the night that Bill Cosby raped me.
Editorial Reviews
Praise for Andrea Constand and The Moment
On NOW Toronto's "15 Best New Books to Read This Fall"
“The true hero of #MeToo ... the first female courageous enough to stand up to all the power of Hollywood and demand the impossible and win the unbelievable.”
—The New York Daily News
“The linchpin of the Bill Cosby case.”
—The New York Times
“A searing debut. . . .The depth of Constand’s wounds and the purposeful nature of her resilience shine through as road map for others. The hope here is astounding.”
—Publishers Weekly
“In this post #MeToo world, it’s easy to forget the immense challenge Andrea Constand was up against when she took on Bill Cosby, then one of the world's most beloved celebrities. She is not just a survivor, she is a warrior. The Moment is her behind-the-scenes account of an incredible victory. It’s both a riveting courtroom drama and an inspiring personal story. A must read.”
—Robyn Doolittle, author of Had It Coming: What’s Fair in the Age of #MeToo? and Crazy Town: The Rob Ford Story
"Andrea Constand’s name became known because of her criminal complaint against Bill Cosby. But she will be remembered for her courage in seeking justice and accountability for herself and other sexual assault survivors. The Moment is a wrenching but ultimately hopeful book about healing and transformation. A powerful page-turning read.”
—Farrah Khan, Manager, Consent Comes First, Office of Sexual Violence Support and Education, Ryerson University
“Constand’s is a story of sadness and joy, of disappointment and triumph, on every level…”
—Vanity Fair
"In the final version of her book, Constand adds a few thoughts following Cosby’s release from prison, saying 'happiness is all that matters,' and vowing 'to support sexual assault victims and to help other voices be heard.' Because of the prominence she gained during the Cosby trials, it’s conceivable that people will listen.
In the end that might be a victory greater than anything possible in a courtroom."
—The Washington Post