Gisèle Pelicot’s 'A Hymn to Life' is both a memoir and an act of ultimate defiance

Summary

NPR’s Book of the Day — Gisèle Pelicot’s 'A Hymn to Life': Memoir as Defiance and Hope

Episode Date: February 18, 2026
Host: Andrew Limbong
Interviewer: Michelle Martin
Guest: Gisèle Pelicot (through interpreter Tamara McGinnis)

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Main Theme & Purpose

This episode spotlights Gisèle Pelicot’s harrowing and courageous memoir, A Hymn to Life, exploring her experiences as a survivor of unimaginable abuse orchestrated by her husband. The memoir and interview trace her journey through personal devastation, public trial, and eventual acts of hope and advocacy. Rather than a portrait of bitterness, Pelicot’s story is one of refusing shame, reclaiming dignity, and championing survivors.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Discovery of the Crimes and Initial Realization

• Background: In 2020, Pelicot’s husband was apprehended for recording up-skirt videos, which led to revealing years of systematic drugging and sexual assault, perpetrated by her husband and other men he recruited.
• Trial Outcome:
  • Dominique Pelicot received the maximum sentence (20 years) and 50 other men were convicted.
  • 21 other men remain unidentified.
• Emotional Impact of Confronting Evidence
  • Pelicot describes her dissociation on seeing footage:

    “Lieutenant Perret shows me photos of what Mr. Pellicot had done to me. And I just don't recognize that woman. I don't recognize the place. And then it hit me like a high speed train.” (03:09)

  • When asked whether it was the effect of drugs or psychological denial, she responds:

    “It was like some rag doll disguised. And I didn't recognize the people. Like my brain just wouldn't. Couldn't understand it. My brain dissociated.” (03:25)

2. Complexity of Memory & Relationship

• Struggling to Reconcile Past and Present
  • While acknowledging the horror, Pelicot emphasizes she can't erase the happy memories from her marriage:

    “We were married really young. We had three kids. We had seven grandkids. I can't erase that. What I do try and erase, though, is the darkness of Mr. Pellicaud. I try and forget that, but you can't really forget because the scars are indelible.” (04:22)

  • She clarifies she only ever knew “side A” of her husband, never suspecting “side B.” (03:49)

3. Decision to Have a Public Trial — Moving Shame

• Initial Plan for Privacy
  • Pelicot originally preferred a closed trial out of shame but changed her mind as the implications grew clear:

    “I said to myself that shame needed to change sides. And by having the closed trial, I was giving them a gift. All these men, their names wouldn't have been known, and what they did wouldn't have been known. I realized that part of this trial was not just my trial, but this was a trial for all the women who suffered sexual violence.” (04:56)

• Broader Significance
  • Her act became not just personal but political—a confrontation with the culture of victim-blaming and silence around sexual violence.

4. Victim-Blaming and Overcoming Humiliation

• Challenges in the Aftermath
  • Pelicot recounts being unfairly suspected of complicity and enduring severe humiliation:

    “I was considered consenting, complicit, a suspect, and all the victims said they weren't guilty. ... What saved me is that we had the evidence, we had the proof. ... I wanted them to be put away for what they did. ... I knew that they were guilty and I was not guilty.” (05:43)

• Legal & Societal Impediments
  • Acknowledges how often it's “the woman’s word against the assailant,” and the accused attempt to invert victimhood.

5. Living with the Unanswered “Why?”

• Struggle to Understand Motives
  • Pelicot admits she will likely never comprehend why her husband committed these acts:

    “I choose to move towards the light. Mr. Pellico, he chose darkness. I was raped over 200 times over 10 years. ... But how could a human being do something like that to someone who's the love of their life? The question is still open.” (06:42)

6. The Radical Act of Continuing to Love

• Maintaining Hope and Humanity
  • Despite everything, she insists on believing in love as essential to existence:

    “I still need to believe in love. I even believed that I knew how to give it. I now know that it comes from a deep wound within me that makes me vulnerable. But I accept that fragility, that risk. Still, to fight the emptiness, I need to love.” (07:08) “I think love can save the world. And I've just had the great fortune of being in love again. ... I think if you don't love, you don't exist. If I don't love, I don't exist.” (07:40)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On confronting her trauma (03:09–03:25):
  “It was like some rag doll disguised. ... My brain dissociated. It took me a long time to actually say the word rape. I couldn't even fathom it.” — Gisèle Pelicot

• On the duality of her late husband (03:49):
  “I only really got to know side A of Mr. Pellicot, where he was kind, but I never really got to know the side B of him. That was not. It was very difficult.” — Gisèle Pelicot

• On refusing to erase her past (04:22):
  “We had happy times. ... I can't erase that. What I do try and erase, though, is the darkness of Mr. Pellicaud. ... but you can't really forget because the scars are indelible.” — Gisèle Pelicot

• On choosing an open trial (04:56):
  “Shame needed to change sides. ... I realized that part of this trial was not just my trial, but this was a trial for all the women who suffered sexual violence.” — Gisèle Pelicot

• On still believing in love (07:08; 07:40):
  “I need to love. ... If I don't love, I don't exist. I need to keep on loving. Yeah, I do indeed.” — Gisèle Pelicot

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Important Timestamps

• [00:02] — Introduction to Pelicot’s story and memoir
• [01:38] — Context: Discovery of the crime and public attention
• [02:55] — Initial conversation with police; psychological impact
• [03:41] — Reflection on memories of her marriage
• [04:39] — The choice to open the trial to the public
• [05:43] — Pelicot confronts victim-blaming in court and the media
• [06:42] — Addressing the unanswerable question: “Why?”
• [07:08] — The power of love and the conclusion of her memoir

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Tone & Style

The conversation is marked by empathy, resilience, and unwavering honesty. Despite recurring references to trauma and injustice, both Pelicot and interviewer Michelle Martin focus on hope, healing, and advocacy. The interview avoids sensationalism, instead centering survivor agency and dignity.

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Summary Takeaway

Gisèle Pelicot’s A Hymn to Life is not merely a memoir of suffering; it is a testament to resilience, the refusal to be silenced, and the belief that love and dignity can survive even the darkest trials. This episode delivers an intimate portrait of survival and serves as a rallying cry for all who have endured sexual violence—and those who bear witness to their courage.

Transcript

[A]

Hey, it's NPR's Book of the Day. I'm Andrew Limbong. The inherent value to most memoirs is that you hear from one voice, one person, one narrative stripped away from any other outside noise. It's especially valuable when the person writing it is someone at the center of a gigantic and difficult story. Today on the podcast, Giselle Pellico talks about her memoir, A Hymn to Life. If you're not familiar with her story, Peliko's husband spent years drugging and raping her and it inviting other men to their home in France to do the same. It's possible that after her husband's crimes were discovered, we would have never heard about it. But Pellico made a decision to make the trial public, air it out for all of us to see. She talks about why in this interview with NPR's Michelle Martin. And I just want to point out that after all she went through, it'd be completely understandable for Peliko to be bitter and angry. But this interview is not that. It's almost hopeful. That's a head.

[B]

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[C]

In September of 2020, a man was caught filming up women's skirts at a supermarket in southeastern France. What happened next would change Giselle Pellicot's life forever and make headlines around the world. And here is where we need to let you know that this next story is about sexual assault.

[D]

Tonight, a story so shocking it redefines the meaning. Dominique pelico, Principal AKUZE Dominique Pellicot recruited men on an Internet site to come rape his drugged, unconscious wife. He directed the participants and filmed it all.

[C]

In December of 2024, Dominique Pellicot was found guilty of all charges and received the maximum sentence of 20 years. The 50 other defendants were also found guilty of rape or other sex crimes. Another 21 men on the tapes were never ident. But what also drew the attention of the world was not just the horrifying nature of the crime, but that Giselle Pellicot demanded that the trial be open to the public. Her refusal to be shamed or silenced has gone beyond her own trial and become a mission on behalf of other survivors. She writes about all of this in her new book, A Hymn to Life. She spoke with me from Paris through an interpreter, and I started by asking about the first conversation she had with the police.

[D]

Lieutenant Perret shows me photos of what Mr. Pellicot had done to me. And I just don't recognize that woman. I don't recognize the place. And then it hit me like a high speed train. I just couldn't fathom that Mr. Pellicot could have done those things to me.

[C]

Is it that you literally did not recognize yourself because you had been drugged? Or is it that your brain could just not accept that someone you loved and who you thought loved you could do that?

[D]

I did not recognize that woman. It was like some rag doll disguised. And I didn't recognize the people. Like my brain just wouldn't. Couldn't understand it. My brain dissociated. It took me a long time to actually say the word rape. I couldn't even fathom it.

[C]

Do you recall when you were finally able to fathom it?

[A]

No.

[D]

It was very, very difficult for me to realize that this was someone I'd spent 50 years with. I only really got to know side A of Mr. Pellicot, where he was kind, but I never really got to know the side B of him. That was not. It was very difficult.

[C]

One of the things that I found so moving about the book, you refused to give up the side of Mr. Pellico that you knew before the part of your life that was happy. And I was so struck by that.

[D]

We had happy times. We were married really young. We had three kids. We had seven grandkids. I can't erase that. What I do try in erase, though, is the darkness of Mr. Pellicaud. I try and forget that, but you can't really forget because the scars are indelible.

[C]

You chose to have the trial be open. You could have had a closed trial. And in fact, through most of the trial preparation, that had been your plan and you changed your mind. Why did you decide to open the trial?

[D]

In the beginning, I did want it to be a closed trial because I was ashamed. It sort of started coming to me little by little. I said to myself that shame needed to change sides. And by having the closed trial, I was giving them a gift. All these men, their names wouldn't have been known, and what they did wouldn't have been known. I realized that part of this trial was not just my trial, but this was a trial for all the women who suffered sexual violence.

[C]

There's a long history of victims of sexual violence being blamed for it or being told that they are complicit in some way. There was the implication that you were part of some swing ear community. How did you cope with that?

[D]

I experienced total humiliation. I was considered consenting complicit, a suspect, and all the victims said they weren't guilty. When I was able to speak, I said, I'm the only guilty party here, with 50 victims behind me. What saved me is that we had the evidence, we had the proof. Whereas in a lot of cases, it's the woman's word against the assailant. The accused parties always turn the situation around and say that they're being victimized because they're being accused. I wanted them to be put away for what they did. So that's why I was able to stand tall, be dignified, and keep going on. Because I knew that they were guilty and I was not guilty.

[C]

And of course, the question that remains is why? Why would someone do this to someone? Especially someone that they claim to love? Do you think you'll ever have an answer?

[D]

I don't know if I'll ever have the answer to that question. I choose to move towards the light. Mr. Pellico, he chose darkness. I was raped over 200 times over 10 years. I had illnesses and had to take antibiotics and even had a procedure at the end of this year. I'm fine now. But how could a human being do something like that to someone who's the love of their life? The question is still open.

[C]

You end the book with an extraordinary statement. You write. I still need to believe in love. I even believed that I knew how to give it. I now know that it comes from a deep wound within me that makes me vulnerable. But I accept that fragility, that risk. Still, to fight the emptiness, I need to love. Where does that come from? This ability to still love? Can you explain it?

[D]

I think love can save the world. And I've just had the great fortune of being in love again. And I just think that you have to believe, you have to trust. And I think if you don't love, you don't exist. If I don't love, I don't exist. I need to keep on loving. Yeah, I do indeed.

[C]

It's been a great honor and a privilege to speak with you. I think you're extraordinary. And I am so grateful that you survived. And I'm so thankful that you were able to speak with us and to tell your story.

[D]

I thank you and I had a great time spending this time with you.

[C]

Tamara McGinnis provided the interpretation for this interview. You can hear my full conversation with Gisele Pellico on this week's Sunday Story. Find it in your upfirst podcast feed.

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