The Shame Is Over: A Personal History

"An intimate look at a woman's struggle to redefine her life . . . Meulenbelt's revelations, like Annie Ernaux's The Years, bear witness to decades of profound change, when women came to see their lives 'on the boundary between the personal and the political.' A candid chronicle of awakening." --Kirkus Reviews

For fans of Tove Ditlevsen, Alba De Cespedes and Annie Ernaux, The Shame Is Over is a cult classic of feminist literature; Anja's struggle for liberation and equality still resonates loud and clear today, fifty years after the book's first publication.

Anja's teenage life is troubled by her marriage to Toni, an Austrian man she met on holidays with her parents, and with whom she has a son, Armin. At nineteen, seeking freedom from abuse and rejecting traditional domestic roles, she leaves her marriage and begins the fight for her own path. Her next decade is shaped by the sexual liberation of the 1970s, as she discovers herself through a series of increasingly dramatic relationships with men, married men, and women all over Europe, all alongside the challenges of single motherhood, and an ever-deepening commitment to feminist and political causes. As her emotional and political consciousness grow, Meulenbelt finds both purpose and community in activism - and begins to redesign what it means to live as an autonomous woman.

First published in 1976, THE SHAME IS OVER blends a raw account of Meulenbelt's evolution as a mother, lover and political thinker with an incisive portrayal of the struggles women face in their pursuit of autonomy and equality. Meulenbelt doesn't shy away from the internal tensions of the feminist movement - its contradictions, divisions, and emotional costs. In a haunting final passage, she imagines a dialogue with her younger, insecure self, offering a powerful metaphor for the liberation she seeks not only for herself, but for all women.

Author: Anja Meulenbelt
Publisher: Astra House
Published: 08/25/2026
Pages: 320
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.65lbs
Size: 8.10h x 5.50w x 1.20d
ISBN: 9781662603723


Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 06/15/2026
Publishers Weekly 06/15/2026

About the Author
Anja Meulenbelt (b. 1945) is a Dutch writer, feminist, and former politician known for her influential role in the second-wave feminist movement. She gained national prominence with her ground-breaking book The Shame Is Over, which combines personal narrative with feminist theory. From 2003 to 2011 she served as a senator for the Socialist Party, focusing on social justice, feminism, and international solidarity. Throughout her career she has written extensively on gender, class, racism, and the Middle East, and remains an active voice in progressive political and social debates. Anja is still actively giving lectures and interviews. She has been awarded the P.C Hooft for lifetime achievement.