“Her legacy means nothing to me,” Canadian shocked by Alice Munro’s silence on her daughter’s sexual abuse by her husband

This story contains sensitive details related to sexual abuse and may be disturbing to some people.

Canadians are reacting after the daughter of the late Canadian author Alice Munro told her harrowing story of being sexually abused by her stepfather and her mother’s silence about it.

In a blog post for The Gatehouse, an organization supporting victims of sexual abuse, Andrea Robin Skinner reveals that Munro’s husband, Gerald Fremlin, assaulted her when she was nine years old.

“I was nine years old when my stepfather climbed into my bed and sexually abused me. My mother was away and I asked if I could sleep in the guest bed next to him,” she writes.

Skinner recounts how she struggled with insomnia, bulimia and migraines during her teenage years. “By the time I was 25, I was so sick and empty that I couldn’t really start my adult life,” she explains.

Skinner was determined to tell her mother the truth and wrote a letter to Munro detailing the abuse, but her mother’s reaction was not what she had hoped for.

“My mother reacted as if she had found out about an affair,” she recalls.

Her stepfather now called her a “marriage destroyer” and threatened them both.

She also confided in her father, but he did nothing to resolve the issue. Even at his lunches with Munro, the subject never came up.

“My family showed no outrage, no one rallied around me to help me or heal me… My siblings and parents went on with their busy lives. I was left alone with this thing, this ugliness,” she said.

In 2016, Skinner found solace at the Gatehouse, where she “felt the presence of a collective strength made up of many voices that bore my shame and sense of failure with tenderness, love and trust and allowed me to move forward at my own pace.”

Since the story was published, Munro Books, independently owned since 2014, has also released a statement in support of Skinner.

“Like so many other readers and writers, we will need time to process this news and the impact it may have on Alice Munro’s legacy. We have celebrated her work and connection to the business before,” the statement said.

Meanwhile, the Munro siblings have released a statement thanking the store owners for their support while Skinner “shares her story of childhood sexual abuse and her journey to healing.”

“By acknowledging and respecting Andrea’s truth and making their desire to end the silence very clear, the current store owners have become part of our family’s healing and demonstrate how to respond truly positively to revelations like Andrea’s,” they added.

Her story, also shared in an exclusive first-hand report by the Toronto Star, has sent further shockwaves through the literary world and beyond.

“Alice Munro chose her husband over her daughter, whom he sexually abused,” said one X-user.

Another person added: “Your ‘legacy’ means nothing to me.”

“Alice Munro’s daughter makes it clear that Munro knew about the abuse and stayed with her stepfather anyway. This attitude is indicative of a literary world that too often puts the reputation of its icons and the preservation of their legacies above all else – and that is wrong,” added another X-user, criticizing the Nobel Prize winner.

“Many people reflexively deny that Alice Munro could have knowingly spent her life with the paedophile who abused her daughter, or are quick to say they never liked her writing – it’s even harder to accept the truth that people who make outstanding art are capable of monstrous acts,” added another X-user.

Another person shared her thoughts on how long it took for the world to acknowledge Skinner’s story, despite her efforts to bring her stepfather to justice.

“The craziest thing about the Alice Munro news to me is that her daughter sued the abuser nearly 20 years ago, but the case was so thoroughly dismissed by her fans at the time that this is the first time a whole generation of readers has heard about it,” the person said.

Another person commented how disappointed she was that writers were mourning Munro.

“Maybe it’s just me, but when you read a horrific story about how Alice Munro knew her husband was abusing her daughter and facilitated the abuse by her silence and went back to him, I find it incredibly odd that writers are mourning the fact that THEY lost Munro. This isn’t about you?” the X-user said.

“I’m glad Alice Munro’s kids are coming together to love and support Andrea. This heavy story is going to be with me for a while. 🥺♥️,” one X user said of the siblings joining together in support of Skinner.