Don't Fight Back: And 10 Other Myths about Crime, Personal Safety, and Gender-Based Violence by Meg Stone

Meg Stone is the Executive Director of IMPACT Boston, an abuse prevention and empowerment self-defense organization. Her first book, THE COST OF FEAR: Why Most Safety Advice is Sexist and How We Can Stop Gender-based Violence, was called a "deeply needed resource that expands rather than diminishes options for women" by Booklist. Meg has worked in domestic violence and sexual assault advocacy organizations since 1993 in capacities including court advocacy, prevention education, and staffing the night shift in an emergency shelter. Her writing has been published in Huffington Post, Boston Globe, Newsweek, Washington Post, Dame, Ms., and other publications.

Nancy Lanoue discovered martial arts and self-defense at the Women’s Martial Arts Center in New York City in 1977. She holds a 7th dan in Seido karate, her primary art, and a 2nd dan in Kajukenbo, which she learned from her partner in life and work, Sarah Ludden. Together, they co-directed the non-profit Thousand Waves Martial Arts & Self-Defense Center in Chicago for more than three decades. Now semi-retired, Lanoue continues to teach martial arts part-time as a volunteer at Thousand Waves. She also oversees the Center’s Empowerment Self-Defense team, with a focus on mentoring the next generation of teachers. She is also enjoying a new collaborative connection with Arlene Limas’ PAVE Prevention and is in the process of being trained as a facilitator for PAVE’s innovative workplace violence prevention programs.