I’ll never call him Dad again: turning our family trauma of chemical submission into a collective fight. Caroline Darian. 2022.

The trial of Dominique Pelicot, which began on 2 September 2024, has captured the world’s attention. Behind the haunting details of Pelicot’s unthinkable crimes are a mother and daughter who were forced to rebuild their lives. 

This is their story.

In November 2020, Caroline Darian received a call from her mother. Her father was in police custody. The seizure of his computer equipment revealed the unthinkable: since 2011, he had drugged his wife before handing her over, in a state of unconsciousness, to men from all ages and stages of life.

With exceptional courage, Darian recounts the earth-shattering discovery that a loved one, her own father, is capable of the worst. But more importantly, she shares the remarkable story of her mother Gisele and how she carried on living thanks to the unconditional support from her three children, without self-pity, while learning to manage all of the things her husband once took care of. Caroline shares how her mother managed to maintain her job de Vivre in circumstances none of us could imagine.