don’t let the bastards grind you down [pdf literary zine]
don't let the bastards grind you down is about the specific, exhausting, deeply unhinged experience of trying to hold onto yourself while someone is quietly (or, you know, loudly at the bar with mutual friends) taking you apart piece by piece.
Print resolution PDF
56 pg
Illustrations by Val Pierce, Memes by the Internet
Fine edition
– unavailable
Printed edition
– unavailable
Digital edition
– $8
Print resolution PDF.
Contents
- i. the setlist vs. what actually played
- ii. the grammar of being ground down
- iii. grading on a curve
- iv. boundaries that hold
- v. the filter quit
- vi. back from hell
Description
For Women Who Are Done Being Selective About Their Self-Awareness.
Listen up. This digital zine is for you if you’ve ever found yourself explaining basic human decency to a grown man. This zine explores the importance of maintaining your self-esteem while someone is actively trying to undermine it. Which is not a small thing. It is, in fact, the whole fight.
The independent zine format has always been home for the things mainstream spaces don’t know what to do with, and Don’t Let the Bastards Grind You Down continues that tradition by refusing to make self-esteem erosion tidy. This zine speaks to women who are far enough out of the wreckage to finally laugh. Not the kind of laugh that means you’re fine, but the kind that means you can see the whole absurd picture now. The him. The you. The version of the relationship you told your friends versus what was actually happening.
Don’t Let the Bastards Grind You Down is for readers who’ve stopped asking why did he do that and started asking the more interesting, more terrifying question: why did I let it become that? You already know something went wrong in that relationship, and you are tired of pretending the setlist matches what actually played.
For Women Who Attract Chaos (And Want to Stop)
Forget the he’s just not that into you energy. This zine is giving why are you settling vibes. It’s written for girls who know their worth but somehow keep finding themselves in situationships that would make their therapist rich. Framed around the punk show — because there’s something about standing in a room that’s too loud with people who showed up on purpose that always holds the truth.
The zine covers all the messy stuff:
♠️ Protecting your peace from people who treat your feelings like a Netflix subscription they can cancel anytime
♠️ How to spot emotional manipulation disguised as “being mysterious” because sometimes, he’s not mysterious, he’s just hiding stuff you have a right to know
♠️ Setting boundaries that actually stick (not the kind that disappear after one remorseful semi self-aware text he sends after a bender he regrets)
For Women Ready to Graduate from the Victim Era
The relationship advice here isn’t about playing hard to get – it’s about actually being hard to get because you’ve built a life that’s too good to let the wrong person disrupt it. It’s for women who want to level up their standards without feeling like they’re being “too picky” (spoiler alert: you’re not).
His checking your Instagram story isn’t actually a love language, no matter what your delusion tells you at 2 AM. It’s time to start expecting action on commitments, not just the words promising them.
This digital zine is specifically crafted for women who somehow always end up with guys whose biggest commitment is to their gaming setup. If your relationship history reads like a catalog of emotionally unavailable men who think communication is optional, this zine is literally talking to you. The digital format means you can read it anywhere, which is convenient, because this is exactly the kind of thing you should not have to read at a desk.
Why This Zine Is Different
This zine is for you if you are ready to sit with the fact that you also, maybe, a little bit, were absolutely feral in that relationship, and you both came out of it looking like cautionary tales. It’s the kind of story that’s too messy for a clean villain arc but too human to reduce to a simple lesson learned.
Instead of telling you to “just focus on yourself” (thanks, already tried that), this zine gives you a framework for recognizing when someone is wasting your time. It’s giving self-respect era, and honestly? It’s about time.
Your Revenge Arc, But Make It Self-Aware
This isn’t about beating yourself up — we’re not trading one form of self-destruction for another, bestie. Don’t Let the Bastards Grind You Down is about the kind of accountability that actually sets you free, the kind where you stop needing him to be the full villain because you’re finally secure enough to own your half of the catastrophe.
Ready to stop writing yourself as the protagonist of someone else’s failure and start owning your whole complicated story?
Download Don’t Let the Bastards Grind You Down and finally get advice that illuminates the patterns and matches your standards.
Because the most feral thing you can do? Be so radically honest about your own chaos that you never have to repeat it. Your energy is currency, and some people definitely can’t afford you.
Included in the Problem Solved Collection.
