Strong At The Heart

Today was an in between kind of day. I’m back from travel for the book. Haven’t solidified upcoming appearances for summer or fall yet. There’s a stack of short writing assignments on my desk.

The sky was half fog (to the east), half sunshine (to the west). I jumped on my bike in the late morning and rode out through farm land towards the coast, just taking it easy and feeling the sun on my arms and face. I passed the calf I saw being born a few days ago; he’s on his feet—as he was twenty minutes after birth–but looking fully at home in this world now.

At the boat ramp I got off, lay on my back near the river’s edge, listened to the water flowing by, and watched the clouds forming and teasing apart over my head. I’ve too many ideas for books already. But a new one came, beautiful, full blown. I can taste it, practically hold it in my hands, turn the pages, and read the words already written.

I knew that when I got home I’d have a pile of commitments to work on, so I took my time riding back, noticing the wildflowers coming out, soaking in the green of the new pastures and the warmth of the sun.

Insead of tackling that stack on my desk, I sketched out the introduction for the new book idea.

There’s a cool thing coming up. On Tuesday, May 2nd, at 9 a.m. PST, Jessie Dylan will interview me about Strong at the Heart on his show, The Good Life. You can hear it on Sirius Satellite Radio 114 or listen on the Internet. Canadians can listen on sevral station across the country.

For a week following, it will be archived online.

Here’s a little taste of what I saw in Boston last week. Pretty amazing, isn’t it, when spring does hit?

photo by Rick Birkenshaw

This image is pulled from a postcard, but it really did look just like this with magnolias blooming like crazy and the tender green of new growth everywhere.

We finally had a sunny day here. Peter and I rode bikes inland and halfway up Korbel Hill. I’m working back into it.

Free Radio Santa Cruz is a pirate station–no license, not call letters, but a loyal following locally and on line. To get to the studio, Evelyn Hall drove through residential streets, parked, and lead me around the back of an unmarked bungalow. The ground was soggy from the heavy rain and hail we’d had an hour earlier and I was glad I had clogs on. We clattered down concrete steps, then ducked into a standard issue basement, complete with old mattresses propped against the wall and piles of soggy looking cardboard boxes.

The studio was deep in the basement, behind a well defended plywood door with three large bolts on the inside. Evelyn told me they’d been raided by the police before. Radio studios are a jumble of wires and flashing lights, but this one looked like it could be disassembled and moved on short notice. We sat at the console under a big pirate flag.

Ann Simonton of Media Watch, introduced us on the air and then Evelyn took over. She started the conversation by asking about the prevalence of sexual abuse and WHY we haven’t been able to stop this from happening to our kids. We had two full hours of on air time to explore these question and many others and to talk about the stories in Strong at the Heart.

What a luxury it is to have so much time. I’ve had radio news interviews as short as 5 minutes and as long as an hour and a half—with listeners calling in. You can get a lot across in a short amount of time, if you choose your words well.

But two hours? We were able to talk about the back stories of the making of the book. About why I chose the stories I did out of the nearly three dozen interviews recorded over the five years. We explored what it means to come out as a sexually abuse survivor. And why some mothers do not support their children when they tell.

apologia

During the last fifteen minutes of the show Evelyn told listeners that they could call in. Unfortunately, we were both so wrapped up in the conversation that she forgot to flip the switch that allowed for incoming calls. So if you are one of the people who tried—I am so sorry. I did catch a call at the end off air and it was good to hear from a listener who had so much to say herself.

After the radio show, the two of us had lunch downtown. Evelyn is a counselor in my old high school district and runs the Safe Place program for teens. One of her groups is just beginning to read and discuss Strong at the Heart.

Jenner

Tonight’s the book event at 7:30 at Bookshop Santa Cruz. Last night I had dinner with Jenner, whose story is the first chapter of Strong at the Heart. So many people have asked about the song she wrote about the rape was fourteen. She’s planning on bringing her guitar and singing it at tonight’s event! Here’s your chance to hear her: Bookshop Santa Cruz, 7:30 p.m.

I’m just coming off the marvelous rush of speaking on the radio about STRONG AT THE HEART. Live radio interviews are the polar opposite of a writer’s usual experience. Radio is more like white water canoeing or maybe surfing.

On radio there is no opportunity to ponder, edit, rethink and polish. You are totally in the moment, focused on the interviewer and the questions that come at you—some of them totally unexpected…

During the first interviews early last week I just worked at staying upright and not falling into a deluge of words, or worse, dead air. I was lucky to have good hosts and, with a little experience, I found my balance.

On Saturday, I spoke with Dr. Mike Roizen on his show You: The Owner’s Manual which is broadcast by Health Radio network to 25 stations nationwide.

He and his cohost, Jim Graham, were both incredibly enthusiastic about STRONG, which was so sweet to hear. There were technical difficulties—the people in the studio and I could hardly hear Dr. Mike, who, like me, was calling in by phone. We ended up speaking over each other at times. (The engineer got the sound balance right, though, as the show went out.)

You can hear that interview on line at Health Radio Network. Look for the show dated 2005-11-05. You can use the slider to get to the interview, which starts 2/3 of the way into the hour.

On Monday morning, I drove to Ferndale, CA, to be interviewed on KHUM by Cliff Berkowitz on his Monday Morning Motown show.

Cliff established KHUM (Radio without the Rules) in 1996. He is the author of the Stop the Violence campaign which began in 1990 when he was a consultant to WPGC in Washington, D.C., and has spread to an unknown number of other stations.

Stop the Violence is a grass roots effort by radio stations to educate their communities about violence and to encourage people to take responsibility to stop violence in their own lives. They address everything from domestic abuse to gang violence and hate crimes. You can hear more about the campaign, via the internet or podcast, at KHUM’s site.

Our interview on STRONG AT THE HEART is on that same page, a little further down under my name.

By the next interview on Monday—KHSU’s Homepage with Bonnie Johnson—I had hit my stride. It was so much fun to be in the studio with her. It’s not that you relax, because with radio, like canoeing and surfing, you have to stay totally alert and in the moment. But I felt at ease in that space. It was sheer pleasure to talk with a bright and curious person about the work that is my passion.

As Bonnie and I talked, the studio phone was ringing off the hook. Afterwards, people emailed me through this website. What a great feeling to have reached out, been heard, and to hear back from listeners.

The whole radio experience was made infinately more comfortable and fun because my friend and fellow writer Rashida Smith helped me prepare. She gave me sound advice and coached me through questions that we thought I might be asked. Thanks, Ras!

book launch party

Plans for the party this Friday are coming together. Tamra Tafoya of Celebrations Catering hurt her back and the food situation looked grim for a few beats. But good friends stepped in to carry out her original plan. Thank you, Tanya, Eileen, Queteria, and Kari!

If you are in the Arcata, CA, area, please join us for the launch party and book signing at Northtown Books, 957 H Street, this Friday between 7-9. The event is a benefit for CASA of Humboldt. Volunteers from that organization will be on hand to answer questions. They provide a voice in court for kids who have been abused.

Welcome. I’m so glad you made it to my website. I hope you find what you are looking for. If not, let me know.

I am delighted and amazed to have reached this point myself! For six years I searched out people for the book, traveled to interview and photograph them, wrangled transcripts, wrote, revised, edited, and made all the thousands of decisions that go into turning raw material into a finished book. This project was my constant companion.

Now that work is done. STRONG AT THE HEART is poised for release next week. (You can actually buy it on line and in bookstores already. Someone at FSG jumped the gun!)

three reasons for this blog

1- What happens next with a book is pretty exciting. I want to take you along for the ride on this first year in the life of a book. You can look over my shoulder as the book is launched, reviews come in, and people respond.

2- This gives us a place to have a living conversation about the book and about healing from child sexual abuse. Do you have questions about STRONG AT THE HEART? Is there something in your own experience that can help other readers? What’s on your mind?

3- I want a place to pass on news to you about new developments in child sexual abuse recovery and prevention. And I hope that you will post news, too. What’s happening in your community? Do you have ideas about how to make the world safer for kids?

the party

If you are in my neighborhood on November 11th, please come to the launch party at Northtown Books, 957 H Street in Arcata, CA. It’s drop-in from 7 to 9 p.m. Tamra Tafoya of Celebrations is catering the event. There will be wine, too, and friends and stacks of books. Book sales will benefit CASA.

CASA, Court Appointed Special Advocates of Humboldt, is a local nonprofit that provides trained volunteers to advocate for abused children in court. They listen to the child and give voice to the child’s concerns. There will be CASA volunteers at the book launch to answer questions about their work.

one woman

You can see what one incredible survivor is doing (okay, she is also the most influential woman in America today) at Oprah’s Child Predator Watch List.

about the blog

I’d love to know what you think about STRONG AT THE HEART, this website, healing from abuse, and what we can do to make the world a safer place for kids.

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