Welcome to Catherine Forster's WOW! WOMEN ON WRITING TOUR OF Chasing Tarzan Plus Catherine has honored us by writing a guest post about school bullying - a subject very much in the forefront these days. The long-term effects of bullying––abuse doesn’t cease when the bullying stops by Catherine Forster While enjoying my morning coffee and reading the Sunday paper, I stumbled on an article about bullying. The title, The Long-term Effects of Bullying, caught my eye. The piece examined the multiple studies conducted in the U.S. and abroad, all revealing surprisingly similar results: individuals who were the target of severe bullying (whether physical or verbal) were more likely to struggle with their relationships, suffer from depression, addiction, and suicide during adulthood bullies who were also bullied suffered similarly to their victims, and were more likely to be incarcerated bullies who were not bullied tended to continue their bulling behavior as … [Read more...]
Read how Nancy King breaks the silence!
Choices is so happy to be part of sharing the moving memoir, Breaking the Silence by Nancy King. Please welcome Nancy while she's on her WOW! Women on Writing virtual book tour. About Breaking the Silence: Secrets. Lies. Silences. Stories told by parents and their families to protect themselves. A father who defends his wife despite her damage to their daughter’s health and welfare. A mother, shielded by her husband, who perpetuates murderous acts of violence against the daughter, and keeps secret her husband’s sexual “play” with the young girl. And yet … Nancy King, determined to learn the truth of her childhood and the heartbreaking effects it has had on her adult life, uncovers the secrets. Sees through the lies. Breaks the silence. Empowered by the stories she told herself as a child, she learns to use stories as part of her work as a university professor teaching theater, drama, world literature, and creative expression. Gradually, with the help of body work and therapy, she … [Read more...]
A new review
My memoir, Leaving the Hall Light On, currently has 217 reviews over at Amazon. The last one is a gem that I'd like to share with you. Though I personally know the reviewer, I don't think that swayed her choice of words and her feelings about the book. She's a professional writer and reads voraciously. So thank you so much, Barbie, for this very thought-provoking review of my memoir. A Broken Heart Madeline Sharples' book is so much more than a memoir, in many ways it is as if you are reading her diary. A book of thoughts addressing memories while trying to understand, to sort through years of heartbreaking and stressful events, hoping to find an answer and to heal. I would bet a very similar emotional battle is felt by all those who have lost loved ones to suicide. So many parts of this book I can relate to but with a twist. My dad's abuse of his medication affected his personality and mood changes, and escalated his dementia. The guilt I felt not being able to get … [Read more...]
The power of the movie Spotlight
I loved the movie Spotlight, about a group of Boston Globe reporters who uncovered and reported on the alleged abuse and rape performed by Catholic priests and its ensuing cover-up. The movie's ensemble cast, including Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams, Live Schreiber, John Slattery, Brian d'Arcy, and Stanley Tucci, has been nominated for six Oscars and won the Screen Actors Guild Award for outstanding performance by a cast in a motion picture, among others. The movie is so well-written, acted, directed. Really what more can I say? Well there is more. Spotlight was highlighted in the LA Times today because it was screened at a Vatican commission on clerical sex abuse. Here's what LA Times correspondent, Tom Kington, wrote: A Vatican commission on clerical sex abuse gathered Thursday for a private screening of Spotlight, the Oscar-nominated film about abuse by Boston priests, even as Pope Francis came under fire for failing to act on the crisis. The … [Read more...]
