Thank you for being part of my community

+ Looking forward to welcoming Heather Sweeney at the Empowered Book Club in December

There was such an incredible community spirit at our Empowered Women Book Club meet-up last week.

I’m grateful to everyone who joined—friends old and new, writers and readers—and our guest author, Daniella Mestyanek Young, for speaking so openly and generously about the reality of putting a traumatic personal story out in the world. Cult survivors, as well as people who want to better understand cults, together we listened, learned, and shared.

Photo by Brett Jordan on Unsplash

The idea for the book club came to me a year ago when I felt the need for a community to share stories—so we can remember who we are even in the hard times.

My years in a cult kept me isolated, unable to share what was happening, how the cult leader betrayed the principles, like loyalty and truth, he had instilled in me. When I published my memoir, only a handful of beta readers knew my story. An unwilling expert in the power of isolation and secrets, I learned that things are much harder when we tackle them alone.

When my mother published her memoir in December last year, I decided to launch the book club with her story. Since then we co-host the meet-ups and have enjoyed wonderful, uplifting discussions with memoir authors. For those who can’t join the meet-ups, I post links to the replays in our private Facebook group, which you can access here.

On December 3rd, Heather Sweeney will join us to discuss her recently published memoir, Camouflage: How I Emerged from the Shadows of a Military Marriage. Her story is about what happens when you need to become someone you didn’t imagine you could be. Heather shares the hard times with vulnerability and lets us in on moments of joy and discovery. Whether or not you have a connection with the military, you will learn from and appreciate her memoir.

I cannot wait to chat with Heather live and hope you’ll join us!

Contact me for details or join the book club and RSVP on the events page.

What I’m Watching

I just finished watching the docuseries Serial Swindlers, a fascinating exposé of thirteen different men who defraud others without compunction. The similarity in their stories reveals their personality type and how they scout their victims. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is!