"People aren’t just the victims in their stories; they’re the heroes of their stories." – Joyce Hayden
Even if you haven't been hurt by domestic violence, someone you know has and wishes they could tell you about it. Perhaps you are a therapist, teacher, academic, or social worker who wants to help those who are suffering. Or maybe you are in an abusive relationship and need to know that you are not alone. The poems, memoirs, and creative nonfiction pieces collected here tell of real incidents of abuse, as well as of those who left destructive and unsalvageable relationships. The beauty and truth of the language, as well as the honesty and courage, set this anthology apart from self-help manuals and academic treatises on domestic violence. This book offers a path forward to healing, health and fulfillment, using the power of art to give voice where voice has been stifled, forgotten, overlooked or denied.
Robert Kingett, Joyce Hayden, RK Taylor, Lynn Magill, Christina Hoag, and Heidi Seaborn are survivors of domestic abuse and are here to talk about the book they are all part of, When Home Is Not Safe: Writings on Domestic Verbal, Emotional, and Physical Abuse.
You can order the book here: https://amzn.to/34SH95b
Robert Kingett is an award-winning Blind author and essayist. He has appeared in publications such as USA Today, Chicken Soup for the Soul, and the Chicago Tribune. He is an advocate for Disabled authors.
RK Taylor is a writer and social worker based in Pittsburgh, PA. He earned his MFA from Chatham University, and his work has appeared in Scribble, Flash Fiction Online, Origami Poems Project, among others. He co-edited an anthology entitled Recasting Masculinity (2020) and he co-hosts Deep in the D-Pad, a podcast exploring videogames through an intellectual lens.
Joyce Hayden is a former College English professor. She left her teaching position to pursue art and writing. She completed a memoir titled The Out of Body Girl, which chronicles her years with Dissociation and domestic violence.
Heidi Seaborn is Executive Editor of The Adroit Journal and author of PANK Poetry Prize winner An Insomniac’s Slumber Party with Marilyn Monroe, the acclaimed debut Give a Girl Chaos and Comstock Chapbook Award-winning Bite Marks. Recent work in Beloit Poetry Journal, Copper Nickel, Cortland Review, Diode, Financial Times of London, The Missouri Review, The Offing, The Slowdown and the Washington Post. Heidi holds an MFA from NYU.
Lynn Magill lives in Western Washington with deep Iowa roots that influence many aspects of her writing and visual art. She holds a master's degree in Professional and Creative Writing from Central Washington University has been published by McFarland and Sons, Thin Air Review, and Meat for Tea, among others. You can usually find her anywhere there are animals (especially dogs) or a lack of cell phone service - and ideally both.
Christina Hoag, a former journalist and foreign correspondent, has written for Time, Business Week, New York Times, Financial Times, among other media. She is the author of YA novel Girl on the Brink, which was inspired by her own experience in an abusive relationship. She is a volunteer facilitator at a domestic violence support group and speaks about abusive relationships.