Recognize Our Power

About Recognize Our Power

Recognize Our Power is designed to provide a platform for sexual assault survivors to come together for strength, community, and to inspire each other. My goal is to give survivors a place to listen to women who have owned their own stories and been able to use writing as a part of their healing journey.

Publisher

Kelly Wallace

Category

arts · education · health & fitness

Language

en

Explicit

Yes

First episode

8 May 2023

Latest episode

24 Jul 2023

Latest episodes

11 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   24 Jul 2023

   Jeannine Oulette - Healing Power of Creative Non-Fiction

   About Jeannine Ouellette: Her memoir, The Part That Burns, shatters the silence on childhood sexual abuse and its long aftermath while celebrating the author's ultimate reclamation of her own humanity in all its wildness. The Part That Burns (https://www.splitlippress.com/the-part-that-burns) was a 2021 Kirkus Best 100 Indie Book and a finalist for the Next Generation Indie Book Award. In women's literature she’s received starred reviews from Kirkus and Publishers Weekly. Oullette's essays and fiction appear widely in literary journals including Los Angeles Review of Books, Narrative, Master's Review, North American Review, and more, as well as in her popular Writing in the Dark newsletter. She teaches writing at the University of Minnesota and through the Minnesota Prison Writing Workshop, Catapult and Elephant Rock, a creative writing program, she founded in 2012. She's working on her first novel. Find her online at jeannineoullette.com (jeannineoullette.com). Episode 10: During this episode, we talked about Jeannine’s growing up years and the craft perspective of writing her memoir The Part That Burns (https://www.splitlippress.com/the-part-that-burns). Her material weaves in Jimmy Carter’s inauguration, the botany of the tumbleweed, and jackalopes to serve as metaphor. We discussed her healing including therapy which was helpful and how going to support groups for child sexual abuse groups when her trauma re-surfaced was not what she needed at that time. She worked with Dorothy Allison at Tin House (https://tinhouse.com) Summer Writing Workshop and realized she had a book on her hands. We talked about James Pennebaker’s social psychology work using dialogue, turning scene material over and examining it from a variety of different directions. She reviewed how making something beautiful out of bad things alters you. We talked about how she found an indie press publisher for The Part That Burns using less is more techniques when writing about childhood sexual abuse and how traditional publishers shied away from her writing because of the harm done to a child. We discussed how her ten-year career as a Waldorf teacher influenced her new novel that she is currently at work on. She also touched on how memory is fallible when writing memoir. We revealed how writing material can be tough on our bodies and relationships can sometimes be fractured as a result. Topics discussed: Child Sexual abuse Using literary devices in writing Tin House Literary Workshop Yoga Meditation Low Residency MFA program Links: The Part That Burns - https://www.splitlippress.com/the-part-that-burns (https://www.splitlippress.com/the-part-that-burns) The Courage to Heal - https://www.ellenbass.com/books/the-courage-to-heal/ (https://www.ellenbass.com/books/the-courage-to-heal/) Bastard Out of Carolina (https://www.powells.com/book/-9780452297753/2-6?gclid=Cj0KCQjwk96lBhDHARIsAEKO4xbKp6ta9d6fZ26kjEGP6GYvgyXZcZi2SA-ircC3SuOdV-1yyRDg2F0aAnv1EALw_wcB) - Tin House- https://tinhouse.com (https://tinhouse.com) James Pennebaker - https://liberalarts.utexas.edu/psychology/faculty/pennebak (https://liberalarts.utexas.edu/psychology/faculty/pennebak) Connect with Jeannine: Website: https://www.jeannineouellette.com (https://www.jeannineouellette.com) Twitter: @_elephantrock Instagram:...

2. 

   17 Jul 2023

   Laura Davis - From Trauma to Triumph: The Transformative Power of Memoir Writing

   Laura Davis is the author of The Burning Light of Two Stars (https://lauradavis.net/the-burning-light-of-two-stars/#order), winner of the Book Life Prize for Best Memoir of 2021, The Courage to Heal, and four other groundbreaking books. In addition to writing books that inspire, the work of Laura's heart is to teach. For more than 20 years, she's helped people find their voices, tell their stories, and hone their craft. Laura has been published in Publishers Weekly, Writers Digest, Crime Breeds, Brevity, and the New York Times, featured in the Los Angeles Review of Books, and has been an engaging guest on Queerty, Right Minded, The Only One in the Room, and dozens of other podcasts. Laura and I chatted about her experience growing up Jewish in New Jersey in the 60’s and 70’s and how her progressive background allowed her creativity to flourish. We talked about how Laura had a twin sister who passed away at birth and how the trauma of not being touched as a baby, isolated away in a bassinet for six weeks, formed who she is as a person. Laura is an incest survivor who blocked out memories of abuse until she was twenty-seven years old. We discussed her time growing up with a mother who expected the world (and Laura!) to revolve around her. Laura spent ten years working on a memoir about her relationship with her mother who she was estranged from for a long time. Today Laura has recovered so much from her trauma that she feels she doesn’t identify as strongly as a survivor. She works from a place of grounding and healing. We reviewed how taking the time to write a memoir about reuniting with her mother after decades of living on opposite coasts was a part of her healing journey. Topics touched on: Reconciliation Incest Writing through trauma Buy Laura’s book, The Burning Light of Two Stars: https://lauradavis.net/the-burning-light-of-two-stars/#order (https://lauradavis.net/the-burning-light-of-two-stars/#order) Connect with Laura https://lauradavis.net (https://lauradavis.net) Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thewritersjourney (https://www.facebook.com/thewritersjourney) Instagram: @laurasaridavis Twitter: laurasaridavis

3. 

   10 Jul 2023

   Katherine Standefer - Nature’s Healing Touch: How it Helps Overcome Assault Trauma

   Katherine Standefer, author of Lightning Flowers (https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/katherine-e-standefer/lightning-flowers/9780316450355/), My Journey to Uncover the Cost of Saving a Life and Skin Hunger: A Sexual Reckoning. Standefer has published work in The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The High Country News, Virginia Quarterly Review, The Rumpus, New England Review, The Iowa Review, Kenyon Review Online, The Colorado Review, Cutbank, and many other literary journals, as well as the anthologies Beautiful Flesh: A Body of Essays (ed. Stephanie G’Schwind) and How We Speak to One Another: An Essay Daily Reader (ed. Ander Monson and Craig Reinbold). http://www.katherinestandefer.com (http://www.katherinestandefer.com) We discussed Katherine’s growing up years in a traditional “white bread” community and abstinence culture upbringing heart arrhythmia, healthcare discrimination and move from Wyoming to Colorado after she discovered her condition to seek care. We talked about her switch from poetry to non-fiction and trauma from her heart condition as well as the various ways she has healed. Katherine overcame a sexual assault at twenty-two and we spoke about how Wyoming, writing through her “non-fiction impulse,” and how going to other countries to see where the parts of her cardiac difibulator came from helped her heal her medical trauma . We chatted about the follow-up book she is currently working on where she explores her sex assault, purity culture and her employment at an abortion healthcare center. Katherine is a trauma writing doula who helps people write through their trauma in an embodied way. Topics Discussed Medical trauma Affordable care act New Mexico Wyoming Medical debt Abortion care Embodied trauma recovery Somatic healing Writing through trauma Fight or flight response Acupunture Qui Gong EMDR Links Katherine socials Twitter @girlmakesfire Instagram @girlmakesfire Facebook https://www.facebook.com/KatherineEStandefer (https://www.facebook.com/KatherineEStandefer) Lightning Flowers: https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/katherine-e-standefer/lightning-flowers/9780316450355/ (https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/katherine-e-standefer/lightning-flowers/9780316450355/) Arizona Trauma Institute https://aztrauma.org (https://aztrauma.org)

4. 

   26 Jun 2023

   Sierra Scott - Unleashing the Impact: How Non-Profit Writing Empowers You to Change Lives

   Sierra Scott (https://www.sierracreatives.com/) is a survivor and the senior content writer and strategist for the nation’s largest anti-sexual violence organization, The Rape Abuse Incest National Network aka R.A.I.N.N (https://www.rainn.org). She has published film summaries for R.A.I.N.N. on Luckiest Girl Alive (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luckiest_Girl_Alive_(film)#:~:text=Luckiest%20Girl%20Alive%20is%20a,Jennifer%20Beals%2C%20and%20Connie%20Britton) on Netflix (https://www.netflix.com/title/80992607) and Leave No Trace (https://tribecafilm.com/films/leave-no-trace-2022 ) on Hulu and works a part-time position as an Impact Production Coordinator with A Measure of Light (https://liseking.photoshelter.com/index). She is also a Volunteer Editor for the International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims (https://irct.org) and directly edits research papers submitted to the Torture Journal. We discussed her work with R.A.I.N.N., on the movie Luckiest Girl Alive and Leave No Trace. We talked about her volunteer work as editor for the International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims. Sierra spoke extensively about the self-care tips and tricks from her work with RAINN including, grounding, body building, redefining beauty and tea! Additionally, Sierra spoke from lived experience about include more conversations around diversity within the sexual assault sphere. Discussed on the show: R.A.I.N.N.: https://www.rainn.org (https://www.rainn.org) Luckiest Girl Alive (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luckiest_Girl_Alive_(film)#:~:text=Luckiest%20Girl%20Alive%20is%20a,Jennifer%20Beals%2C%20and%20Connie%20Britton) on Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/title/80992607 (https://www.netflix.com/title/80992607) Leave No Trace on Hulu: https://tribecafilm.com/films/leave-no-trace-2022 (https://tribecafilm.com/films/leave-no-trace-2022 ) Boy Scouts cases/Nigel Jacquiss/Willamette Week: https://www.wweek.com/news/2022/06/15/how-portland-filmmakers-discovered-sexual-abuse-unchecked-in-the-boy-scouts-of-america/ (https://www.wweek.com/news/2022/06/15/how-portland-filmmakers-discovered-sexual-abuse-unchecked-in-the-boy-scouts-of-america/) A Measure of Light (https://liseking.photoshelter.com/index) International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims https://irct.org (https://irct.org) International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims / Torture Journal: https://irct.org/torture-journal/ Bus Boys and Poets https://www.busboysandpoets.com (https://www.busboysandpoets.com) Survivor Summit on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL65r3fITJd8iwAwi3TbTmjRZzWTVw2z8-) R.A.I.N.N. Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/RAINN01 (https://www.facebook.com/RAINN01) R.A.I.N.N. News: https://www.rainn.org/news (https://www.rainn.org/news) Public Policy at R.A.I.N.N: <a href="https://www.rainn.org/public-policy-action"...

5. 

   19 Jun 2023

   Winnie Li - Breaking the Silence: How Fiction Empowers Survivors to Reclaim Their Stories of Resilience.

   Winnie M Lee is an author and activist who has worked in the creative industries over three continents. She is Taiwanese-American and raised in New Jersey. Lee studied folklore and mythology at Harvard and later Irish literature as a George Mitchell scholar. Her debut novel, Dark Chapter (http://www.polisbooks.com/books/dark-chapter/), a fictional retelling of her real-life stranger rape in Belfast. It's written from both victim and perpetrator perspectives. Her second novel, Complicit came out in summer 2022 and the paperback version will be released on June 20, 2023. We discussed the impact that her own violent sexual assault in Belfast when she was in her late 20’s had on her as well as the ways that writing Dark Chapter helped her move beyond the experience. We chatted about the way that her assault worked its way through the criminal justice system in Northern Ireland, experience fictionalizing her perpetrators life and testimony in court. Winnie will be on a northeastern US book tour for Complicit from June 20-20, 2023. Discussed on the show: Complicit Northeastern US book tour June 20-29, 2023: https://www.winniemli.com/ (https://www.winniemli.com/) Purchase Complicit: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Complicit/Winnie-M-Li/9781982190842 (https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Complicit/Winnie-M-Li/9781982190842) Purchase Dark Chapter: http://www.polisbooks.com/books/dark-chapter/ (http://www.polisbooks.com/books/dark-chapter/) Connect with Winnie: Website: https://www.winniemli.com (https://www.winniemli.com) Instagram: @winniemli Twitter: @winniemli

6. 

   12 Jun 2023

   Cathy Linh Che - Power of Poetry to Mend Assault Wound

   Cathy Linh Che (https://www.cathylinhche.com) is a Vietnamese American writer and multidisciplinary artist. On this episode we discuss her book, Split (Alice James Books). She is winner of the Kundiman Poetry Prize, the Norma Farber First Book Award from the Poetry Society of America, and the Best Poetry Book Award from the Association of Asian American Studies, the co-author, with Kyle Lucia Wu, of the children’s book An Asian American A to Z: a Children’s Guide to Our History (Haymarket Books), which will be published in May 2023, and the chaplet Zombie Apocalypse Now: The Walking Dead (Belladonna*). We chat about the impact that sexual assault has had on her family and work as well as the healing she has undertaken to work through her trauma. Discussed on the show: Split by Cathy Linh Che: https://www.alicejamesbooks.org/bookstore/split (https://www.alicejamesbooks.org/bookstore/split) Kundiman.org: http://www.kundiman.org (http://www.kundiman.org) Kundiman retreat: http://www.kundiman.org/retreat (http://www.kundiman.org/retreat) Kundiman classes: http://www.kundiman.org/online-classes (http://www.kundiman.org/online-classes) The Body Keeps the Score: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/313183/the-body-keeps-the-score-by-bessel-van-der-kolk-md/ (https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/313183/the-body-keeps-the-score-by-bessel-van-der-kolk-md/) A is for Asian American by Cathy Linh Che &amp;amp; Kyle Lucia Wu: https://www.powells.com/book/ (https://www.powells.com/book/-9781642599459/1-0?gclid=CjwKCAjwIWkBhBTEiwA2exyO8CCWHHLnMGrKqJLj3WxglNJJ0yikpynamX9HRep48lD7UFJQo2nYRoCv0UQAvD_BwE) Connect with Cathy: Website: https://www.cathylinhche.com (https://www.cathylinhche.com) Twitter: https://twitter.com/cathylinhche (https://twitter.com/cathylinhche) Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cathylinhche/ (https://www.instagram.com/cathylinhche/)

7. 

   5 Jun 2023

   Jo Lauren - Healing the Unthinkable: The Power of Overcoming Incest Trauma

   Josephine A. Lauren is a writer, activist, and the Community Organizer of Incest AWARE. They offer offer writing workshops, as well as trainings. During our conversation, we explore the incest that occurred in Josephine’s family and challenges reporting the sexual assault as well as her attempts to dismantle the harm that took place. We explore how incest has been left out of the conversation surrounding the #metoo movement as well as government and business institutions. Josephine touches on the healing she has done in the neurological, physiological, psychological, and spiritual capacities. She started blogging about her experience and slowly began publishing on major platforms like Ms. And Elite Daily. We chat about personal narrative and the micro/macro of writing memoir. She has been at work on a memoir and during the podcast they talk about writing through trauma and the bodies response. Josephine has been published in Just Femme and Dandy, America, Brave Miss World, Ms., and Survivor Lit. She has been a guest on the Brave and Unbroken, Feelings Friday Radio Show, Beyond The Vision, Leading People First, Releasing Trauma: A Survivors Podcast, The Trauma Therapist, and Together We Thrive podcasts. Discussed on the podcast: IncestAware - https://www.incestaware.org (https://www.incestaware.org) The Courage to Heal by Laura Davis - https://www.bookshopsantacruz.com/book/9780061284335 (https://www.bookshopsantacruz.com/book/9780061284335) Sexual Assault Advocacy Network, S A A N. - https://www.saancommunity.org (https://www.saancommunity.org) Lead From the Outside: How to Build Your Future and Make Real Change by Stacey Abrams - https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250214805/leadfromtheoutside (https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250214805/leadfromtheoutside) The Familia Grande by Camille Kouchner - https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/692468/the-familia-grande-by-camille-kouchner/ (https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/692468/the-familia-grande-by-camille-kouchner/) Connection with Josephine: https://www.josephineanne.com (https://www.josephineanne.com) https://twitter.com/jo_anne_lauren (https://twitter.com/jo_anne_lauren)

8. 

   29 May 2023

   Deidre Olsen - Empowerment through Sexuality and Writing

   Deidre Olsen, writer Award-nominated writer and filmmaker. Deidre Olsen is a Canadian award-nominated writer based in Berlin. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Cut, NBC News, Salon, Vice, Maclean’s. Shondaland, Narratively and more than 50 publications. As a young child, Deidre was a victim of child sexual abuse by a babysitter. In this episode we talked about how her parents were able to spot the signs of sexual abuse and reported it to the police. She went through the Canadian legal system and unfortunately her perpetrator was able to get away and escape justice. A victim of multiple sexual assaults, we discussed how this impacted her mental help, decision to move away from British Columbia to Toronto and eventually onto Berlin. She used alcohol as a coping mechanism and eventually was able to get mental health assistance and a borderline personality diagnosis. We examine how BPD diagnosis and recovery from alcoholism has affected her life, and how work on her memoir in progress has helped her connect with her trauma in a way that therapy couldn’t. As survivors with tremendous access to legal documents, Deidre and I reflect on the mental toll that sifting through these documents takes on survivors. Today, she is living in Berlin and happily married to her partner Paula. Deidre uses They/She pronouns. Links: Website: https://www.deidreolsen.com (https://www.deidreolsen.com) Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/deidreolsen (https://www.instagram.com/deidreolsen) Articles: Living ‘Out Loud and Proud’ in Berlin https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/03/style/paula-sapion-miranda-deidre-olsen- (https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/03/style/paula-sapion-miranda-deidre-olsen-wedding.html) wedding.html (https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/03/style/paula-sapion-miranda-deidre-olsen-wedding.html) Being Sexually Abused, I Let Myself Deteriorate 2017 https://www.thecut.com/2017/11/self-neglect-as-a-coping-mechanism-after-sexual-trauma.html (https://www.thecut.com/2017/11/self-neglect-as-a-coping-mechanism-after-sexual-trauma.html) I've been sober for 3 years – an app has been key to my recovery (https://metro.co.uk/2023/02/12/ive-been-sober-for-3-years-an-app-has-been-key-to-my-recovery-18260426/) Feb 12, 2023 metro.co.uk (metro.co.uk) Looking Through Childhood Diary Confirmed I Always Knew I Was Gay (https://www.insider.com/childhood-diary-confirmed-i-always-knew-i-was-gay-2022-7) Jul 28, 2022 insider.com (insider.com) Why I Married My Platonic Best Friend (https://www.shondaland.com/live/family/a36098765/why-i-married-my-platonic-best-friend/) Apr 13, 2021 shondaland.com (shondaland.com)

9. 

   22 May 2023

   Power Over Child Sex Trafficking with Gloria Masters

   Gloria Masters: Founder at Handing the Shame Back Gloria survived being sex trafficked by her own family in Auckland, New Zealand and overcame horrific abuse in the 60’s and 70’s. We talk through her experience of being attacked and DARVO-ed by her family. She has worked through her trauma through therapy and now her life’s work is to help other survivors through her foundation, Handing the Shame Back. Survivor, Author and Advocate of all things CSA, Gloria speaks from 16 years of lived experience. She has managed to turn the final corner of healing into giving back, through highlighting the issue of child sexual abuse to bring attention to this silent endemic. Gloria has written two books, On Angels Wings – My flight from trauma to grace (https://gloriamasters.com/product/on-angels-wings-my-flight-from-trauma-to-grace/) and Flightpath to Healing – A Guide for Child Sexual Abuse (CSA) Survivors (https://gloriamasters.com/product/flightpath-to-healing/) . During this podcast we highlight what it was like to write her books, how she launched her podcast Handing the Shame Back where she interviews survivors and their supporters. Today she has found healing through talking others, writing and exercise. Facebook: Author. Speaker. Advocate For Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse https://www.facebook.com/Gloria.Masters.Com16 (https://www.facebook.com/Gloria.Masters.Com16) https://www.handingtheshameback.org (https://www.handingtheshameback.org) https://gloriamasters.com (https://gloriamasters.com) Books: Flight Path to Healing, A Guide for Child Sexual Abuse On Angels Wings: My Flight from Trauma to Grace https://gloriamasters.com/shop/ (https://gloriamasters.com/shop/) #CSA

10. 

    15 May 2023

    Power Over Hollywood with Rowena Chiu

    On this episode of Recognize Our Power (https://recognizeourpower.com), I’m delighted to be in conversation with Rowena Chiu. She is a former assistant to Harvey Weinstein and went to work for him at Miramax in 1998. At that time Miramax was at the zenith of its power. It was producing Shakespeare In Love in the United Kingdom. It would go on to win an Oscar for Best Picture for Shakespeare and Love. Within that similar era, titles like the English Patient, cider House Rules, talented Mr. Ripley, were really creating great waves in the film industry, both in the UK and the us In 1998, after he sexually assaulted her at the Venice Film Festival, she was forced to accept a settlement and sign a non-disclosure agreement. In 2017, she featured anonymously in the New York Times investigation that ignited the #MeToo movement. In 2019, she went public with her story and was featured in Jodi Cantor and Megan Twohey’s book, She Said (https://www.shesaidthebook.com) now a major motion picture. Since leaving the film industry, Rowena has worked internationally in management consulting and for companies including Accenture, PWC, McKenzie, and the World Bank. She holds an MA from Oxford and an Master's of Science from the University of London, and an MA from London Business School. She lives in Silicon Valley with her husband and four children. Links: Website: https://rowenachiu.com (https://rowenachiu.com/) Twitter: https://twitter.com/rowena_chiu (https://twitter.com/rowena_chiu) New York Times Opinion: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/05/opinion/sunday/harvey-weinstein-rowena-chiu.html (https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/05/opinion/sunday/harvey-weinstein-rowena-chiu.html)

11. 

    8 May 2023

    Recognize Our Power-Introduction

    Introducing Recognize Our Power with Kelly Wallace! I’m Kelly Wallace, writer, speaker and activist. I testified against my paternal grandfather in court in 1985 when I was just eight years old. I overcame childhood sexual abuse to help others like the 1 in 4 women and 1 in 6 men that are affected by sexual assault in the US. This podcast will introduce you to other survivors like myself who have harnessed their power to help others. We’ll do a deep dive each week to hear how they have learned to survive and thrive through adversity. The first episode drops on Monday May 15. Before you forget, follow Recognize Our Power so you’ll get every show as soon as it’s released. Listen to and follow for free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. For more information about the podcast please check out www.recognizeourpower.com (http://www.recognizeourpower.com/) also on Instagram and Tiktok @recognizeourpower

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