What 5 words describe you best?
shy, sensitive, introvert, Christian, survivor
What made you want to be a writer?
I have wanted to be a writer since I was a child. But I believed it that it was just a dream that would never come true.
As a child, I wanted to write novels and short stories. But I never could write in that genre very well. Several years ago, I started writing about my love of God and about God’s presence in my life and I knew I had found my niche. And I discovered that others actually liked what I wrote!
So writing is a gift and I believe that God has led me to the kind of writing He wants from me.
Tell us about your book The Third Floor Window
The Third Floor Window is the story of my journey of healing from child sexual abuse. As a child, I would often look out the third floor window of my bedroom at the world outside, wishing for a different world inside.
I thought I had dealt with my past once and for all. Then the clergy sexual abuse crisis in the Catholic Church hit the news and it triggered a lot of memories and buried emotions. And I was so devastated by the attitude of many people who were more concerned about defending the Church then they were in helping the victims.
So I decided I needed to write my story in order to teach others about the long term effects of child sexual abuse. What I discovered along the way was healing and hope.
Your book carries an important message. Was it hard writing about your own experience?
Reaching back into my childhood and telling my story was painful and yet, at the same time, it was healing. When the book was published, I felt freer than I had felt in a long time. Each time I tell my story, I let go of the pain a little more and I feel my burden lighten. The more I tell my story, the more I heal.
Where can people find out more about you and your book?
People can read more about the book at my website and blogs:
http://www.thethirdfloorwindow.com
http://thethirdfloorwindow.blogspot.com
http://colleenspiro.blogspot.com
The book can also be purchased through major online bookstores such as Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com and my publisher, Booklocker.com.
Can you indicate a few good places to turn to for others suffering with sexual abuse?
My website lists some links for survivors including forums and blogs. After the Silence (www.aftersilence.org) is one such forum. Also, going to a support group is one of the best things I ever did for myself. It is helpful to know we are not alone. Communicating and sharing with other survivors has been very healing for me.
Anything else you'd like to add?
This book is also good for survivors’ families and friends, as well as people who have had to carry a heavy cross of any kind. My book is about hope and how God has helped me carry my own cross.
shy, sensitive, introvert, Christian, survivor
What made you want to be a writer?
I have wanted to be a writer since I was a child. But I believed it that it was just a dream that would never come true.
As a child, I wanted to write novels and short stories. But I never could write in that genre very well. Several years ago, I started writing about my love of God and about God’s presence in my life and I knew I had found my niche. And I discovered that others actually liked what I wrote!
So writing is a gift and I believe that God has led me to the kind of writing He wants from me.
Tell us about your book The Third Floor Window
The Third Floor Window is the story of my journey of healing from child sexual abuse. As a child, I would often look out the third floor window of my bedroom at the world outside, wishing for a different world inside.
I thought I had dealt with my past once and for all. Then the clergy sexual abuse crisis in the Catholic Church hit the news and it triggered a lot of memories and buried emotions. And I was so devastated by the attitude of many people who were more concerned about defending the Church then they were in helping the victims.
So I decided I needed to write my story in order to teach others about the long term effects of child sexual abuse. What I discovered along the way was healing and hope.
Your book carries an important message. Was it hard writing about your own experience?
Reaching back into my childhood and telling my story was painful and yet, at the same time, it was healing. When the book was published, I felt freer than I had felt in a long time. Each time I tell my story, I let go of the pain a little more and I feel my burden lighten. The more I tell my story, the more I heal.
Where can people find out more about you and your book?
People can read more about the book at my website and blogs:
http://www.thethirdfloorwindow.com
http://thethirdfloorwindow.blogspot.com
http://colleenspiro.blogspot.com
The book can also be purchased through major online bookstores such as Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com and my publisher, Booklocker.com.
Can you indicate a few good places to turn to for others suffering with sexual abuse?
My website lists some links for survivors including forums and blogs. After the Silence (www.aftersilence.org) is one such forum. Also, going to a support group is one of the best things I ever did for myself. It is helpful to know we are not alone. Communicating and sharing with other survivors has been very healing for me.
Anything else you'd like to add?
This book is also good for survivors’ families and friends, as well as people who have had to carry a heavy cross of any kind. My book is about hope and how God has helped me carry my own cross.
1 Comments
Through her faith in God, Colleen does offer hope to other survivors. Thanks to both of you for doing this interview.
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