Survivors News and Reviews

Patricia posted today about her 4th anniversary of blogging, and included a link to a recent radio show she was part of with other survivors/bloggers. If you’ve been around here any time at all, of course, you know the title of the show sparked my interest. I first started a website, those many years ago, on the topic of being a survivor for exactly that reason, to let folks know that we aren’t alone.

It’s quite an interesting discussion, I highly suggest checking it out yourself:

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/conversationslive/2011/06/01/cyrus-webb-presents-you-are-not-alone

Kate1975 has the latest edition, and at first glance, it seems like there are a lot of entries this month! Looking forward to reading them and getting some great insight from fellow survivors.

I had meant to not only mention this novel by Tara Overzat, but also pick up a copy of the eBook when it was released in the early part of April. Of course, that was also right when I was moving, and starting a new job, so here it is May 12, and Tara sending me a message on Facebook finally reminded me about the book!

So, if you’re interested in reading a novel written by a survivor, about being a survivor go check out Tara’s site where you can also read an excerpt, or watch Tara read the excerpt. Here’s the synopsis of the novel, it definitely sounds like something a few people can relate to!

Marla Conroy finds herself an adult, depressed and full of regret. She starts writing a letter to a person from her past and finds that she can’t stop. As she talks about her childhood and her teenage years, a story unfolds that not even she fully comprehends. Marla’s mother is pathologically focused on winning back Marla’s father, a troubled alcoholic with a charming façade, and uses the trust and love of the people around her to this end. Marla, however, wants nothing to do with her father and finds herself caught in the middle of her neglectful mother’s plans.

If you happen to order a copy and get it read before me, feel free to stop by and share your review!

Neil Morrissey is a successful English TV and theatre actor firstly known for the sitcom Men Behaving Badly in the 1990s which transferred across two British network TV channels from Independent television (ITV) to the BBC, and more recently the BBC School drama series Waterloo Road and the voice of children’s character Bob The Builder. Morrissey and one elder brother were taken into social/foster care at 12 and 14 respectively, at the same time but remained separately housed until aging out of the system. Alongside their removal a third of the four brothers was also separately put in care for a shorter stay.

The first part of his journey to examine the years spent in social care form the two-part documentary Neil Morrissey: Care Home Kid, was shown last Monday, and the second part is transmitted tomorrow, Thursday 31st March, BBC2, 9pm. In the UK you can view both parts of the series on the BBC Iplayer until a week tomorrow, Thursday 7th April, deadline 10pm but since both parts last an hour the real deadline is 7.59pm on the 7th to stream all of it.

The review will follow when both parts have been transmitted and the 2nd episode covers life immediately after leaving care as an adult, but it just goes to show that only someone who been through the foster care system in any country is qualified to talk about it – in conjunction with any abuse suffered, which is openly discussed by other care home residents from Morrissey’s time there. In the days before Child Abuse Awareness Month begins in America, the BBC has delivered the perfect beginning to it. If it hits Youtube or BBC America, look out for it and we’ll try to signpost any repeats on TV which should trigger another seven-day streaming opportunity online.

The UK iPlayer link is here. If you can’t go direct to the link and a repeat has been shown then head to the iPlayer’s front page and search on the name of the actor to find the show.

- CBG

I was away from the internet the past few days, so I’m just now getting around to pointing you all to this month’s Blog Carnival Against Child Abuse.

From my brief glance at it today, it appears there are a few folks in this month’s edition that I am not familiar with. I’m looking forward to getting a chance to read their contributions and getting familiar with them as bloggers once my life gets settled into the new job and new location!

I know I haven’t been writing much this month, it’s been a very, very busy month! However, if you’re looking for some good stuff from other survivors, there’s no better place to start than this month’s edition of the Blog Carnival Against Child Abuse!

Check it out, and consider submitting your own posts in future editions!

Spoiler Warning: This is a current-season episode, and half the plot is discussed below.

The opening of the episode will show any C/SA victim that the episode is about male rape with the showing of a textbook reaction. The other indication is that unlike most CSI cases, this victim isn’t dead, and the textbook reactions to a rape continue to be described as the first case progresses.

Later on the traditional second case of murder, begins overlapping with the earlier assault. There’s a general “teach the audience” section regarding male rape which includes the potential for the police joking about the victim, which isn’t overly cynical. After the episode almost turns into Pulp Fiction as the CSIs work to find the guilty person involved in the other crime as multiple suspects pile up, the ending is open and realistic, rather than getting wrapped up in a bow to satisfy the audience.

In short, following on from “Satellites” at the end of Without A Trace’s penultimate season, this is another Bruckheimer TV drama whose creators are conscious of its worldwide reach as a high-rated American cop show. It also escapes the cliché of the first season episode “Blood Drops” which featured incest in its B-plot. Adult-on-adult sexual assaults have not been handled with this much intelligence on American television since Oz and the writer Jacqueline Hoyt deserves credit for this (Anthony Zuiker’s credit is purely exective according to IMDB).

CSI now seems aware of its global reach and it’s good that there are more hits than misses in the ten years the show has been running. Having premiered in November 2009, American viewers should be able to catch the re-run very soon, whilst UK viewers should have two more chances to watch it before the week ending 21st February – search for the Five USA digital DVB/Freeview listings on www.tvguide.co.uk .

- CBG

Robert Brown’s blog isn’t new, but is very well designed and features some extra video footage, re-activated from when the webmaster met and worked with Mike Lew, author of male abuse survival bible Victims No Longer.

You can find his blog here.

- CBG

In honor of World Day for the Prevention of Child Abuse, Marj set today as the day for this month’s blog carnival, and got an overwhelming response! I even managed to get something submitted that I wrote earlier in the month, in spite of how busy I’ve been.

As always, go check it out and find some good folks who also happen to be survivors!

As reported over at American Malesurvivor.org, Male Russian survivors of CSA organised a meeting recently. One of the contributors to survivorsresource.com also reported that there is a forum there for anyone to post, which is still in its infancy. However like the UK and Australia-based male self-help websites, being survivor led in Russian/Ukraine/Eastern Europe itself, is the best way forward for people from that region.

It’s a Russian-only website despite the anglicised title, so if you’re from that region, take a look at the site and see what it has to offer.

The link is here.

- CBG