Dec 14, 2020
My guest today is Gail Hovey. Gail is
an inspiring author, editor, and activist who I recently met when
she was invited to my book group. We had just read her newly
published memoir: “She Said God Blessed Us: A Life Marked by
Childhood Sexual Abuse in the Church” and we were thrilled to get
to know the author. What a beautifully written memoir that sheds
light on a largely invisible issue of sexual abuse by women.
Georgia, a seminary-trained Christian Education Director was
brilliant, charismatic and used the language of faith to seduce 16
year-old Gail and other teenage girls in the church. Nearly a 40
year process, Gail found the language to understand what happened
to her, the courage to express her experience and finally put in
writing the impact her relationship with Georgia had over her.
Gail understands the importance of truth telling not just through
her personal memoir, but what a crucial time it is in our country,
in the world, for us to be telling the truth, facing the truth and
taking responsibility for the truth, individually and collectively.
Gail’s story poignantly embodies the more accurate, complicated,
nuanced layers of life, of trauma, of sexuality, of love. She
breaks through the false narratives of dichotomous thinking,
demonstrating that our experiences are not one-dimensional:
either/or; gay/straight; male/female; right/wrong. Gail’s life
provides a rich history, from the 1950’s of the perceptions around
religion, sexuality, feminism, activism, race, culture, the healing
power of therapy and writing.
Check out these links for Gail’s website www.hoveygail.com and to order her
book online, if you are
not able to purchase it at your local, independent bookstore. Enjoy
the podcast and I encourage you to read her book!
Have you heard? We launched a fundraiser! Tarik Greene and Toney
Earl, Jr. co-founded MADE, a grassroots organization to address the
needs of formerly incarcerated people. MADE stands for Making A
Difference Everyday. Our bass playing daughter, her drummer husband
and a circle of their talented musician friends recorded an album
last year, thanks to the generosity of Matt and Margaret
Balitsaris, to raise money for Tarik and Toney’s
program. Please join us in making a difference for an easily
forgotten, marginalized group of people.
We’re happy to announce that along with the digital downloads that
are available at TheMadeProject.BandCamp.com,
MADE Transitions is offering physical CDs for
purchase. The CDs contain
3 additional bonus tracks not available at TheMadeProject.BandCamp.com.
Thanks for your continued support.
Links:
Gail's web
site
Indie Bound
Books
The MADE Project/GLOW
album:
themadeproject.bandcamp.com
(Digital Downloads)
GLOW Music Videos/YouTube
channel
M.A.D.E.
Transitions (Glow CD
orders)