Catherine Wyatt-Morley is the founder, chief executive
officer and heartbeat of Women On Maintaining Education and
Nutrition, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit social service organization for the
at-risk and HIV-positive community. In 1994, Wyatt-Morley founded Women On
Reasons To Heal (W.O.R.T.H.), the first and what has become the oldest
HIV-positive women’s support group in Middle Tennessee.
Wyatt-Morley
has appeared in countless media outlets nationwide, including SELF Magazine,
the Today Show, A&U Magazine, POZ Magazine, CNN, Voices of America, MSNBC,
Talk America Radio, FX Radio, SiriusXM Satellite Radio, the Palm Beach Post,
the Indianapolis Indiana Recorder, the Los Angeles Times, the Canadian Sun,
Nashville Scene, and the Tennessean.
Jalyon Welsh-Cole has been director
of Women On Maintaining Education and
Nutrition, a 501(c) (3) nonprofit social service organization, since 2010.
Welsh-Cole began writing when she was very young, starting with short stories
and poems. As a teen, she was inspired to draw, finding comfort and creativity
in her art. She joined forces with Wyatt-Morley to share her story in I AM THE PRODUCT OF RAPE – A MEMOIR. Together,
they also have created #HealingSecretHurts workshops,
which bring the spectrum of traumatizing sexual assault into the light.
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BOOK BLURB:
The phrase “secrets and lies” takes on
terrible new meaning in Catherine Wyatt-Morley’s devastating book, I AM THE PRODUCT OF RAPE – A MEMOIR.
Wyatt-Morley’s shocking story traces the repeated patterns of rape
and incest that plagued four generations of her family, including
Wyatt-Morley’s birth in a filthy basement to her 12-year-old mother, who was
sexually abused by her step-father.
“…In the process of writing
this book, an extremely difficult journey that has taken years, I was taken to
unfamiliar destinations and exposed to unfathomable pain,” Wyatt-Morley relates.
“Part of that pain was learning that I was created through the atrocities of
incest by a brutally manipulative monster and, while only moments old, (I was) denied
by a heartless grandmother who never bothered to look at me.”
Wyatt-Morley wrote I AM THE
PRODUCT OF RAPE – A MEMOIR, she says, “as my way of dealing with my
personal healing. But through conversations with many diverse women, I quickly
began seeing I was not alone. So many had never told anyone of the abuse that
has happened to them; yet they have a need to heal, to not feel isolated.”
Wyatt-Morley’s daughter, Jalyon
Welsh-Cole, also suffered the terrible legacy of her family when she was abused
by her eldest brother. She wrote the epilogue to I AM THE PRODUCT OF RAPE – A MEMOIR, an essay she called
BURNING HOUSE, in response to the
continued pattern of abuse that formed her familial legacy.
“Most of my family members
who have learned of this are dealing with it as well as one can,” Welsh-Cole
says. “However, others are still in disbelief and struggle to understand. For
over two decades I kept this heinous secret to myself. I have had time to bury
it, cry over it, and finally seek therapy and come to grips with it.”
Welsh-Cole’s mother’s story
“made me feel as if our bloodline was full of secrets and lies that I wanted to
expose,” she continues. “I knew after learning of my grandmother’s story that I
wasn’t alone. Today, I cannot allow this to continue to happen in our family.”
As dark and unrelenting as it is, the story told in I AM THE PRODUCT OF RAPE – A MEMOIR leads
to a conclusion of overcoming
tremendous odds, leaving readers riveted, inspired, and empowered.
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What’s inside the mind
of a nonfiction author?
Nonfiction authors’
minds are not any different from any others but, we do have a tenacious desire
to impart wisdom and lived experience shining a floodlight on the truth we all
know exists but are sometimes too fearful to talk about.
What is so great about
being an author?
I have a passion for
educating and empowering others. I have a personal need to tell my story. I am
grateful of having my name on the jacket of
I Am the Product of Rape—A Memoir, and for the privilege of having my words available to an audience of
readers around the world. Lastly, I am humbled to be ability to use our
movement in bridging the gaps of sexual assault disparities.
When do you hate it?
I have not yet experienced a reason to hate being
an author.
What is a regular
writing day like for you?
Typically I write at night, unless I’m on a time frame in
which I must write during the day. My night would consist of me, a dark room
and my laptop.
How do you handle
negative reviews?
I Am the Product of Rape—A Memoir, my mother and I have received exceptional
reviews. I Am the Product of Rape—A Memoir has proven to be therapeutic
for readers. However, my mother and I are fully aware that everyone is entitled
to their own option. We are strong believers in not being bully’s. There are ways of relaying what you want to
say in a productive none bullying manner.
How do you handle
positive reviews?
For I Am the Product of Rape—A Memoir and the
subjects discussed, positive reviews would be those of overcoming trauma,
having the courage to find one’s biological family, seeking mental health
services for past trauma, or being courageous enough to stop abuse from
continuing. We are blessed to have had such a positive impact and we hope I
Am the Product of Rape—A Memoir will continue to receive positive reviews
and help people heal.
What is the usual
response when you tell a new acquaintance that you’re an author?
Fascination, most people are very interested and
inquisitive. They don’t see what went
into the process of becoming an author, they only see the results. Being an author to me is not about the frills
it’s about the passion and drive to share your words with the world and make a
difference.
What do you do on those
days you don’t feel like writing? Do you force it or take a break?
True believer that self-care is the best care, if I’m just
not feeling it I will take a break even if it’s only for a few hours. Forced
writing for me is NOT me best style of writing.
Any writing
quirks?
I don’t really have many quirks about my writings but I
guess one thing I think is unique about my writing style is that I write my
best stuff at night in the dark when my son has went to bed. I seem to drift
into my thoughts easier during this time have written great work because of it.
What would you do if
people around you didn’t take your writing seriously or see it as a hobby?
I would continue to write, I cannot allow others to
dictate the outcome of my passion or what I enjoy doing.
Some authors seem to
have a love-hate relationship to writing. Can you relate?
OH, Yes! Very much. I love the act of writing and getting
my thoughts out on paper. However I hate actually typing and reading. I find
this to be an issue in a lot of authors.
Do you think success as
an author must be linked to money?
My mother and I will measured I Am the Product of
Rape—A Memoir success when it and our other materials are available to most
everyone that need them, when I Am the Product of Rape ―A Memoir is
translated into the worlds languages and when I Am the Product of Rape ―A
Memoir and our other materials help the global platform eliminate
disparities.
What has writing taught
you?
Writing has open my
vocabulary and expanded my communication skills. I have learned better ways to communicate
with the world through words by sharing what I write. I have learned it’s not
what you say, but how you say it.
The power of observation, reasoning and problem solving, increased knowledge of grammar, fearlessness
and taking chances has provide self-growth.
Leave us with some
words of wisdom.
I would like to close by telling our readers that it is
ok to speak out about trauma. It’s ok to seek help regardless of your
upbringing or race. It’s important that people understand that silence is the
gateway to mental health issues and by seeking help you reduce your mental
health crises dramatically. For those like me that have endured trauma through
a mental health facility I say, please do not give up seeking support and help.
It took me several attempts to find the therapist that fits best for me and my
trauma. Make sure you are seeking a professional who is skilled in your type of
trauma. I didn’t know I should be aware of that so I’ll pass that advice on to
those readers who need it.
Lastly, I would say the support of best friends, a close
trusted relationship, is vital. When you’re having rough days healing or days
that just seem to be a struggle to make it through that person can carry you
when you can’t carry yourself. For me, that person is my best friend, my
mentor, my amazing mother. I honestly don’t know what I would do without her
selfless support with my grueling mental health issues. She has never
complained and is always there having my back.
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