Day of Resilience

This is my Day of Resilience. On November 5/6 in 2010, an individual chose to change a consensual interaction into one of selfish violence. That single interaction lead to a year and a half of seeking legal justice and many years of introspection building up to where I am now. 

This is the first Day of Resilience where my book “One of Us: Sex, Violence, Injustice. Resilience, Love, Hope” detailing the assault and life afterwards is publicly available on Amazon. I am thankful for the conversations of solidarity with others that this has sparked. I am thankful for the vulnerable conversations of pushing forward and encouraging each other. I am thankful for the ripple effect and how some acts of kindness or speaking out truly do make a huge difference in the lives of individuals and in our communities. 

I have a request. I want you to be a part of the ripple effect. 

In the past few months, we have seen an increase of public awareness around the continuum of violence from sexual harassment to groping, aggravated sexual assault to rape. Will you help share my story in support of individuals who have experienced these things and to say that you will not tolerate individuals who disrespect and violate others? Below are things you can do:

1. Buy a copy of my book. Go to the header of this page or directly to Amazon and order a book. Buy a copy for a friend. Buy a copy for a younger sibling in college. Buy a couple of copies and give them to your local rape crisis center. Let me know and I’ll try to send you a “You are Beautiful. You are Good. You are Loved.” postcard.
2. Tell the world how much you love my book. Post about “One of Us” on facebook and Instagram. Add whatever hashtags you want and tag @oneofusmovement or @SandiAlaska. Write an article about “One of Us” for your local newspaper or for an online blog that you love. Take an awesome photo of you and the book and post it everywhere you can.
3. Review “One of Us”. We are up on Amazon and Goodreads. This doesn’t have to be a high-pressure thing. A simple sentence with 5 stars preferably. The more reviews, the better the chance that someone else will randomly find “One of Us” online and then their life will be changed forever.
4. Invite me to your artsy events. I’ll do a reading and hopefully a grown man will cry. I’ve only heard of this happening and haven’t seen it in real life. Yet. My life is still a bit hectic with school but I’ll make the time since I believe in community and sharing struggles and hope together. I’ll bring books and a sweet photo backdrop. Check out the One of Us Movement facebook page and the soft launch photos to get a taste of what I’m talking about.
5. Nominate “One of Us” to be your next book club book. If you haven’t heard, book clubs are a great way to get friends together to read books, but more likely, drink wine. You’ll need the wine with “One of Us”. If you have a decent size group, I can get you a discount on the books. I’ll have them shipped directly from the warehouse to your front porch. “One of Us” is about solidarity and encouraging each other. Make friends and start a book club if needed.
6. Share this post with everyone you know. I have a limited amount of people that I can reach. You have hundreds of friends on here that only you can impact. You are their only hope in learning about “One of Us”. They need you. I need you.

I want to thank you for loving me through the shenanigans whether we’ve known each other since elementary school in Alaska or more recently while I finish up grad school here in Baltimore. Please know that I appreciate you. 

Speaking of, in this photo, I have the copy of “One of Us” where people at the soft launch wrote little notes for me. You make me smile. Thank you for helping me feel again and thank you for loving me. I am exactly where I need to be in life right now and I couldn’t have done this without you.

Book Update: We have a first proof!

How exciting is this! Rather than a computer screen, a printed copy in a binder, a first formatted copy printed and folded in half to mimic a book, I can now hold the first proof of One of Us... and it feels so good. 

When I hold this in my hands, I am reminded of the individuals who held me during difficult times. They accepted the fact that I had to remove myself when needed and sat in the pain with me at other times. This book is a reminder of the individuals who supported me when I felt violated by the legal system. A reminder of the individuals who stood by me when a newspaper article was more concerned about selling a story than reporting on a rape case with journalistic integrity. I am reminded of the hatred some individuals decided to show towards me in the comments yet I am also reminded of the individuals who thanked me for sharing or reached out to share their own stories with me.

When I hold One of Us in my hands, I am reminded that this book was never simply about me but rather shedding light on the injustices that many of us have experienced.

When I look at the words, the formatting, the piece of beautiful art this book truly is, I am thankful for the individuals who have volunteered their time and skills to help One of Us come to fruition. I am thankful for friends who read the manuscript and pointed out pieces that needed clarified so that the events and concepts were easier to understand. I am thankful for the graphic designers, copy-editors, media specialists, cartographer, and entrepreneurs who patiently worked with this project.

When I look at One of Us, I am amazed at all of the hard work that has lovingly been put into making this story come to life. 

Writing a book was a learning experience and so has the publishing process. Right now, we are adjusting a few internal formatting items and will then request another proof. We are so very close to making One of Us publicly available on Amazon. I am ecstatic thinking about making a bulk order soon and having a celebratory book launch party! 

Join the mailing list at the bottom of this page and be one of the first to know when you can get your copy!

One of Us: GoFundMe Update

Dear friends and supporters of One of Us,

We've surpassed our gofundme goal of $2500!! I was in shock with all of the notifications that people were supporting One of Us! I'm so grateful for each and every person who has come together for this cause. I truly believe that right now is an exciting time in society when it comes to sexual assault awareness, supporting victims, and changing systems. 

I shared the One of Us manuscript with the graphic designer to look it over. After a little chatting about life, work, the storm in Indiana, he said "Also, man. Got sucked in to the first chapter of the transcript today. Ugh."

One of Us is heavy. It's also a reality check of the complications and challenges of sexual assault and legal justice. I know I wouldn't have made it through the legal system without the love and support from key people. Hopefully, One of Us can be used as an insiders look into the system and as a way for people to become more educated on different issues.

Once again, thank you! I am hoping to have a book launch in November- I hope to see you there!!

Are YOU a Supporter of One of Us?

The book is coming along! I met with the copy-editor and am currently working on a few revisions. Check out the gofundme page if you are interested in financially supporting One of Us!

Check out the short video: https://www.gofundme.com/oneofusmovement