Interview with Elizabeth Walker, Author of The Tablet of My Heart - Page 3

What message are you trying to convey with this book?

The publication of this particular story is very liberating for me because it is pieces of a journal that I kept as a child that were the very secrets that bound me and kept me from happiness for years. Telling those secrets loud enough for the whole world to hear is empowering because I believe with my whole heart that it will empower other victims, that it will educate concerned people, and that it will encourage healing by revealing the shame of victimization as a farce created by the abuser. Of course, counselors tell victims this all the time... to people who have reported it. Unfortunately, statistics tell us that over 30% of victims never report. The Tablet of My Heart is encouragement to do just that. It is honest about the fears and true life consequences of telling, it is honest about the difficulties in healing from and coming to terms with abuse, and it is honest about the freedom from the secret, and how that freedom alone outweighs both fear and consequence, from the lips (or pen) of a victim herself who overcame.

How do you deal with rejection?

Plainly, I didn’t. Not with publishers any way. I self published. I figured – heck, I’m not writing this to be on a best seller list, I am writing this to make a contribution. I didn’t want to wait, with my manuscript in a pile, to be able to make my mark. Where I have dealt with rejection is in trying to get my book into the hands of influential people, which has surprised me somewhat. How I deal with the rejection for reviews and interviews because of not having an agent or major publisher to endorse me is by reminding myself that, though I get frustrated at times, ultimately my goal has been reached. I have not just preached healing, I have illustrated it. Since the publication of this book my sons have earned incredible insight into the ability that people have (even when they think they are weak) to fight against circumstance. They have begun to demonstrate genuine compassion towards others, and they see me as a person who has had experiences beyond theirs, and they trust me with their feelings more. Beyond that, four people so far have come to me in thanks for my story – and shared a secret with me that they had not ever formally reported. This is going in exactly the direction it was meant to and I feel honored to reach out so dramatically – even if to only a few.

Article Author: Dorothy Thompson

Dorothy Thompson is CEO/Founder of Pump Up Your Book Promotion, an innovative public relations agency specializing in online book promotion for authors.

Visit Dorothy Thompson's author page — Dorothy Thompson's Blog