You know how you wait and wait and wait for something and it’s really far away and then you make it to the date and you can’t believe it went so fast? That’s how I’ve been feeling for about a month now. How did it come to pass that next week, on Tuesday May 11th my very first book, When She Comes Back will be in the world? It’s really happening!
Early readers have it and there’s a small pool of bloggers and writing friends who have read it but that my memoir will be launched into the wild is still hard for me to wrap my head around. I am so excited and want to share some dates with you.
Tuesday May 11th When She Comes Back is released.
I’ll be at Town Hall Seattle (livestream) that night at 7:30 pm PST with Alice Ikeda. We’ll be talking about parents who leave for gurus, the effect the media has on the public perception of gurus, and how these depictions often skip over the family-loss connected to cults and cultic activity. You can get tickets here.
–Next week will be an And Then Everything Changed mini-cult week!
1. Tuesday 5/11 my guest will be feature another writer whose parent left her family to follow Bhagwan Shree Rajneeesh, the same guru my mother followed. This will be a far-ranging conversation about Bhagwan’s ashrams and beliefs, what it’s like to lose a parent to a coercive leader, and the damage that does to a developing child.
2. Friday 5/14 my guest is a journalist who grew up on a commune that she didn’t realize was a cult until adulthood. Now studies cults and interviews survivors and created the podcast Generation Cult.
3. Saturday 5/15 will be a replay of my episode with guest Benjamin Risha who escaped life on a Midwest cult when he was 17.
In the next week I’ll have book reviews, interviews, and op-eds in some of the following publications: The Times of Israel, Psychology Today, The Rumpus, JTA, Litro, The Forward, Hypertext, and Writer’s Digest. I’ll post those links on my social media and also my Published works page, link here.
Lastly, if you’d like to pre-order my book there’s still time. It’s available at all independent and big bookstores and I’d love your support. Did you know that all pre-orders go into the first week’s sales for a book? Authors ADORE when you pre-order, I ADORE it when you pre-ordered! When She Comes Back is available in paperback, hardcover (which is so pretty), Kindle and audiobook (which I narrated). If you’d like to here’s the link.
I’m so happy to know you took the time to read the latest about my podcast and my work. And remember—if you like my podcast or my book, please tell your friends!
Thank you for your support and thank you for being here!
Love,
Ronit