jlandrith

Interview with Matt Atkinson

Posted on 10/30/09, 08:35 pm

I've been blogging since 2002 and in that time have toyed with the idea of doing a series of interviews with people who have inspired or touched me through their advocacy, writing or in other ways. I've finally decided to do the series.

Our own Matt agreed to be the first in that series of interviews. As my blog is syndicated into LexisNexis, CanWest, Amazon's Kindle and other services, hopefully the exposure will help spread news of the book. I included links to the book website and this group in the interview.

http://remodel4life.blogspot.com/2...

http://jameslandrith.com/content/v...

The interview is available at the links above. At present, the comment feature is not functioning correctly on my website (second link), but the comments work just fine at Remodel 4 Life (first link) if you would like to leave supportive comments for Matt there.

• Reply #1 10/30/09  9:50pm
  
  EmpoweredOKC
  Whoa! that is AWESOME!
  
  The "million dollars" question didn't get formatted to bold, so it looks like I'm asking the question as part of my own answer.
  
  James, this is amazing!
  
• Reply #2 10/30/09  10:02pm
  
  jlandrith
  Oops! I've fixed the formatting error - thanks for the interview Matt.
• Reply #3 10/30/09  10:04pm
  
  EmpoweredOKC
  Hey, what happens to all those "Matt sucks" comments you'll get, too? :)
  
• Reply #4 10/30/09  11:16pm
  
  jlandrith
  I don't know if I will have the bandwidth for all of the "Matt sux" comments. I may have to start a special blog just to host them!
• Reply #5 10/30/09  11:39pm
  
  EmpoweredOKC
  Rats.
• Reply #6 10/31/09  9:50pm
  
  StarbuckDif...
  "Interview with Matt Atkinson".... Like "Interview with The Vampire"?
• Reply #7 10/31/09  10:02pm
  
  EmpoweredOKC
  Yeah, but not gay.
• Reply #8 11/01/09  7:23am
  
  SecretPast
  LOL you guys! I don't have anything substantive to add but I want to tell you that you all made my day today with this thread.
• Reply #9 11/01/09  7:38am
  
  scubagirl1
  Just a little gay....
  
  J/K!!!!!! Matt that was great information and truly part of my dream in life is for you to be successful in yours.
  
  It was a great interview and it continually amazes me that when I read something that someone else voices that is an isolating feeling, that "YES! That IS what it's like" moment, is always just as powerful as the first time I felt it. Socially isolating couldn't be a better term (you're like "Yeah, I know, I wrote a book about it, remember?") lol
  
  Good job :)
• Reply #10 11/01/09  10:08am
  
  StehtFest
  The feeling of being socially isolated was something I tried to deny. About 8 years ago, when some stuff in my life had been really triggering, I found an online group of rape survivors. I don't even recall which one it was. I never posted anything. But I remember being annoyed at these women. Why weren't they over it already? (Uh...maybe for the same reason I wasn't over it after 2 decades?) And why did they insist on describing details of their rapes? That was so upsetting? How on earth could any of us forget if people kept feeling a need to go on and on about it?
  
  I felt a strong need to connect with others who had experienced rape trauma, but I was unwilling to face my own trauma. I'm not sure what I wanted, maybe a support group for women who promised never to talk about rape, but instead offered tips for avoiding and forgetting painful memories.
  
  But when I realized, this year, that I needed to deal with all of this, I saw the value of this group here, and realized how important it is to do the work we do together, rather than just in isolation. I joined right before the retreat and I was surprised at how disappointed I was not to be there, even though all of you were complete strangers. But the longing for community was so strong.
  
  At the same time, that longing scares me. It's a constant push-pull.
  
  RAR really helped me better understand that sense of isolation as well as the need for community as a place of healing. So I liked that part of the interview. I also liked Matt's explanation of how RAR is different from other books about rape. That rung so true for me.
  
  But I was shocked -- SHOCKED, I tell you -- that anyone would throw that wonderful book or curse at it or get upset with it in any way -- and it seems unbelievable that anyone would fire off angry emails to the author. I think Matt must be making up that part. Hahaha.

Discussion, question-and-answer, general social support, and journal processing for progress-oriented rape survivors. No crisis, no damaging or triggering conflicts--this is for individuals who want to contribute to collective, cooperative action toward the goal of making actual PROGRESS through rape trauma. Much of this work is based on the book "Resurrection After Rape." Diversity of topics is expected and encouraged!