LISTEN to today's conversation with featured guest Lisa Braver Moss
Lisa Braver Moss is a survivor of childhood domestic violence who lives in the Bay Area, is celebrating the release of her new book, “Shrug,” published on Aug. 13 by She Writes Press.
The novel follows a Vietnam War-era teen whose family life is just as chaotic as the anti-war protests filling the streets of her hometown. While writing the story, Lisa drew on her own experience as a survivor of domestic violence who came of age in Berkeley during the seismic ’60s to craft the novel’s lead, Martha, who develops a nervous tic (a shrug of the shoulder) while waging a private rebellion as her peers take part in a very public, nationwide movement.
Here are a few topics she will discuss:
- Her experience as a survivor of childhood domestic abuse and how it informed her writing of “Shrug”
- The question of whether, and to what extent, it is possible to break free of childhood abuse
- Why so many survivors of childhood domestic violence blame themselves
- How a difficult home situation, in a turbulent time and place, can affect reading and learning
It's Berkeley in the 1960s, and Martha Goldenthal's home life is a cauldron of kooky ideas, impossible demands, and explosive physical violence. Can she overcome her obstacles and make it to college? Shrug is the absorbing, harrowing, and ultimately uplifting story of one young woman’s journey toward independence.
“As persuasive as the memoirs Educated and The Glass Castle, Shrug yanks at the heartstrings . . . I felt white-knuckled empathy for the tough and fragile Martha.” — Carolyn McVickar Edwards, author of Return of the Lightand The Storyteller's Goddess
“A book that slowly creeps up on you before grabbing you by the throat and
demanding that you pay attention . . . I highly recommend this read.”
— Grant Leishman, Readers’ Favorite
"Gripping from beginning to end, this beautifully written work is impossible to put down.” — The BookLife Prize
