Q&A with Patsy Truxaw, author of “Gathering: Family, Grief, Resilience”

What were the benefits of workshopping Gathering with a group?

I was inspired by people's writing and by people's directness, and I felt like eventually it was a class where I could take a chance and be myself and read what I wrote. I got good feedback, and the best thing is having a group of people who are just so supportive. I like having an audience, as it turns out.

Author Interview, Self-Publishing, Author & Publishing TipsSara RoahenNovember 15, 2025author interview, family memoir, sibling death, mental illness, addiction, recovery, redemption, family relationships, internal growth, siblling supportComment

Q&A with Katya Cengal, author of "Straightjackets and Lunch Money"

Straitjackets and Lunch Money by Katya Cengal is a memoir written in two voices: the voice of Katya as a ten-year-old girl hospitalized at the Roth Psychosomatic Unit at Children’s Hospital at Stanford as treatment for self-starvation; and the voice of Katya thirty years later, as a journalist researching her own story from that time to better understand what she went through, and to bring the reader’s attention to other children at risk of going unseen and unheard.

Author InterviewSara RoahenDecember 6, 2023author interview, memoir interview, memoir, eating disorder, psychosomatic illness, psychiatric hospitalization, at risk youth, childhood trauma, mental illness, depression, journalism, survivor story, writing craftComment