{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"028 - In The Shadow of Poets","description":"Meet Author Gretchen Cherington, who, after many years of silence, chose to share her story of abuse. Sexually molested by her father, Richard Eberhardt, a Pulitzer Prize-winning poet, Gretchen broke decades of silence to share what life with him was really like. Her memoir, Poetic License, is an authentic, brave piece of work that details what it was like growing up around literary geniuses such as Robert Frost and Allen Ginsberg.   It wasn\u2019t until Gretchen chose to share what happened that she could finally start to heal and discover the incredible freedom found in forgiveness: not for the forgiven, but for the person who makes the choice to forgive.  Gretchen worked as an executive management consultant for 35 years, gaining powerful insights into what makes powerful men tick. Poetic License has won multiple awards, and Gretchen\u2019s essays appear in multiple literary publications. When she\u2019s not writing, Gretchen loves being outdoors.   What You Hear\/Learn\/Discover [0:26] Guest introduction [3:01]  Gretchen explains how she first started her memoir, Poetic License. [11:18] Gretchen shares how her father sexually molested her when she was 17.  [12:18] Mag and Gretchen discuss how writing a memoir forces you to face your deepest traumas and finally deal with them once and for all.  [13:00]  Mag and Gretchen talk about their grandmothers\u2019 significant influence on their lives growing up.  [25:07] Gretchen shares details from her childhood and how her father left a \u201clegacy of narcissism.\u201d  [30:30] Her famous father dominated her home growing up, but Gretchen was also profoundly impacted by her mother\u2019s severe epilepsy. Gretchen opens up about how she never felt safe sharing her molestation with her mother.  [44:00] Gretchen and Mag discuss how the pandemic gave writers and artists more time to focus on their work.  Quotes  From Mag: \u201cForgiveness is for the person who's doing the forgiving. It is not for the person who has been forgiven.\u201d   From Gretchen: \u201cI will say that there was great value placed on success in my family. It was literary success\u2026money didn't really matter. I mean, you know, he [my father] wanted enough to live on, but it didn't really matter.\u201d \u201cI'm hopeful that as a culture, we can sort of stop mythologizing famous men and know them for who they actually are.\u201d Connect with Gretchen Cherington https:\/\/www.gretchencherington.com\/   Social media: https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/gretchencheringtonauthor https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/gretchen-cherington-612b3b7\/ Appreciation From the bottom of my heart, thank you so much for being here. If you haven't already, come join the community! Instagram: https:\/\/instagram.com\/magdimondauthor Website: https:\/\/bowingtoelephantspodcast.com   If you enjoyed this episode, please be sure to rate and review this podcast. ","author_name":"Bowing To Elephants Podcast","author_url":"https:\/\/bowingtoelephantspodcast.com","html":"