{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"Sitting Beside The Hurt","description":"In this powerful episode of the Connecticut Book Festivals Podcast, host Jed Doherty sits down with author, advocate, and writing mentor Melissa B. Lombardo, creator of Hurt, Healing, and Hope: Thriving Beyond Sexual Assault. Melissa shares how, after being sexually assaulted in her 20s, she found her way to counseling at the New Britain YWCA and was encouraged to write about her experiences. What started as private journal entries slowly grew into a three-act interwoven monologue, complete with reflection questions and journaling space to support other survivors in their own healing journeys. She and Jed talk about the therapeutic power of writing\u2014how it isn\u2019t a substitute for therapy, but can be deeply healing. Melissa describes years of silence, illness, and emotional pain, and how her \u201cHeal for Real\u201d journey helped her move from merely surviving to truly thriving beyond the assault. She explains why she changed her original subtitle from \u201cThe Aftermath of Rape and Sexual Assault\u201d to \u201cThriving Beyond Sexual Assault,\u201d and how reclaiming her voice led her into advocacy, public speaking, and community building. Melissa also discusses the book\u2019s life as a theater piece, the companion journals she created, and the many ways friends, families, and allies can support survivors\u2014by listening, believing, and simply being present, without trying to \u201cfix\u201d everything. Finally, she shares how this work has supported healing not only for herself, but also for her family, her readers, and the wider community, and how her project Write, Heal, Thrive continues that mission. ","author_name":"Connecticut Book Festivals Podcast","author_url":"https:\/\/sites.libsyn.com\/558800","html":"