Interview with memoirist Kathleen Pooler

Today’s special interview is with non-fiction author Kathleen Pooler. She’s talking about her new book, Ever Faithful to His Lead: My Journey Away From Emotional Abuse

Welcome, Kathleen. Please tell us a little bit about yourself.

I am a writer and a retired family nurse practitioner working on a memoir about the power of hope through faith in God. Hope Matters. I believe we are all enriched when we share our stories.

Please tell us about your current release.

Nothing can rescue her until she decides to rescue herself.

Kathy loses touch with the faith she was brought up with as she attempts to find her way in the world, leaving her stable roots for adventure and romance. Despite a spiritual prophecy, self-defeating detours take her through a series of heartbreaking events.

When her second husband Dan's verbal abuse escalates, Kathy finally realizes she must escape before she and her children become a statistic.

How does a young woman from a stable, loving family make so many wise choices when it comes to career, but so many poor choices when it comes to love? Her life and the lives of her two children hinge on her choices and the answers she finds.

Join Kathleen Pooler on her roller-coaster ride of self-discovery, from shame and guilt to inner strength, in her tears-to-triumph story.

What inspired you to write this book?

I lived with guilt and shame for many years when I looked at the choices I had made that impacted not only my life but the lives of my two children. Years later, when I looked around and realized the joyful life I was living, I decided I had to tell my story to share my hope with others--it is possible to climb out of the abyss of poor decisions and go on to live a meaningful, peaceful life.

What exciting story are you working on next?

I’m working on a sequel, Hope Matters: A Memoir About Faith (working title). In Ever Faithful to His Lead, I finally find my voice and freedom from emotional abuse. And it’s a good thing because I was yet to face my greatest challenge—the simultaneous battles of a cancer diagnosis and a young son’s downward spiral into substance abuse. It will be a story about how my faith, the source of my hope, was strengthened through my trials.

When did you first consider yourself a writer?

I have enjoyed writing since I was about eight years old and wrote plays to perform in front of Nan, my Italian grandmother, and her lady friends. After years of journaling, I decided to take a writing course in 1999 but it wasn’t until I attended a Writer’s Digest Editorial Intensive weekend in Cincinnati in 2009 that I started calling myself a writer. We were told, “you are a writer if you write.” At the time,it seemed like such a revelation. I claimed it as my own from that point.

Do you write full-time? If so, what's your work day like? If not, what do you do other than write and how do you find time to write?

I retired from a forty-four year nursing career in August of 2011 and reinvented myself as a writer. Transition is a better word than retirement because I do work every day on my writing which includes maintaining a blog, commenting on other blogs, social media and working on writing projects. I work at least five out of seven days from 9-5pm in my office on my projects. I tend to work best in the morning but I’ve been known to stay up late or even get up in the middle of the night when the muse strikes. In a nutshell, I write because I cannot NOT write.

Anything additional you want to share with the readers?

Ways to connect with me and learn more, include:

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Google+ | Goodreads | Pinterest | Amazon | Open Books Press

Thanks, Kathleen!