Author Will Discuss Emotional/Psychological Abuse
"My whole objective is to bring awareness to the subject," said Kristin Manser, author of the recently published book "The Invisible Bruise: Finding Freedom and Hope After an Emotionally Abusive Relationship, " a story she wrote about her experience with this form of abuse. "It was really a dark time for me," she recalled, adding that manipulation and gaslighting can be confusing and hard to explain.
Having overcome her experience, Manser now has the goal of bringing hope to others. "With a topic like this, we need to stand up and attack it and bring it to light," she said. That is exactly what Manser plans to do with two upcoming author talks. The first will be held at the Ephrata Public Library, 550 S. Reading Road, Ephrata, on Monday, Oct. 25, at 6 p.m., and the second will be held at the ELANCO Library, 11 Chestnut Drive, New Holland, at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 28.
Manser said it took her a year to write the book, which grew out of journaling and working with a psychologist to dissect her experience. She said she has always been a person who journals regularly. "(Emotional abuse is) a tricky subject," she said, noting that other types of abuse receive more media attention, but she noted that emotional or psychological abuse can be dangerous as well. "It can cross the line and turn physical, or the person being abused can be so distraught they can hurt themselves," she said, adding that it can be hard for an abused person to prove to others what is going on. "There's a fear (in wondering), 'Will anyone believe me?'" she said. "That was a big part of my book," she added.
The cover of Manser's book shows a beaten-down woman in tattered clothing with a tattered, red umbrella at her feet. In front of her is a mirror where the same woman is shown standing strong with the umbrella and a rainbow over her head. To create the cover, Manser contacted Lancaster artist Liz Hess. "I have always really valued her work," said Manser, who worked with Hess to visualize the cover, including the iconic red umbrella Hess is known for using in her work. "I asked for one of her red umbrellas to be crumpled and tattered symbolizing someone being beaten down by abuse, and she was totally on board," shared Manser. The painting was auctioned to raise funds for the Domestic Violence Service Program (DVS) of Community Action Partnership. Manser is giving a percentage of her book sales to the same organization.
Manser has planned her author talks to be informal and relaxed events. "I will share a bit of my story and why I wrote the book," she said. "The more we talk about it and set boundaries for these type of relationships ... the more healing can happen," she said, adding that she hopes to have a representative from DVS present. "Domestic Violence Awareness Month is October," Manser noted, adding that DVS has a number of programs planned which may be found by visiting https://caplanc.org or by reading "Domestic Violence Services Plans Events" in this paper. For more information, please visit https://caplanc.org/dvam.
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