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The Journey - Niama Williams
The Journey
Dr. Niama Williams
ISBN: 9781435726765
Lulu Publishing
Reviewed By Linda Waterson
Official Apex Reviews
Rating: 
Chronicling the difficult
aftermath of a young life marred by violence and sexual assault, The Journey
offers the reader a piercing look into the complex difficulties of the healing
process, stretched out over a lifetime of poignant questions that don’t always
have satisfactory answers.
Through the tragic heroine
of her protagonist, Sara, author Niama Williams presents the model of a life
subject to forces and influences from which – despite her best efforts – she
can never seem to escape. Abandoned by her father at an early age, Sara is
subsequently doomed to the repeated abuses of her two older brothers – one of
whom even rapes her as a child. As is typically the case with domestic abuse,
Sara then becomes accustomed to the vicious cycle of violence that sets the
mental and emotional foundation for all her future relationships. As such, she
struggles mightily with issues of self-esteem, trust – and, of course, love –
wearing her wounded heart on her sleeve throughout all her adventures (and
misadventures) in greater society. Through it all, Sara learns invaluable
lessons, but, most importantly, she finally comes to the greater understanding
that matters of the heart are handled best by those unafraid to explore its
deepest depths.
An expansive, enlightening
tome, The Journey offers numerous life affirming jewels of insight and wisdom.
Dr. Williams uses an impressive mix of poetry and prose in order to convey
profound sentiments to the reader in ways that he or she is bound to relate,
depending on the particular topic addressed. Also, she employs a unique,
para-stream-of-consciousness approach that enables her to shift seamlessly from
subject to subject, weaving a fluid, yet solid tapestry of equally powerful,
interrelated issues that naturally support one another.
Furthermore, to her
credit, Dr. Williams dives headfirst into what remains a sensitive – and highly
under-addressed – topic: domestic violence (DV). Encompassing more than simply
physical violence, DV is a life-altering problem that continues to plague homes
and communities worldwide, and, by bringing many of its dark, ugly secrets to
light, Dr. Williams ensures that readers of all ages will be enlightened to its
true nature – and, thusly empowered, will contribute to what one can only hope will
be its eventual elimination.
Official
Apex Reviews Interview: Dr. Niama Williams (The Journey)
Apex Reviews: Thanks for joining us for this interview,
Dr. Williams. We're looking very much forward to learning more about your book.
How much of the story - if any - is based
on your own personal experience?
Niama Williams: The
Journey is actually memoir—all of the stories are real events from my life, as
best I remember them. There is only one
instance of pure fiction, “Chimeras,” but even that story contains real events
within it.
AR: In the story, Sara struggles greatly with
issues of self-esteem, which manifests itself in emotional turbulence, eating
disorders, and other problems that she experiences over the course of her life.
Exactly when/where is the seed of low self-esteem planted in her life, and just
how does it continue to impact her future development?
NW: The seed
is right there in the first story, “Marcus Welby, M.D.” Her trauma begins there, and so does her
story. So much of whom we become as
human beings happens by the time we are five years old, and all of those events
occur by the time Sara is eight, some of them beginning when she was three.
Psychology
as a science would not exist if not for the reverberations of childhood traumas
and early successes. The pleasures of
the flesh, even when tempered by trauma and violation, are still deeply
implanted in Sara as a young child; somehow she knows that it is wrong because
it FEELS so bad, but sensuality remains a strong part of whom she grows into as
an adult and a writer. Somehow her
intellect helps her separate giving in to the senses from the rape and physical
abuse, and she finds other ways to comfort herself—thus the eating
disorder. Food becomes a safe way to be
sensual.
It is no
mistake that as Sara grows, matures, and becomes a much more whole person, her
sensual self grows stronger and appears much more centrally in her writing.
AR: Please share more with our readers about
the "human potential movement."
NW: I can
only say that it is a 12-step program for those with food issues and adheres to
the same rules about anonymity as Alcoholics Anonymous. It has been a lifesaver and stabilizer in
this poet’s harried, hurt-filled existence.
AR: As our reviewer mentioned, in the book you
address the topic of domestic violence (DV) head-on. Please share more with our
readers about just how devastating this problem continues to be.
NW: Perhaps
the most dangerous aspect of domestic violence is the long tail of its
aftereffects. The events that mar Sara’s
young life are mostly over by the time she is eight, but she still feels their
reverberations at 46 when she must get out of bed with her lover, the first man
she has allowed to get close enough to love and be loved by.
At 46,
she has been seen by psychiatrists and psychologists since she was 19. She has had mostly good therapeutic treatment
and thinks herself over the worst of the trauma.
Yet one
harsh word—not even in anger, not remotely threatening, she just knew that he
was displeased by something she’d asked him to do—and she collapses into a
shivering, trembling ball of tears and fears.
At first she gets out of bed because her head is telling her she doesn’t
deserve his love. She goes to the
recliner to try to sort out what is happening when the flashbacks hit full
force. For the first time she begins to
see, in her mind’s eye, clear pictures of what actually happened to her those
nights when she was three, four, five, eight.
Terrified
by the memories, their sharpness, clarity, and extremely negative emotional
messages, she quakes on the recliner.
She doesn’t deserve him, her head screams, yet a small, nascent part of
her asks: don’t you trust him enough to
ask him to hold you through this?
It takes
half of an hour, but eventually she gets up from the recliner, returns to bed,
and gently tells him what she needs—which he gives, wrapping her in arms that
feel so safe, so loving, she sobs comfortably until she falls asleep.
Thirty-eight
years later she is still recovering.
That is why I choose to speak out on domestic violence: we’ve got to sever that long tail at the
root.
AR: What can we as individuals and a society do
to combat the worsening plague of DV?
NW: Listen. Listen to our loved ones, listen to our children,
believe them when they tell us who they are, how they hurt, what they’ve seen,
what they’ve witnessed. Listen without
judgment, listen with our hearts and our minds.
Make that phone call if reporting is needed, make another phone call if
refuge is necessary. Be willing to take
action even if that action puts our relationships with that person or someone
else close to us at risk.
We have
to be willing to take someone in, or help someone get out, or provide access to
resources—merely sharing information—so that escape becomes possible for he or
she who might need it.
Most of
all we have to be willing to speak up on behalf of our children. We cannot sit in silence when we know someone
is hurting a child—or an adult. My
brothers hurt me because someone hurt them, and no one listened or heard when
they cried out. Cycles are real, and
breaking them is the only way to end this far too long-lasting epidemic.
AR: Your writing style is quite unique. Who
have been some of your chief writing influences?
NW: Oh, I
love the tough, hard, difficult, complicated writers! T. S. Eliot, Toni Cade Bambara (The Salt
Eaters my favorite!), Toni Morrison (The Bluest Eye my favorite), Alice Walker
(The Temple of My Familiar my favorite), House of Sand and Fog (Andre Dubus),
Sea Fever (my favorite children’s poem—Dad helped me memorize it when I was
five), John Edgar Wideman (so many, but my favorite: Damballah).
I like
Eliot’s idea that you fill your fiction or writing with references to pop
culture or traditional culture so that cultures do not die. It makes one’s writing a bit more complex,
but if you do the writing job well, if you really entice your reader, they will
be so intrigued that they will do what Eliot hoped: become so involved in your story that they
look up the references so they will fully comprehend the story you are
telling.
I hope
Eliot would be proud of the way I layer my memoir and poetry with references to
high and low culture—I want everyone to feel welcomed into my world!
AR: You're quite the accomplished author.
Please share more with our readers about your numerous literary achievements
thus far.
NW: Oh
dear—humility time!!!!! Um, may I just
attach my resume and you can pull something from that?
Or, ur, I could say
this: the one accomplishment that
brought me the greatest joy was attending the Arvon Foundation/Sable Lit
Magazine writing workshop in South Shropshire, United Kingdom. That trip—travel really does broaden the
mind.
I was so
changed by South Shropshire; it is truly a
healing place with mystical, curative properties. I literally stepped off of the bus my first
moment there and felt something course up through my feet and rise to my brain
as I landed on the asphalt.
That week
I left so much ancient baggage behind on the Shropshire
hills. I will always be grateful for
that time in that place. I want to take
my beloved there so he can drop his Samsonite as well.
AR: Also, please share more with us about your
radio talk show, as well as how people can listen in and support you.
I may
have to rethink the radio talk show and make it bi-monthly or monthly because I
am finding little time to actually do it these days. I hate to not show up, but I am forever
scheduling something and then—oops, it’s radio talk show time!
The
upside is that I LOVE interviewing authors.
I thrive on conversation with writers about their books, and I have a
growing waiting list of authors who want their work considered for the
show. I really might have to make it
monthly though because the weekly schedule is not working for me, and I don’t
want to disappoint my listeners.
You can
find the show at www.blogtalkradio.com/drni. Currently the show airs live every Saturday
from 12 – 1:30 p.m. EDT. Podcasts are
available about an hour or so after the show airs and are free to download.
AR: What's next for you?
AR: What's next for you?
NW: A move
into my heart and God’s desire:
intuitive counseling. This is
where God has been directing me for months, and once my fear gets out of the
way, I’ll be up and running. Check out
the link entitled “free consult” on my website for more information (www.blowingupbarriers.com).
We also
have several speaking engagements coming up in March and possible fundraisers
in April with the Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania,
Barnes and Noble. And yes, I went
straight to the Community Relations Manager about my concerns when I heard
about the Obama display and was assured that a statement had been issued and
that a customer, not an employee, had done the dastardly deed.
Upcoming
events, quickly:
WHERE IN
THE WORLD IS DR. NI???
1. First Person Salons began last year, and
First Person Arts, under the able direction of Dan Gasiewski and Andrew Schwalm
among others, have lit up the Philly scene astronomically. Dr. Ni and Rev. Joseph Massey are honored to
be featured in the March 11th, 2009, salon to be held at the Laurie Beechman
Cabaret at the Univ of the Arts, ArtsBank, 601 S. Broad, Philadelphia, SE corner
of Broad & South.
For more
information, please see the attached flyer.
Do come out and join us.
Pre-publication copies of Dr. Ni and Rev Joseph's first book written
together, Ruby, will be available for sale after the event. A rousing time will be had by all!
2. Dr. Ni will be appearing at The Plastic Club
on Sunday, March 15th, 2009, from 2-4 p.m. under the auspices of the Women's
Caucus for Art, Philadelphia Chapter.
For more information, contact:
PLASTIC
AT THE PLASTIC CLUB
WOMEN'S
CAUCUS FOR ART
PHILADELPHIA CHAPTER SHOW
PLASTIC
CLUB
247 South Camac Street
Philadelphia, Pa
19107
215-545-9324
http://www.plasticclub.org/
3. Dr. Ni and Rev. Joseph will be the features
for March at the Delware County Institute of Science (11 Veterans Square, Media,
PA 19063)
at 7 pm. March 19th, 2009, a reading sponsored by the Mad Poets Society.
4. Read three of the best interviews I've ever
given in my literary life! Ella Curry
knows how to publicize an author, and she has posted three interviews that
reveal, tantalizingly, three different aspects of my creative fire:
http://profilesinblack.blogspot.com/2009/02/audio-book-preview-journey.html
http://banemagazine.blogspot.com/2009/03/detective-fiction-by-dr-niama-l.html
http://edcmagazine.blogspot.com/2009/03/sojourn-in-calidia-by-dr-niama-l-j.html
5. On my website sign up for my newsletter,
"Dr. Ni's News," and receive two free downloads: one of my first novel, THE JOURNEY, and two,
of my first collection of poetry, STEVEN, dedicated to and entitled for director/producer
Steven Spielberg.
6. Watch my website for updates on a SWAN DAY
event specifically for Norristown,
PA, on Saturday, March 28th, the
day selected by The Fund for Women Artists to support female visual
artists. An event featuring Renda Rose,
Andrea Johnson, Toni Quest and myself is in the planning stages.
7. Encourage your listeners to check out my
radio show on BlogTalkRadio, "Poetry & Prose & Anything Goes with
Dr. Ni" every Saturday afternoon from 12:00 - 1:30 p.m.
These are
the latest news items!
AR: How can people learn more about you and
your ongoing efforts?
NW: My
contact info and a box to sign up for my newsletter are on my website, www.blowingupbarriers.com. Always check there for the latest, especially
the newsletter archives which now have a weekly “Where in the world is Dr. Ni?”
column with our upcoming events.
AR: How can they contact you directly?
NW: Email is
best: drni@blowingupbarriers.com.
AR: Any final thoughts you'd like to share with
our readers?
NW: If it is
your dream, do not quit, no matter who tells you to, advises you to, pulls you
aside and gently suggests that you do so.
UNLESS you encounter resistance from the Universe. If you keep trying for your dream and nothing
seems to come to fruition, first make sure you are not standing in your own
way. If you are not, and resistance
keeps happening, rethink your dream.
Only
abandon ship if the Universe communicates that it is wise to do so.
I wanted
to be a full-time tenured college professor.
I worked 14 years to get my doctorate in literature. The minute I finished the degree, I realized
that I’d had enough of working in someone else’s shop; I wanted to run my own
gig.
It has
been three tough years, but in the process I met the man with whom I will spend
the rest of my life, quite happily, and a supporter who holds the key to the
site that will soon be our headquarters.
I kept almost quitting, but in the end, I listened to God, and when I
put Him first, and His instructions became my to do list, doors and windows
started opening.
AR: Thanks again, Dr. Williams, and best of
continued success to you in all your endeavors!