Kim Michele Richardson’s memoir, THE UNBREAKABLE CHILD, hit the shelves last month.  The story of her decade under the care of nuns (and a priest) in a Catholic orphanage in rural Kentucky is an account of brutality and resilience.  As an adult, Kim joined her sisters and a group of orphans who, in a landmark court decision, demanded accountability from an order of nuns and the Church who sought to hide their abuses.

We’d like to thank her for taking the time to be part of our “5 Minutes Alone” interview series.

AuthorScoop: What was your very first publication credit?

Kim: The closest thing to a publication credit before my book, The Unbreakable Child, would be winning two written essay contests with a radio station in the 1980’s two years in a row. Both essays were about a group I’m passionate about protecting — senior citizens, and I remember both times I could not claim the prizes [vacation packages] as I was out of the country.

AuthorScoop: Tell us about your latest release.

Kim: My book, The Unbreakable Child, is my memoir about growing up during the 60’s in rural Kentucky, in a Roman Catholic orphanage run by nuns and a priest. Grim, yet reviewers uniformly say it is ultimately inspiring. It interweaves the present day with the past, where other children and myself suffered brutal childhood abuses. These abuses finally came to light in 2004 through a nationally recognized lawsuit initiated by attorney William McMurry. This man of courage stepped forward in the cause of justice against the might of the Roman Catholic Church. Forty-four former orphans and myself (including my sisters) took on the task of exposing unspeakable horrors committed by those who cloaked evil with His veil. The former orphans were the first in United States history to receive monetary settlement from a Roman Catholic order of nuns, arising out of decades of institutional abuse.

The Unbreakable Child was released on April 1st, 2009 (ETA - 2nd edition released by Behler Publications, October 2010)

AuthorScoop: Aside from your own hard work, who else do you feel has contributed to your success?

Kim: I state in my acknowledgment page; significant life journeys are not taken alone. And this book was not an exception. I simply cannot credit any one individual with my success, but a community of many, many such as friends, family and strangers, as well the Absolute forum, which fueled and nourished my work with its unconditional encouragement and prayers.

AuthorScoop: At what time of day or night do you do your best writing?

Kim: Dusk.

AuthorScoop: Finally, what advice would you give to new or unpublished writers?

Kim: Cliché but true; be the little engine that could — keep chugging and remember rules are nothing more than just guidelines.

The Unbreakable Child is available for at Amazon.com.

(edited to reflect new publisher’s links)

This entry was posted on Thursday, May 14th, 2009 at 3:27 pm and is filed under *Jamie's Posts, 5 Minutes Alone, AuthorScoop Exclusives. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.