Ep. 91: Caitlin Wahrer (Author of The Damage) + Book Recommendations
Episode description
In Episode 91, Caitlin Wahrer (author of The Damage) shares how she decided to tackle sexual assault of a man by a man, how she felt about writing a gay male protagonist as a straight woman, and how the U.S. legal system is re-traumatizing for sexual assault victims.
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Highlights- Why Caitlin doesn’t use cases she actually worked on as inspiration for her fiction writing.
- How Caitlin decided to tackle sexual assault of a man by a man.
- How Caitlin felt about writing a story about a gay, male protagonist as a straight woman (and what the discussions with her publisher looked like).
- What it was like to work with a sensitivity reader.
- What it means to her when gay men and sexual assault survivors tell her The Damage had an impact on them. (rephrase).
- The biggest difference she discovered in the impact of sexual assault of a female vs. of a male.
- How the U.S. legal system is re-traumatizing for sexual assault victims, Caitlin’s view of the legal system’s biggest problems, and how she thinks it could be improved.
- The restorative justice process.
- Why attorneys make such great fiction writers.
Two OLD Books She Loves
- Know My Name by Chanel Miller | Buy from Amazon | Buy from Bookshop.org [31:34]
- Wild Seedby Octavia Butler | Buy from Amazon | Buy from Bookshop.org [34:31]
Two NEW Books She Loves
- The Nine Lives of Rose Napolitano by Donna Freitas | Buy from Amazon | Buy from Bookshop.org [37:28]
- Bath Haus by PJ Vernon | Buy from Amazon | Buy from Bookshop.org [39:35]
One Book She DIDN’T LOVE
- Cujo by Stephen King | Buy from Amazon | Buy from Bookshop.org [44:12]
One NEW RELEASE She’s Excited About
- Dog Park by Sofi Oksanen (September 21, 2021) | Buy from Amazon | Buy from Bookshop.org [42:13]
- That Night by Gillian McAllister | Buy from Amazon [46:40]
- Kindred by Octavia Butler [34:49]
- Salem’s Lot by Stephen King [46:13]
Caitlin is a Maine girl through and through. She was born to two hippies who raised her in a small town in central-southern Maine without a single stoplight in it. Caitlin left the state for four years to study criminal justice and marriage and family studies at a college in Pennsylvania. She returned to Maine after graduation to attend law school and practice law. She and her husband live in southern Maine with their dog.