#AuthorInterview with Geoffrey R. Jonas
Today, Feathered Quill reviewer Diana Coyle is talking with Geoffrey R. Jonas, author of Being Broken: Tales and Essays of Survival and Death from Narcissistic Parental Abuse.
FQ: One of the first things I do when I read a book by an author I’m unfamiliar with is read the author’s bio to get to know them better. Would you please tell us a few things about yourself so that new readers, like myself, can learn about you?
JONAS: Well, everything about me is already in the book since it is a personal memoir. I’m pretty down-to-earth. I’m retired and you can typically find me puttering around my yard, out on the lake I live at, or working on paintings and writing. I enjoy music, movies, and games. I’m not very social these days as my CPTSD is something I have to manage daily. I like my isolation but do get out socially once in a while. I like to keep my cards close to my chest.
JONAS: The book is the story of the abuse my sister and I went through our whole lives, culminating in her death. It has been a hard journey of discovery for me. The later chapters show how I have been healing myself of my trauma and what I am still struggling with. I like to think that my inclusion of science and essays and showing the real-life consequences of the topics are reflected in my sister’s and my experiences are what stands out for my book. That and my honesty. I didn’t try to cover up or pad the truth about what we went through.
FQ: Your emotions are raw and very real on every page. Did you find writing Being Broken as a means of therapy in trying to heal your abusive past with your family members? Or did it rip the wounds open deeper for you?
JONAS: As a man of science and evidence, I needed to understand what happened. I had been writing essays about my own journey with SUD and it evolved into understanding trauma and child abuse. I needed to be able to let go of so much guilt and shame that I was carrying, to find the inner child that never was. It was healing in that sense as all the work I put in and the knowledge I gained gave me a better understanding of my experiences.
Writing this was difficult though. Writing about your own trauma, and that of my sister, could be very overwhelming. I would tackle a difficult topic, which may only be a couple of paragraphs, and I would have to stop for the rest of the day, or a couple, before I could get back to the keyboard. Sometimes it can feel like re-traumatization.
FQ: What made you decide to write your book and did it help you achieve whatever goal you set for yourself in wanting to write it? If you don’t mind sharing, what was that goal you set out for yourself?
JONAS: Simply put, the death of my sister. After her death, I began to research how such a thing could happen. I had already been studying Substance Use Disorder (SUD) and trauma for many years; however, this was the first time I started looking directly into my family. The writing began as essays, discussing the abuse and trauma and how it relates to SUD. Once I started connecting the dots between trauma and SUD, I wanted to incorporate real-life examples of our experiences to better communicate that relation.
I do feel like I achieved that.
FQ: What did you learn about your writing journey while writing this book?
JONAS: That I enjoy it. I have been writing for my whole life. Mostly poetry and lyrics, essays for school, and technical writing for my companies. I think with the positive reviews and some recent awards I am now encouraged to keep going on my writing journey.
FQ: Are you working on any other books at the moment? If so, please tell us something about that work.
JONAS: I am not currently working on another book. This book was very difficult for me to write. I do have some ideas rattling around in my head, perhaps a follow up called “Getting Fixed”, but most likely I will be trying my hand at fiction. I am an avid reader of fantasy and science fiction and have many character backgrounds, stories, and ideas written throughout the years that may come together into a science fantasy series.
FQ: Please tell us what is your writing routine like?
JONAS: That depends on how motivated I am. Sometimes I write all day, sometimes it may be days or weeks in between sessions. This book was hard to write, so sometimes I had to take time to recover after writing about very difficult events in my life. Also, summer is pretty short where I live in northern Canada, so writing is more of a winter activity since I want to take advantage of the summer months.
FQ: To wrap up our interview, is there anything you would like to add to tell our readers?
JONAS: Follow your heart and say what you want to say. We are often too concerned with how others will receive what we are trying to convey. We can’t please everyone. There will always be people who don’t like what we have to say. Don’t mind them. Know and trust yourself.
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