As Far As You Can Go Before You Have to Come Back a-girl-and-her-backpack story with a #MeToo influence by Alle C. Hall ➱ Book Tour with Guest Post
Alle C. Hall’s
WOW! WOMEN ON WRITING TOUR
OF
As Far As You Can Go Before You Have to Come Back
Book Summary
Nominated for The Pacific Northwest Booksellers Book Award, Alle C. Hall’s debut literary novel, As Far As You Can Go Before You Have to Come Back is a-girl-and-her-backpack story with a #MeToo influence:
Carlie is not merely traveling. A child sexual abuse survivor, as a teen she steals ten thousand dollars from her parents and runs away to Asia. There, the Lonely Planet path of hookups, heat, alcohol, and drugs takes on a terrifying reality. Landing in Tokyo in the late 1980s, Carlie falls in with an international crew of tai chi-practicing backpackers. With their help, Carlie has the chance at a journey she didn’t plan for: one to find the self-respect ripped from her as a child and the healthy sexuality she desires.
Publisher: Black Rose Writing
ISBN-10: 1685131476
ISBN-13: 978-1685131470
Audio Book AISN: B0C3NVGNS
Print Length: 267 pages
Purchase a copy of the book on Amazon, Bookshop.org, or Barnes and Noble. Make sure you also add it to your GoodReads reading list.
Guest Post
Topic: Surviving traumatic, unkind, or simply less-than-nurturing events
There is no Miss Universe of Pain
In my novel, As Far as You Can Go Before You Have to Come Back, the main character survives childhood sexual trauma. To be specific, she endures incest. As did I. So many readers kindly tell me that incest seems like the worst form of abuse.
I disagree.
With full appreciation for their good intentions, I believe that no one’s difficulties are inherently more or less damaging.
(With the caveat that the trauma of children caught up in geopolitical events is on an entirely different level of epic: refugees, kidnapped and forced to be child soldiers, sexually trafficked, genocide, girls raised in extreme misogyny.)
Any trauma, any unkind or less-than-nurturing events a child survives is their worst experience. Their reaction may quite genuinely be as severe as the “real” trauma of someone whose data seems extreme.
There is no Miss Universe of pain. In the face of trauma, none of us is better or worse off. Therefore, anyone who went through difficulty can heal.
Step
One: Identifying Trauma in Child Abuse
Here are the five primary forms of childhood abuse and some examples—as taught to me by my therapist, Dr. Donna J. Bevan Lee:
1. Intellectual Shaming or attacking the child’s thoughts; demanding perfection, hypocrisy; forcing religious beliefs, failing to provide education.
2. Physical If it hurt or threatened to hurt, or if you watched it happen to another person.
3. Sexual Any sexual contact or inferences between an adult and a child, or two children with greater than a three-year age difference.
4. Emotional Ignoring, neglecting, abandoning physically or emotionally; denying feelings; yelling, belittling, raging, silent rage; overindulging or overprotecting.
5. Peer or School Abuse Bullying or being teased by
siblings or at school.
If any of these happened to you, even if it took place a long time ago or “wasn’t that bad,” you are a survivor of childhood abuse. You are no longer a victim. You graduated the minute you read the headline of this piece (if not before).
As a survivor, your assignment (you have no choice but to accept it) is to move into thriving. Here are the steps I learned from Dr. Donna:
Identifying Feelings
When I feel overwhelmed (even in a good way) or depressed, or on the verge of raging or binging, I look to a simple list of six feelings.
· Joy
· Shame
· Fear
· Anger
· Guilt
After identifying the feeling, I say aloud, “I feel (fill in the blank).” Amazing, how expressing my feelings brings my emotions to a manageable level: a strength of one to three on a ten-scale. Any feelings coming in at four or above could use another gander at Dr. Donna’s list of feelings.
Reaching Out
No one can heal from the effects of child abuse without help. Reaching out can be as inexpensive as a 12-Step meeting (free!) or a six-week in-patient program (not exactly free … )
I don’t recommend leaning on friends for support. Definitely steer clear of family. Too many triggers.
When you first begin your healing journey, it could be that your friends are in the same whirlwind you find yourself in. Without a doubt, your family will. Without proper support, you could all trigger each other, possilby turning to the addictions that might have drawn you together, initially.
Find people who are farther down the road to recovery. Find someone who has what you want and ask them how they got it.
A Meditative Practice
I practice Tai chi, something I gave the main character in As Far as You Can Go Before You Have to Come Back. Yoga is another good option—anything that brings emotional awareness to movement. The movement will literally wring the trauma out of a body.
Leaving you free to fill yourself with joy.
About the Author
Nominated for The Pacific Northwest Booksellers Book Award and—this just in—winner of The PenCraft Book Award for Fiction – Adventure, Alle C. Hall’s debut literary novel, As Far as You Can Go Before You Have to Come Back was winning prizes before its publication, including the National League of American Pen Women’s Mary Kennedy Eastham Prize. Her short stories and essays appear in journals including Dale Peck’s Evergreen Review, Tupelo Quarterly, New World Writing, Litro, Creative Nonfiction, and Another Chicago. She has written for The Seattle Times, and Seattle Weekly, and was a contributing writer at The Stranger. She is the former senior nonfiction editor at JMWW Journal and the former associate editor of Vestal Review. Hall lived in Asia, traveled there extensively, speaks what she calls “clunky” Japanese, and has a tai chi practice of 35 years running.
Find her online at:
Website: https://allehall.wordpress.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/allechallwriter
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/allec.hall/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/allechall1
Substack: https://allechall.substack.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alle-c-hall-36a588159/
#asfarasyoucango #metoo #drama #comingofage #kindleunlimited #allechall #wow
Hosted by ➱ WOW @WomenonWriting
Blog Tour Calendar
October 2nd @ The Muffin
Join us as we celebrate the launch of Alle C. Hall's blog tour for As Far As You Can Go Before You Have to Come Back. Read an interview with the author and enter to win a copy of the book.
https://muffin.wow-womenonwriting.com
October 3rd @ Seaside Book Nook
Jill will be spotlighting the award-winning book As Far As You Can Go Before You Have to Come Back by Alle C. Hall.
https://www.seasidebooknook.com
October 3rd @ Felicia Guest Writes
Join Felicia as she features an excerpt of As Far As You Can Go Before You Have to Come Back.
https://feliciaguestwrites.com/
October 5th @ Fiona Ingram
Join Fiona for a guest post by Alle C. Hall about travel and travel writing.
https://fionaingramauthor.blogspot.com/
October 7th @ Chapter Break
Julie will be spotlighting As Far As You Can Go Before You Have to Come Back on her blog today. She'll also be interviewing the author.
October 8th @ World of My Imagination
Visit Nicole's blog for her review of As Far As You Can Go Before You Have to Come Back.
https://worldofmyimagination.com
October 8th @ Just Katherine
Don't miss Katherine's feature of an excerpt from As Far As You Can Go Before You Have to Come Back.
https://justkatherineblog.wordpress.com
October 10th @ Just Katherine
Katherine shares a guest post by Alle C. Hall about the topic of joy.
https://justkatherineblog.wordpress.com
October 12th @ Knotty Needle
Visit Judy's blog for her review of As Far As You Can Go Before You Have to Come Back.
http://knottyneedle.blogspot.com
October 14th @ A Wonderful World of Books
Visit Joy's blog for a guest post by the author about surviving traumatic, unkind, or simply less-than-nurturing events.
https://awonderfulworldofwordsa.blogspot.com/
October 16th @ Storeybook Reviews
Visit Leslie's blog for a guest post by Alle C. Hall about coping.
https://www.storeybookreviews.com
October 18th @ Finished Pages
Join Renee as she reviews As Far As You Can Go Before You Have to Come Back.
October 19th @ Celticlady's Reviews
Kathleen shares a spotlight of As Far As You Can Go Before You Have to Come Back.
https://celticladysreviews.blogspot.com/
October 20th @ A Storybook World
Join Deirdra for her spotlight of As Far As You Can Go Before You Have to Come Back.
https://www.astorybookworld.com/
October 21st @ The Mommies Review
Don't miss Glenda's review of As Far As You Can Go Before You Have to Come Back.
http://www.themommiesreviews.com/
October 23rd @ Bring on Lemons
Join Crystal for her review of As Far As You Can Go Before You Have to Come Back.
https://bringonlemons.blogspot.com/
October 25th @ Mire Marke
Join Mire as she reviews As Far As You Can Go Before You Have to Come Back.
October 26th @ Lisa Haselton's Reviews and Interviews
Visit Lisa's blog for her interview with author Alle C. Hall.
October 27th @ Freeing the Butterfly
Visit Michelle's blog for a guest post by Alle C. Hall about spirituality.
https://www.freeingthebutterfly.com/blog
October 30th @ Jill Sheet's blog
Visit Jill's blog for her interview with author Alle C. Hall
https://jillsheets.blogspot.com/
November 1st @ Writer Advice
Visit B. Lynn Goodwin's blog for her review of As Far As You Can Go Before You Have to Come Back.
November 2nd @ Writer Advice
Join B. Lynn Goodwin again when she interviews Alle C. Hall.
November 3rd @ Choices
Visit Madeline's blog for a guest post by Alle C. Hall about trauma and creativity.
November 3 @ Boys' Mom Reads
Join Karen for her review of Alle C. Hall's book As Far As You Can Go Before You Have to Come Back.
https://karensiddall.wordpress.com/
November 4th @ Boots, Shoes, and Fashion
Visit Linda's blog for an in-depth interview with author Alle C. Hall about her book As Far As You Can Go Before You Have to Come Back.
https://bootsshoesandfashion.com/
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