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Author/social worker to talk about sexual abuse, resiliency |
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Krista M. Hayes |
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Nov 15, 2005 |
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As part of the brown-bag lecture series, The University of Toledo’s Catharine S. Eberly Center for Women will host a talk on sex abuse and resiliency given by author and social workes Karen McConnell, on Thursday, Nov. 17, at 12:30 p.m. in Tucker Hall Room 180.
McConnell and Eileen Brand co-wrote The House That Karen Built: A True Story of Sex Abuse and Resiliency (2005).
By the age of 11, McConnell knew of sexual abuse and abandonment and spent her teen years as a foster child. She shares the wisdom gained from her life experiences as a foster child, a foster mother and a social worker in The House That Karen Built, which offers steps for positive reframing and transforming an individual’s existence into a life success.
“The first part of the book is a case study over my own personal story with sex abuse and me being a foster child,” McConnell said. “The second half deals with the characteristics contributed to resiliency, which is the ability to overcome and thrive adversity.”
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| Eileen Brand, left, and Karen McConnell |
“The key population I would like to reach out to and impact is mostly those men and women who never disclose their abuse. Society makes them feel guilty when they don’t need to because it’s not their fault,” McConnell said.
While working for General Mills, McConnell attended night school and earned a bachelor of arts degree in human resource development from The University of Toledo. She became the first woman supervisor on the manufacturing floor of the Betty Crocker plant in Toledo. Later, after moving to Alabama, she developed and coordinated a therapeutic foster care program. She received a master’s degree in social work from the University of Alabama and became executive director of Tennessee Valley Family Services, a community-based agency that provides services for runaway and homeless youth. After moving back to Toledo, McConnell manages a consulting and training company called Reframe4Success and facilitates the Personal Enrichment and Career Groups and the Financial Literacy Groups at the UT Center for Women.
For more information on the free, public lecture, contact the Center for Women at 419.530.8570.
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