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Mary Simmerling

Goodreads Author

Born

in Chicago Illinois, The United States

Website

https://writewherewebelong.ca/

Genre

Poetry, Memoir, Philosophy

Member Since

April 2023

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I am a poet, scholar, and activist dedicated to advancing social justice, ending violence, and healing trauma. I lead writing workshops with survivors of gender-based and sexual violence and trauma, as well as caregivers and people with lived experiences of grief. I am committed to listening to, nurturing, and freeing silenced voices and amplifying voices of rebellion, reclamation, and resistance.

My interests include applied ethics, social justice, psychology, trauma recovery, and harnessing the healing powers of the creative self through creative writing and art. I have a diverse yet complementary background in fine art, philosophy, social justice, psychology, and applied ethics. I hold a PhD in philosophy from the University of Illinois a I am a poet, scholar, and activist dedicated to advancing social justice, ending violence, and healing trauma. I lead writing workshops with survivors of gender-based and sexual violence and trauma, as well as caregivers and people with lived experiences of grief. I am committed to listening to, nurturing, and freeing silenced voices and amplifying voices of rebellion, reclamation, and resistance.

My interests include applied ethics, social justice, psychology, trauma recovery, and harnessing the healing powers of the creative self through creative writing and art. I have a diverse yet complementary background in fine art, philosophy, social justice, psychology, and applied ethics. I hold a PhD in philosophy from the University of Illinois at Chicago, where I specialized in applied ethics and social justice. I also hold an MA in psychology from Adler University, where I studied Adlerian theory, focusing on the effects of trauma and the roles of creativity and community in trauma recovery and healing.

I currently serve as the Senior Research Advisor & National Leadership Council member at RAINN (Rape Abuse & Incest National Network). I am a Member of the League of Canadian Poets and an Affiliate and Vice Chair of the Board of Amherst Writers & Artists.

I believe that poetry and art can be powerful tools for healing, transformation, and social change. My poem “What I Was Wearing” challenges harmful questions and responses to disclosures of sexual assault that inappropriately blame victims rather than perpetrators, thereby retraumatizing victims and perpetuating false narratives about sexual violence. “What I was wearing” is the inspiration for thousands of global grassroots art exhibits “What Were You Wearing?,” that invite survivors to contribute their own stories and representations of the clothing they were wearing when they were assaulted. Like the poem, the exhibitions seek to upend victim-blaming myths and raise awareness of the far-reaching and long-lasting impacts of sexual violence and the healing powers of empowering survivors to reclaim our own stories. In 2019, a group of high school students in the UK got together and created an original music composition based on my poem, which won the BBC's 2020 Young Composer's Award. You can listen to Edward Atkins's award-winning composition "What Were You Wearing?" here.

In 2024, I edited a first of its kind anthology of writing from workshops I led with survivors of sexual violence. We’ve Been Put Through Fire & Come Out Divine: Stories of Hope & Survival (Amherst Writers & Artists Press) not only gives voice to survivors, but seeks to upend false narratives about sexual violence. For example, the thinly veiled accusation that lies behind the question so many survivors are often asked: "What were you wearing?" This innovative work represents a new pathway for survivors and those who interact with us to gain a deeper understanding of the impact of sexual violence on us as individuals and communities. ...more

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Mary Simmerling's Blog

January 29 Book Launch Event

Mary Simmerling

We've Been Put Through Fire & Come Out Divine: Stories of Hope & Survival

Please join me in conversation with representatives from Rape & Incest National Network (RAINN) and Amherst Writers & Artists (AWA) on Monday, January 29, 2024 from 4-6 pm ET to celebrate the publication of We’ve Been Put Through Fire and Come Out Divine: Stories of Hope & Survival . The event will feature rea Read more of this blog post »

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Published on January 25, 2024 04:54

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Mary Simmerling’s books

Average rating: 4.86 · 28 ratings · 11 reviews · 11 distinct works • Similar authors

	We've Been Put Through Fire & Come Out Divine: Stories of Hope & Survival by Mary Simmerling (Goodreads Author), Writers of Write Where We Belong 4.86 avg rating — 14 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	What the Current Cannot Swallow by Debra Hall (Goodreads Author), Mary Simmerling (Goodreads Author) (Editor), Sarah Pierson (Illustrator) 4.60 avg rating — 5 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	My Concern: A Poetic Memoir: Poems About Trauma by Micky Shorr, Mary Simmerling (Goodreads Author) (Editor) it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 3 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Motherland by Margaret Kogan, Mary Simmerling (Goodreads Author) (Editor) it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 3 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	MARY WAS HERE: an effigy of sorts it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 2 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	What the Current Cannot Swallow by Debra Hall (Goodreads Author), Mary Simmerling (Goodreads Author) (Editor), Sarah Pierson (Illustrator) it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	In Plain Sight: How the Epistemology of Ignorance Normalizes Gender-Based Violence 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Meditations on Life: A Tuesday Circle Anthology by Mary Simmerling (Goodreads Author), LeAnn Blackert (Editor), Denise Jessup (Editor) 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Choosing to be Harmed: Autonomy and its Limits in Living Organ Donor Transplantation 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Why Didn't She Just Leave? Documenting the Violence that Prevents Women from Leaving the Men Who Abuse Them: Field Notes for Break the Silence Nashville ... Field Notes from the Exhibits Book 4) 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Mary Simmerling…

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Mary Simmerling, Ph.D. is currently reading

Dear Sister: A Memoir of Secrets, Survival, and Unbreakable Bonds

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Mar 10, 2024 12:09PM

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But Some of Us Are Brave: All the Women Are White, All the Blacks Are Men: Black Women's Studies

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Mar 01, 2024 02:52AM

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Why We Have a Body

by Claire Chafee

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Feb 29, 2024 03:43PM

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Mary Simmerling, Ph.D. rated a book it was amazing A Perfect Nightmare: My Glittering Marriage and How It Almost Cost Me My Life by Karen Gosbee	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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Mary Simmerling, Ph.D. rated a book it was amazing What Were You Wearing? The Role of Victim-Blaming & Indifference in Facilitating & Perpetuating Gender-Based Crimes: An Immersive, Survivor-Centred Exhibit: ... Field Notes from the Exhibits Book 2) by Mary Simmerling PhD	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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Mary Simmerling, Ph.D. rated a book it was amazing What Were You Wearing? The Role of Victim-Blaming & Indifference in Facilitating & Perpetuating Gender-Based Crimes: An Immersive, Survivor-Centred Exhibit: ... Field Notes from the Exhibits Book 3) by Mary Simmerling PhD	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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Mary Simmerling, Ph.D. rated a book it was amazing The Architecture of Impunity: A Forensic Audit of Modern Predation (In Plain Sight: Violence, Silence, and the Architecture of Impunity) by Mary Simmerling PhD	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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Mary Simmerling, Ph.D. rated a book it was amazing What Were You Wearing? The Role of Victim-Blaming & Indifference in Facilitating & Perpetuating Gender-Based Crimes: An Immersive, Survivor-Centred Exhibit: ... Field Notes from the Exhibits Book 1) by Mary Simmerling PhD	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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Mary Simmerling, Ph.D. rated a book it was amazing What the Current Cannot Swallow by Debra Hall (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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Mary Simmerling, Ph.D. rated a book it was amazing My Concern: A Poetic Memoir: Poems About Trauma by Micky Shorr	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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