Check out this book tube!

“This author talk is not to be missed, dear teachers. You want to hear Dr. Sonia Patel talk about mental health in this letter to her teen patient. The letter is available for free in Just YA's online version at Open OkState here: https://open.library.okstate.edu/just... Also, the book is available anywhere books are sold: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/just... “

Thank you, Sarah, for including me here and in the JUST YA anthology. Follow Sarah!

INSTAGRAM /sarahjdonovan9

FACEBOOK / sarahjdonovan9

YOUTUBE SUBSCRIBE:    / @sarah.j.donovan  

HONORED THAT MY ESSAY IS INCLUDED IN THIS GROUNDBREAKING NEW ANTHOLOGY: JUST YA

AMAZING NEWS! A groundbreaking new YA anthology (grateful that my essay LETTER FROM YOUR NEW PSYCHIATRIST is included) will be live on September 2nd, and FREE off the Open OkState site. The paperback will eventually be available anywhere books are sold for the cost of printing and any bookseller mark-up. Thank you Sarah Donovon, editor, for your hard work and dedication on this incredible project!

From the introduction:

“JUST YA: SHORT POEMS, STORIES, & ESSAYS is a collection of open licensed,

non-revenue seeking literature about inclusive, affirming, justice-oriented

ways of being and the incredible capacity of youth.

The texts here are short so that they can be read and studied in one

class period. They are online so that teachers and students can freely print

and share the texts. Authors explore topics that can be in conversation

with/against canonical texts typically taught in high school classrooms.

This offers a rationale for teachers to bring in youth-focused texts to

update their curriculum and shift their framing with contemporary

perspectives. This collection is organized in themes around identity, love,

land, world, and futures (see Table 1.) that we see in conversation with the

required canonical texts and youth interests. And the forms are selected to

inspire student writing in a variety of forms, including creative fiction and

nonfiction.”

A DIFFERENT BEAST

My heart hammered in my chest when I read this Buckminster Fuller quote: “What can I do that isn’t going to get done unless I do it, just because of who I am?” GITA, definitely GITA—the first YA fiction about the realistic beginnings of the fallout of prolonged, repeated childhood sexual trauma, an entirely different beast than the fallout of circumscribed sexual trauma. A different beast I’ve spent 20 years helping many of my patients begin to tame (it’s always a lifelong task). A different beast I’ve endured, survived, and still tame daily. A different beast that needs to be exposed in the YA world, the way Judith Herman first exposed it in all of its biological complexity in the nonfiction world in her seminal book TRAUMA AND RECOVERY:

Herman, Judith. Trauma and Recovery. New York: Basic Books, 1997. Page 119.

Gujju From Hawaii Reppin' at VCBF!

I’m pumped! Another creative and I will be leading a groundbreaking, dynamic, and powerful @virginiachildrensbookfestival program! I can’t wait to do this particular work with the young people in attendance. Stay tuned for the reveal! 

So many great books exist but studies show that  ⅓ of 13-year-olds and 17-years-olds never/hardly read. That’s why I’m a huge fan of VCBF programming, a unique way to address this unfortunate trend and create lifelong readers.

CHECK OUT THIS LIT PODCAST EPISODE!

Full Episode #149 It’s Lit with PHDJ featuring Sonia Patel

This @itslitwithphdj podcast episode #149 just dropped! https://itslitwithphdj.wordpress.com/2022/04/02/sonia-patel/

Check it out for some nonviolent-hip-hop-YA resistance that be like 16-year-old Rani spittin,’ “My daddy’s gone. And I’m so done looking for another one.”

(Caveat: I hope readers/listeners will feel how difficult it is for Rani to liberate herself from her brain’s hardwiring to be groomed by older narcissistic/predator men like her father. Unlike Rani, most survivors of chronic childhood abuse DON’T gain insight/awareness into the abuse, or even disclose it, until the 3rd or 4th decade of life because the abuse has physically damaged and scarred their brains. But then RANI PATEL IN FULL EFFECT would’ve been a very different novel.)

My love & gratitude to hosts @pbanjoli & @jocelynkng for this opportunity. If you missed any episodes, catch up at https://itslitwithphdj.wordpress.com/

Shout out to @joannagordy for connecting me with these awesome podcasting humans!

Also, check out the podcast’s origin story: https://anjoliroy.com/bibliography/lit-on-radio-waves-holding-space-in-hawaii/