Voice Lessons: Uncovering and Claiming Your Unique, Creative Voice
You're a writer, artist, singer, choreographer. Think Lady Gaga, Judy Garland, Prince. Hemingway, JK Rowling, JRR Tolkien. Picasso, Van Gogh. You're tired of trying to uncover your voice by imitating other artists. If you've peeled back the layers of your voice and think you finally recognize it as yours, do you have the courage to claim it? These are the questions we aim to answer during my biweekly podcast, Voice Lessons: Covering and Claiming Your Unique, Creative Voice.
Voice Lessons: Uncovering and Claiming Your Unique, Creative Voice
Survivor Stories Series: When Protectors Become Predators — How One Father is Fighting to Close Legal Loopholes For Survivors to Get Justice with Chris McGhee
This month on Voice Lessons, I’m doing a special series where every week we’ll have a new episode sharing the voices and stories of survivors who have experienced sexual trauma.
This week, I spoke with Chris McGee, a father of 3 daughters and survivor advocate, about his experience with the legal system after it came out that his daughter had been groomed and sexually assaulted by a local police officer. The crime resulted in a lenient plea deal where the officer unfortunately walked free.
Refusing to accept this as justice, Chris began working to close legal loopholes that allow law enforcement officers to escape serious charges for sexual violence. Throughout this conversation, we discussed the importance of identifying grooming behavior, creating safe environments for children, and the challenges parents face in trusting their instincts.
Although Chris doesn’t consider himself a writer, he shares a letter he wrote to himself after this experience about releasing the guilt and shame around the trauma his family endured. I think most will agree after hearing it that Chris truly is a writer, and his upcoming book, 'Finding a Way Back,' aims to provide a sense of community and support for other survivors and their families.
Key Topics:
- Navigating the legal system after a police officer took advantage of his family
- Having the conversations nobody wants to have about keeping your family safe
- Trusting your intuition as a parent, especially with teenagers
- The warning signs that somebody might be taking advantage of your kid(s)
- Why do we need to make it easier for survivors to come forward
- Taking the responsibility from victims and putting it back onto predators
- Why Chris decided to write his upcoming book ‘Finding a Way Back’
- How Chris has navigated the guilt and shame he felt after the incident
- Why AWA works for healing after trauma
- Advice for other survivors of trauma on finding their voices
Connect with Chris online:
Website: chrismcghee.com
Instagram: @chris_mcghee_
Amherst Writers and Artists Anthology: https://amherstwriters.org/bookstore/
Find more from Jill:
Email: jill@thewritersrefuge.com
Website: https://www.thewritersrefuge.com/
Writing Coaching Programs: https://www.thewritersrefuge.com/coaching
Sign up for my free 3x weekly writing session: write to jill@thewritersrefuge.com for ZOOM info
Special thanks to LVDY for allowing us to use their song, Saltwater, in the intro and outro of the podcast!
