From Behind Bars to Behind Communities – Our Epilogue . . . Or Is It?

In 2018, on what I now call “my anniversary,” I published a blog post, From Behind Bars to Behind Communities — Our Beginning. I shared excerpts of our story, as I have for almost fifteen years in many different capacities.

I said in that post, “the day didn’t go as it was ‘supposed to.’ Or . . . did it?”

Though I have spoken to audiences ranging from 7 to over 700 people sharing pieces of “our puzzle,” never have I released the full story. It has taken me almost twenty years to recall more memories from our past so that I could create a story to be shared. I vowed during a speech in 2008 at Heinz Field, emceed by Larry Richert of Newsradio 1020 KDKA, that someday I would write a book and document our entire story. After I finished speaking, I received a standing ovation and was in tears. I had never spoken in front of a room of that size in my life, but in that moment, I felt empowered. Sharing our story was freeing.

“World, you had better watch out for this jailbird mom. She’s clearly not done yet,” he said.

You were right, Larry. I wasn’t done. WE — Christian and I — weren’t done. Not by a long shot!

There’s a song from the nineties by a band called Semisonic called “Closing Time.” Perhaps you’ve heard of it. Perhaps you sang the title and didn’t read it (hey, to each their own).

One of my favorite lyrics from that song is, “Every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end.”

July 14, 2020 marks multiple milestones for my family:

1) My beloved father, John Jerome Tomko, will have been departed from his earthly presence for eleven years.

2) Christian is attending day two of his orientation for the U.S. Postal Service as he trains to be a City Carrier Assistant. He’s following in Grandpa’s footsteps.

3) Imprisoned No More becomes available on Amazon for pre-order, and I will begin to accept private orders for the paperback prior to the official release on August 23, 2020.

I’m pricing the ebook at just $.99 cents as an introductory offering, and I hope you will consider a purchase to support our story and help my message reach people around the world. By making a purchase during my Virtual Pre-Order Party and pushing the book up the ranks as a best-selling release, more and more people will be notified about its existence which means I can offer help and hope to people across the globe.

Be sure to join this virtual all-day event, which will remain on Facebook permanently. I’m sharing quotes, videos, and more here first on this event page exclusively for guests, and will have posts for you every 30 minutes. I am so excited to share in this day with you all!

Christian and I have accomplished so much, both individually and together.

This isn’t the epilogue, my friends. We’re stepping into the next powerful chapter in our journey.

Sharing our story has freed us.

We are imprisoned no more.

To be continued . . .

***

You can purchase Imprisoned No More: A Mother and Son Embrace Autism and Journey to Freedom, or any of my other books by visiting my Amazon Author Page. You can also pre-order the paperback from me personally before August 23rd! If you pre-ordered the Kindle version for your own digital copy and/or to help support my message, I will be removing that dollar from your order to say thank you.

Author: Catherine Hughes

Passionate Advocate. Innovative Storyteller. Engaging Strategist. Author. Editor. Blogger. View all posts by Catherine Hughes