Author! Author! – Meri Kennedy, “My Enemy, Myself”

My Enemy Myself, a journey through surviving childhood sexual abuse and trauma was written by Cranston resident, Meri R. Kennedy.  Many of us know Meri’s familiar by-line on other publications, as she writes columns, Cranston Chatter, and features for the Cranston Herald, Johnston Sunrise and Warwick Beacon. Meri is a freelance columnist and reporter. She has had a successful career in business and currently volunteers in her community.

For those who know Meri’s struggles with a myriad of illnesses, most currently, gastroparesis, one thinks of her only as the lady with a happy, encouraging word for all and a terrific smile.  Just last week she was honored in the Cranston Hall of Fame, a time she called “a magical evening”. Meri took the opportunity to talk about her life and career in Cranston – truly a “bloom where you are planted” story. She credits her volunteerism with helping her deal with being sexually abused as a young child, for many years. “Despite what was going on in the house surrounded by the white picket fence that was pure evil, my volunteer worked made me feel wonderful inside. I do believe it not only helped me excel at my professions, it pretty much saved my life as I felt needed and wanted.”

She says, “I turned my pain into passion,” and is about to relaunch her book, which her journey and has helped many survivors as well as clinicians.

My Enemy, Myself is a personal journey through the recovery from childhood sexual abuse and trauma told through a balance of poetry and prose. The author recalls her journey through chaos, realization, therapy and recovery.

Whether you have been through similar trauma in your life or know someone who has, My Enemy, Myself was written for the reader to identify with the emotions, thought patterns and self-actualization. This is also a book about loss. As a therapist has said, “loss is loss” and a death of a loved one, a job, a home – your childhood – means many of the same survival steps are taken. The book is recommended for clinicians, educators and survivors.

To purchase My Enemy, Myself, by Meri R. Kennedy, go to: