EXPOSED:
How a lost boy bucked the system and
found his voice
John Wareham
Noted
high end literary New York Independent publisher Welcome Rain has selected the
Central Library in Palmerston North as the launching pad for Exposed,
a startling new memoir by Pulitzer Prize nominee John Wareham.
The
memoir centers upon a personal dilemma. Long term New York resident John
Wareham accepts an invitation to share ‘a few inspiring words’ in New York with
a visiting class from Palmerston North Boys High School, which he attended as a
boarder in the 1950s. Back then, however, “sexual abuse was an open secret, and
sadistic masters ran rife.” Hence the conundrum: how much truth should he
share? We find the answer to that question in the final pages of the memoir,
which begins and ends in New York, but focuses on the author’s startling school
days in New Zealand.
John
Wareham was born and raised in New Zealand. He founded a leadership consulting
firm in Wellington and expanded it to Australia and England, and headquartered
it in New York, where he resided for 38 years. While there he also created and
ran a uniquely successful rehabilitation program for prison inmates, authored
several business bestsellers and popular psychology life-changers, as well as
two novels and two poetry anthologies, one of which was nominated for a
Pulitzer Prize. The New York said of his writing that he “possesses the cool,
clear eyes of a seeker of wisdom and truth.”
He
recently returned to take up residence in Wellington. To his surprise, “a local
literary luminary” cautioned him not to publish this current memoir. “I
was told that the tall poppy syndrome was alive, that Kiwis would hate the
book, and that publication would destroy my reputation as a writer.”
“I
understand why someone would say that, but I do not agree,” says New York based
literary Professor Charles Defanti. “I see this work as a KiwiCatcher in the
Rye. The themes are universal and the telling of the story delivers a
significant jolt of innovation and energy to the memoir form.”
Welcome
Rain chief executive Mr John Weber concurs. “The blend of novelistic style,
kaleidoscopic fragments and structural twists make this book uniquely riveting,
and Palmerston North is the perfect place to launch it. The local high school
is intrinsic to the story, and the library and bookshop are memorably
featured.”
The
launch is scheduled for 5.30pm on Thursday 13th November 2015
at the Palmerston North Central Library in the City Square. The event is open
to the public, but space is limited and anyone wishing to be sure of attending
is urged to contact the library, by emailing maria.shiva@pncc.govt.nz.
A
follow up launch celebration will also be hosted by Unity Books in Wellington
at 6.00pm on Thursday 26th November.
Release date: 13 November 2015
RRP: $29.95 - NZ Distributor - Bateman Publishing
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