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Chicago Clergy Sex Abuse Cases

THE BOOK OF TIMOTHY:
THE DEVIL, MY BROTHER, AND ME

"A riveting nonfiction account of a sister’s dedication to and love for her brother. Debut author Wilson’s work is a searing indictment of abuses by the Catholic Church, specifically about what her sibling, Timothy, suffered at the age of 13. She and her brother speak openly about the past in these pages, and this memoir’s guiding light is her deep, moving love and devotion to him...Wilson also presents a timely meditation on religion’s role in the modern world and in her life as she struggles with the Catholic Church’s hypocrisies."

 

Kirkus Reviews

Chicago Clergy Sex Abuse Cases
Books About Catholic Church Abuse

THE BOOK OF TIMOTHY:

THE DEVIL, MY BROTHER, AND ME

 

In this powerful true crime memoir, Joan Nockels Wilson recounts a woman’s quest to confront the priest who sexually molested her brother. It is also the heartbreaking story of the traumatic effects on an Irish-American family after they discover that Joan’s younger brother, Tim, was sexually molested by their Chicago parish priest, Rev. John Baptist Ormechea.

 

Twenty years after the fact, Joan's brother revealed the abuse after reading the Boston Globe’s exposé of predatory priests, later enacted in the film Spotlight. Living in Alaska, far from her family’s Chicago home, Joan plunged into a guilt-tinged depression. She then became consumed by what she saw as the priest’s treachery as the priest had often been at their dinner table and had even presided over the wedding of Joan and her first husband.

 

Set in Rome, Chicago, and Anchorage, and spanning thirty years from crime to confrontation, The Book of Timothy: The Devil, My Brother, and Me recounts a sister’s journey, partly through trickery, but eventually through truth, to gain a long absent admission from the priest who abused her brother...

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Joan Nockels Wilson

Joan Nockels Wilson is a writer and lawyer. A native of Chicago and a forever-learner, she has studied at Northwestern University, University of California Berkeley, Lewis and Clark College, and the University of Alaska. She holds a Master’s of Fine Arts in creative nonfiction, is a Rasmuson Foundation Individual Artist award winner, and is a member of the Bread Loaf community of writers. Her work has appeared in literary journals and audio shows, most recently Entropy Magazine, Cirque and Arctic Entries. She lives with her husband, daughter, and a vizsla named Vivian in Anchorage, Alaska. This is her first book.... MORE

Sex Crimes of Catholic Priests
Joan Nockels Wilson
UPCOMING EVENTS

 

March 25, 2022 at 12:30 to 1:30 PM (Eastern) 

RED HEN PRESS WRITERS AT AWP  (IN-PERSON)

If you're going to #AWP22, join me at Red Hen's booths 1040 & 1042. See you there!

More Info

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March 25, 2022 at 2 to 4 PM (Eastern) 

BOOK SIGNING AT THE CIRQUE PRESS BOOTH

If you're going to #AWP22, join me at Cirque Press's booth. See you there! 

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March 25, 2022 at 6 PM (Eastern) 

RED HEN PRESS WRITERS AT AWP  (IN-PERSON)

Featuring readers from Writers Room, Painted Bride Quarterly, and Red Hen Press, this off-site event starts at 6:00 PM at the Writers Room at Drexel University and will be nonstop incredible literature, food, drinks, and fun!

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April 17, 2022 (Alaska) at 9 a.m.

VIRTUAL, ANCHORAGE, AK 
Virtual event sponsored by the Unitarian Church with Joan Nockels Wilson and

Kathleen Tarr (We Are All Poets Here)  Poles Apart: From a Faithful Trappist Monk  to Poisoned Predator Priest 

 author of We Are All Poets Here. 

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April 24, 2022 at 3 to 6 p.m. (Mountain)

IN-PERSON, BOULDER, CO 
In person event/Supporter of the Family of Alana Faith Chen. Not One More Soul: Raising Awareness and Putting an End to Conversion Therapy

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