Nobody's Girl - A Review

 

Virginia Roberts Giuffre's memoir is a very important and disturbing read. This book is compelling and well written, but I needed to take frequent breaks while reading it. It is heartbreaking and triggering. I wept while reading the chapters dealing with her family life and horrific childhood. It should go without saying that no child should ever have to endure what she did. And yet no single adult in her life attempted to protect her. 

Nobody's Girl gives us a deeper insight into a very young Jenna as she was known to her loved ones. She loved animals, especially horses and dreamed of growing up to be a vet. Jenna loved music and climbing trees and above all she loved her little brother. She had so many hopes and dreams, like we all did, until they were crushed, beginning with the extreme trauma induced by her own father. This abuse started when she was just eight years old leading to a difficult adolescence and a vulnerability which monsters like Maxwell and Epstein could easily manipulate. They specifically targeted vulnerable children from lower income circumstances. 

Fuck all those who abused and enabled the cruel and violent treatment of Virginia Roberts Giuffre. We failed her and by we I mean a society that allows for the rich and powerful to live by a different set of rules than the rest of us.  And a society that fails to believe and protect victims while forcing them to relive over and over their trauma in the hope that someone will believe them. 

Epstein was not an anomaly as is clearly stated in Virginia's book. He was not an outlier in a world where the bulk of wealth and power is controlled by psychopaths. I say psychos because how else can one describe people who are heartless to the pain and suffering of children. How else can you describe a person who would inflict such cruelty on a child for their own disgusting pleasure.

In later chapters Virginia talks about her efforts to bring justice to her abusers. It was long and painful with her often being retraumatized on an International stage. I honestly don't know if I could have been so brave. Her life and the lives of her children were also threatened. And Epstein's death is very, very suspicious.  

We as a society need to keep demanding the complete release of ALL the Epstein files and every single one of those people that he recorded engaging in his Lolita massages must face criminal charges. And then there are those who knew or suspected something.  Epstein reportedly had nude or scantily dressed girls in his homes and in photographs even bragging about his conquests. How could anyone in his sphere not have known? I have no idea how these people can live with themselves.  :( 

Virginia Giuffre holds a photo of her younger self. By Emily Michot - Original publication: Miami Herald by November 8, 2022 

The world lost Virginia in April 2025 to suicide. Of course I knew this going into her book, but throughout my reading I wanted to hug her and to say to her how sorry I am for everything she endured right up to the very end of her life. And that I believe her.  I also wanted to tell her how much her bravery and courage has made a difference and will hopefully bring justice for other victims. So I lit a white candle in her honour and I did just that. 

Rest in power Virginia Roberts Giuffre. 

Happy Equinox! Merry Mabon!

Happy Equinox! Merry Mabon!  Autumn has arrived in my neck of the woods. At this time of year I like to spend time meditating on the Goddess who I share my name with and her stories. 

Mother and Daughter Artist Meinrad Craighead

Demeter was a goddess of grain and harvests in ancient Greece whose daughter Persephone caught the eye of Hades, god of the Underworld. When Hades tricked Persephone and took her back to the Underworld with him Demeter's grief caused the crops on earth to die and go dormant. By the time she finally recovered her daughter with the help of Hekate, Persephone had eaten six pomegranate seeds, which compelled her to spend six months of the year in the Underworld. These six months when Persephone is with Hades are the time when nature goes through its death cycle to be reborn again in spring. 

In modern interpretations of the story, Persephone is not compelled to stay in the Underworld. Instead, she chooses to stay there for six months each year so that she can bring light to the souls who spend eternity with Hades. I love this interpretation as it exemplifies her love and compassion and her agency within her own myth. 

Demeter and Persephone are both Life and Death Goddesses. 

My daughter Stephanie was born on the very first day of Spring and the irony considering my name was not lost on me.

May you Autumn be blessed and may you reap what you've sown. So mote it be! 

The Last Breath Before Death

 

From the back cover of the book: BLOOD IS THICKER THAN WATER

A missing brother … An imminent phenomenon …

Award-winning comic book illustrator and artist Jimmy Cochran is also a freelance reporter in New York City, specialising in the supernatural. Upon hearing that his estranged brother, Quentin, has gone missing with his best friend over in Germany, Jimmy becomes concerned — unable to shake off the feeling of foreboding and dread. Things worsen when he quickly learns that the missing two are in great danger from an unequalled evil, which is connected to an upcoming, ominous and phenomenal event.

A mysterious ‘man’ with a terrifying tale …

With time running out, Jimmy investigates further, in spite of the strong warnings and the danger to his own life — particularly after he is contacted by a peculiar and mystifying man with a horrific, nefarious past of his own, linked to old Serbian and German folklores and a sinister, secret brotherhood.

 In the The Last Breath Before Death author Alan Golbourn has created a genuinely frightening supernatural horror novel. The story becomes ever more creepy, dark and compelling as we travel with the protagonist Jimmy in search of his missing brother and friend. I do not want to include spoilers here, but I will say if you prefer reading novels where the vampires are unhinged monsters this will not disappoint.

I read this book in the dark days of winter while recuperating from a serious illness involving blood and the irony was not lost on me. Its very well written with characters that stick with you. I have followed the author on Good Reads and Amazon and look forward to any future horrors he creates! 

5 out of 5 

Amazon link to purchase 

Please note I am not affiliated with Amazon and make no money from sharing this link. I'm just adding it for reader's convenience. 

A review of How To Survive A Bear Attack: A Memoir

 

Sometimes its worth it to get outside of one's comfort zone. In this case its my listening headspace through an audiobook I may not have given a chance to under normal circumstances. I have to confess that I am not normally drawn to books like Claire Cameron's How To Survive A Bear Attack: A Memoir. I was unfamiliar with the author or her previous works so a memoir was not overly appealing. And then when I learned it involved her cancer journey I debated on giving it a pass because I am a cancer survivor and an admitted coward who is easily triggered. 

But I do love Algonquin Park, nature and bears. And I have been feeling nostalgia for my birth home Toronto so I thought I will give this one a chance and I'm sure glad I did!

Claire Cameron is a bestselling author who comes from my home town Toronto. In her memoir she talks about her early life in our shared city and dealing with the death of her Dad from a very aggressive form of skin cancer. Algonquin Park another place I know very well plays a large role in her working through her loss and grief. But as beautiful and healing as Nature is it can also at times be dangerous. 

The author takes us through her examination of a rare predatory bear attack and the death of two campers at a remote campsite in the park back in 1991. This investigation dovetails with her finding out that she has an aggressive cancer and genetic mutation that may cut her life tragically short. The two intertwine into a poignant reminder of the fragility of life, our need as stewards of this planet to respect and care for the wildlife we share it with and the enduring power of love.

The audiobook is narrated by the author and it was well worth my listening to it. Highly recommend. 

Thank you to Penguin Random House Canada Audiobooks |Knopf Canada, via Netgalley, for the opportunity to listen to an advance copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Link to the author's website and purchasing information here

My Journey with UFOs and UFOlogy

 

The giant red orb appeared in my life on November 4th 1990. I was an adult with another witness and we were mesmerized, shocked in disbelief and in awe. There are no adequate words when faced so abruptly and undeniably with the impossible. It changes you and my life was never the same again. In my book Cosmic Witch I describe it as an initiation into the uncanny.  

I had childhood encounters that I had chalked up to imagination or fever dreams, but experiencing a UFO as an adult forced me into rethinking everything I thought I knew about myself, our world and the very fabric of reality. But, what can an individual do with these new thoughts and feelings? I looked for community both in the UFO clubs like the Mutual UFO Network (MUFON) and later Skeptics Canada. And while I met some nice people in both belief camps neither of these groups worked for me. So I struck out on my own patterning my investigations after my late friend Robert Moore and Jenny Randles UFO investigative handbook.

My first website chronicled my investigation into spook lights and appealed to witnesses of the paranormal including UFOs to share their encounters with me. And in those early days I was honored to connect with so many others that like me just needed to share their experiences in a safe space free of any judgments. I am still privileged to meet with others, but my role now is focused on being a keeper and steward of their experiences by preserving these through my online initiatives and database and less on investigation.  

What I came to realize through my research and investigation is that the simplistic cases were often easy to find mundane explanations for, but those that involve high strangeness, perhaps the majority, defy any easy explanations. 

This is where UFOlogy has often struggled.  Cases involving high strangeness are often neglected or worse ridiculed by the investigators themselves because the details are too mind-boggling to be acceptable to a “nuts and bolts” mindset. This has left us with the dominate hypotheses of it must be extraterrestrial (UFOlogy) or it must all be mundane (skeptic groups) and neither of these are satisfying. 

Branches of UFOlogy have also leaned too far into the idea of disclosure from the American government who has a history of playing dirty pool so to speak with the subject of UFOs. The recent revelations in the US Congress have provided the public with little to no tangible evidence for their claims and until such time comes we should be treating this as more myth-making that may or may not have some kernels’ of truth to them. The obvious risk is the creation of a state sanctioned belief system or narrative as to the nature of these cosmic mysteries. And human history should teach us the inherent danger in this. 

Keel and Vallee both advocated for multidisciplinary academic approaches decades ago. The Society for UAP Studies (SUAPS) and the Sol Foundation are currently fulfilling this role. I am cautiously optimistic about both initiatives, and hope at some stage they will include the arts.

While the academy is playing catch up on our subjects UFOlogy needs to evolve in order to remain relevant. It should be focusing more on the witnesses and the most unusual experiential reports in an ethical and supportive way. And less on debunking the easy cases which brings us no closer to understanding the nature of UFOs. 

North American UFOlogy also lacks in diversity. In order to more effectively explore the complexities of extraordinary experience it needs to reach out beyond its own colonial mindset and listen to the voices of Indigenous peoples and other cultures from around the world whose own experiences may not reflect the mainstream hypotheses, but are equally valid and important.  

I love the UFO. It has shaped my life in different ways sometimes painfully and unpredictably so, but always inspiring and keeping my sense of wonder alive.  The UFO has taught me that the Universe is a deeply rich and mysterious place where highly strange magical things can and do happen and for that I will always be grateful. 

Originally published to AP Magazine Dec. 2024 edition