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Reform at Victoryby Michele Ulriksen
Synopses & ReviewsPublisher Comments:Reform at Victory is a non-fiction account about author Michele Ulriksen's harrowing experience in an unlicensed/unregulated fundamentalist Baptist reform school, where the only way home is full conformity. She spends one full year at the locked-down facility, which is located in the California desert. The years are 1986-87. Review:"Reform at Victory reads like a prison memoir, filled with dangerous secrets, informers, late night escape attempts and heartwarming friendships formed against the backdrop of an incredibly harsh and oppressive environment. At its core, it is about a confused teenage girl who is confronted with questions many of us fail to answer until we are well into middle age, if ever. Michele wants to believe in a higher power and live a Christian life, but God is intangible, invisible. Like many sixteen-year-old girls, things like tanning, boys and dreams of MTV rock singers are much more real and immediate. As you read, you are inspired to ask the same wrenching, unanswerable questions of yourself that Michele wrestles with inside her head. She could never utter them aloud, the intercoms are listening." The Alchemist Review:"Reform at Victory is a compelling coming-of-age story of one girl's horrifying experience in a 'Christian' 'reform school.' Michele Ulriksen vividly captures adolescent life in a program aimed at stamping out any trace of individuality and spirit. If you want to understand how 'tough love' hurts teens, this book is a must-read." Maia Szalavitz, Author, Help At Any Cost: How the Troubled-Teen Industry Cons Parents and Hurts Kids Review:"Michele's personal account can help us to better recognize the very painful injuries that are being inflicted upon youth and families, and our society as a whole, by the present day phenomenon of institutional abuse in alternative residential treatment." Dr. Allison Pinto, Clinical Psychologist at University of South Florida Review:"Child abuse masquerading as religion is a very real and serious problem. Reform at Victory sheds light on an issue that is largely ignored by our society....The typical survivor of these reform schools and programs like them really struggle in life....The abuse causes them to have very low self-esteem. They feel 'lost' because their year(s) of isolation in the program have left them unprepared to deal with life beyond the walls of the facility. Drug and alcohol abuse is common. Many survivors have little or no contact with their families. They have trouble holding steady jobs. Stable intimate relationships are rare. As adults, many victims need professional counseling and a diagnosis of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is not uncommon." Shelby Earnshaw, Director of ISAC;International Survivor’s Action Committee Review:"Michele Ulriksen's Reform at Victory provides an emotional and shockingly candid portrayal of life in what passes for a Christian reform school, but amounts to a religious jail designed to brainwash its inmates. Her startling memoir chronicles her own experience as a 16-year-old whose sneaking out of the house lands her in a place where physical and emotional abuse is rampant and where she is denied even the most basic rights that most prisoners enjoy, as well as the after-the-fact impact of such incarceration. This is a must read for those who have survived these 'schools,' for parents considering placing a rebellious teen in such a setting, for mental health professionals who must deal with the fallout, and for government officials — and all the rest of us — who clearly need to take a more active role in curbing the abuses that are so commonplace in these facilities." Linden Gross, Author and Writing Coach Review:"Ulriksen's harrowing story brings to light the mentally and physically abusive treatment used in many fundamentalist reform schools, operating under the guise of Christian values and a rehabilitative environment." The Commuter Review:"Michele Ulriksen's story is a compelling personal story that also contains a pointed political message. Ms. Ulriksen exposes the damage that can be done by those whose religious mantles cover up abusive ideologies and anti-therapeutic methods. I hope this account will impel parents who want help for 'troubled teens' to learn much more about their options and compel legislators to carefully examine all requests for funding of 'faith based' childrens' services before doling out tax dollars to support them." Barry W. Lynn, Author and Executive Director of Americans United for the Separation of Church & State About the AuthorMichele Ulriksen was born on February 26, 1970 in Newport Beach, California and raised in Orange County. While navigating (badly) through a sea of teen angst she was shipped off to reform school, an experience that inspired her first book, Reform at Victory (Pizan Media, 2008). As an adult she moved to the Bay Area to study Film and Creative Writing at the Academy of Art College in San Francisco. After five memorable years in the Bay Area, she headed north to Oregon where she accepted a writing/editing position with Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB.) After four rewarding years working in public radio, she resigned to accomplish some personal goals: finish her book and return to school. She is currently pursuing a bachelor's degree in English with emphasis in creative writing and women's studies at Portland State University. Her publishing credits include World Kid Magazine, Listen Magazine, Freethought Today, Gazette-Times, OPB Member Guide, Willamette Freethinker, Rational Atheist, The Peaceworker, Alternatives Magazine, International Library of Poetry, The Alchemist, The Daily Barometer, HEAL, Creative Highway, and The Commuter, where she also served as a Copy Editor while attending community college. In addition to being a student and promoting her newly published memoir, Michele will begin work soon with an Oregon media company to film a movie based on her book. What Our Readers Are SayingAdd a comment for a chance to win!
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