NEWS & CONVERSATIONS
PODCASTS
Real Crime Profile
A four-part conversation about Chosen, how sex predators operate, law enforcement failures, and holding institutions accountable, with one of the world’s best crime profiling teams: Jim Clemente (former FBI profiler), Laura Richards (former New Scotland Yard), and Lisa Zambetti (CBS’s Criminal Minds). Listen now…
The Trauma Therapist Podcast
Guy Macpherson and I talk about childhood sexual trauma, the winding journey of recovery, and what therapists need to know. Listen now…
A Trauma Survivor Thriver’s Podcast
I talk with Lorilee Binstock about the nature of trauma and dissociation, healing modalities, and psychedelics. Listen now…
Bump in the Road
Pat Wetzel and I discuss con artists, grooming, sexual abuse, and healing from trauma. Listen now…
One in Ten/National Children’s Alliance
A terrific conversation about my book and so much more with Teresa Huizar, CEO of the National Children’s Alliance—the folks who are working every day to help kids recover from trauma and get justice. Listen now…
Truth and Consequences
A moving discussion with two of my favorite advocates—Miranda Pacchiana and Kathryn Robb, of CHILD USAdvocacy—about the emotional impact of abuse, how predators operate, parents who missed the signs, correcting misconceptions, and so much more. Listen now…
Best Case Worst Case
I discuss Chosen with fellow survivor, Jim Clemente—ex-FBI agent and writer/producer on Criminal Minds. This is a raw, powerful, groundbreaking conversation in two parts (Episodes 280 & 281). Listen now…
OneVOICE Podcast
A look at male shame, the healing journey, and holding institutions accountable. Listen now…
NEWS
Chosen Wins the National Jewish Book Award for Memoir
Chosen received the 2022 National Jewish Book Award in the category of Autobiography and Memoir. See all the winners …
eJP/Jewish Philanthropy : A Survivor’s Disclosure
If the example of other religions’ responses to sex abuse scandals has taught us anything it’s this: until you deal with the past, you are helpless to confront the present. Read more…
Literary Hub: A Conversation with Stephen Mills and Lacy Crawford
Two authors discuss their journeys out of childhood sexual assault, writing memoirs, and holding institutions accountable. Read more…
Seattle Public Radio: One Man’s Story of the Scourge of Child Sexual Abuse
Writer and activist Stephen Mills was a victim of childhood sexual abuse. He writes about that crime and his attempt to stop his perpetrator in his new book Chosen: A Memoir of Stolen Boyhood. In this conversation, Mills covers what has and hasn’t changed over time in our understanding of childhood sexual abuse. Read more…
Tablet Magazine: You Can’t Outrun Trauma
In the summer of 1968, 13-year-old Stephen Mills of East Meadow, Long Island, went to UJA-Federation’s Camp Ella Fohs, a coed sleepaway camp in New Milford, Connecticut, run by a charismatic social worker named Dan Farinella. “The first time I saw him I thought he might be Rodney Dangerfield’s Italian twin brother,” Mills writes in his new book, Chosen: A Memoir of Stolen Boyhood. Read more…
Pittsburgh Tribune Featured Commentary: Don’t tell us it’s too late to get justice
Take it from me, the aftershocks of child sexual abuse last a lifetime. I’m 66, and the sexual violence I experienced at age 13 — a near-death experience, really — can still grip my body and mind when I least expect it. Read more…
Forward: Memoir recounts sex abuse at Jewish summer camp
A new book alleges that several major Jewish institutions, including the UJA-Federation of New York, failed to protect children against a prominent employee who abused them in the 1960s and 1970s. Read more…
Press Release: Child Rights Advocate Stephen Mills Speaks out
One In Six Boys Experience Sexual Abuse: Child Rights Advocate Stephen Mills Speaks Out About His Own Trauma and the Repeated Sexual Assault Carried Out by the Director of Several Jewish Summer Camps. Read more…
Stephen Mills named Child USA Ambassador
“CHILD USA is honored to have Stephen Mills join our amazing group of Ambassadors. This beautifully written book is a must-read for parents, lawmakers, and policymakers. We look forward to partnering with him as we push for the reforms needed to prevent child sex abuse,” said CHILD USA Founder/CEO Prof. Marci Hamilton Read more…
REVIEWS
“…a searing, haunting, urgent cri de coeur….Chosen is a timely and important book.”
“His tale is a harrowing triumph.”
“Chosen is memorable in the genre because of the author’s wrenching honesty and rich powers of recall and storytelling.”
“Mills lays bare in this unflinching account the irrevocable impact of the sexual abuse he suffered as a teen … Mills’s ability to persevere … and his raw vulnerability inspires. This is a searing testament to human resilience.”
“An … unforgettable memoir of sexual abuse and its lifelong consequences… visceral, gripping… A vitally important book for fellow survivors—and anyone seeking justice for victims.”
“This is a memoir that glimmers, and not just because of Mills’ astonishing ability to make words jump from the page while crafting an excavation of his trauma.”
“VERDICT: Important testimony; recommended for all libraries.”
“…the culture that so badly failed its children is our own.”
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