SALT LAKE CITY, May 6, 2019
Katherine Itacy
Katherine Itacy felt that being a criminal defense attorney and civil rights activist was her calling in life. She loved helping others through some of the most difficult points in their lives, and helping give a voice to those whose voices had been silenced. When she had to retire due to disabilities, she didn’t rest for long.
“Once I had to give all of that up, I searched for a new way to contribute meaningfully to the world,” Itacy says. This is when she started writing her memoir. “It is my hope that by sharing my story, I can continue to help others through their own struggles, give a voice to underrepresented segments of the population, and inspire my readers to live fully and love deeply.”
Itacy enjoys reading memoirs — especially when they delve into how they experienced and overcame the most difficult points in their lives. “I think that we can all learn so much from our fellow man and woman’s life experiences, and how others have learned to become the best versions of themselves (or how they hope to become their best selves eventually). If a novel manages to effectively advance the same kind of narrative (like the narratives in Queenie and Americanah do), then I’m all in!“
As for Itacy’s writing habits, because of her disabilities and the strain they place upon her body, she must be incredibly flexible with any kind of writing ‘schedule.’ “I like to let my writing to come to me organically, so I come prepared to write notes or sections of my pieces wherever I go. Typically, I write in bed on my laptop, in the waiting rooms of my various doctors’ offices, at my local library or coffee shop, etc.”
Itacy’s current work-in-progress is a crime novel, involving a high school junior, Sarah, and a college senior, David. Sarah lies about her age, claiming to be eighteen as she drinks at a frat party with David, and they both end up passing out. Unfortunately, neither of them remember what happened once they passed out. The young woman leaves the next morning, believing that she was raped. The male wakes up later that morning, believing that he just had his first one-night stand. The two go on living their lives, with neither of them telling anyone about that night.
Fifteen years later, David is with his family in a supermarket when a cashier shouts: “RAPE!” It’s Sarah. What follows is the criminal investigation into the alleged rape, the felony rape case in court, as well as the fallout that that one night had upon everyone involved.
As a first-time book author, the author was intrigued by E.L. Marker’s hybrid publishing model. “It provides all of the essential services of a traditional publisher, while still allowing for the type of ownership and control that makes self-publishing seem so attractive nowadays.”
WiDo Managing Editor, Karen Gowen, has this to say about Itacy’s memoir: “WiDo™ and E.L. Marker™ have been publishing a number of excellent memoirs lately on a variety of topics. Katherine’s memoir is unique because of her life experiences, ranging from a nationally-ranked champion athlete to a criminal defense lawyer to an activist, all while dealing with disabilities. Her story has much to teach us, and she tells it with an engaging voice.”
KATHERINE ITACY, nee Johnston, is a five-time Rhode Island state champion and an eight-time national champion in high school track and field. She has held the girls’ state title for the high school hammer throw for the last eighteen years, and has been the Eastern College Athletic Conference Championship record holder in the women’s twenty-pound weight throw since 2005. In 2017, the Rhode Island Interscholastic League inducted Kate into its Hall of Fame.
After obtaining two bachelor of arts degrees as well as one minor degree from The Pennsylvania State University, Kate enrolled in the Roger Williams University School of Law, where she later graduated magna cum laude from the school’s honor’s program and finished fourth in her law school class. Attorney Itacy (then Godin) went on to practice law in Rhode Island and Massachusetts for the next six years, five of which she spent running her own criminal defense law practice. For all five years that Kate ran The Law Office of Katherine Godin, Inc., she was selected as a “Rising Star” in criminal defense and appeals in Rhode Island Monthly magazine. During that time, she also served on the boards of directors for the Rhode Island Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the Rhode Island ACLU, and the national ACLU.
In 2014, Kate closed her law firm and moved to the Mexican border in order to work as a legal research and writing specialist (LRAWS) for the Office of the Federal Public Defender for the Western District of Texas. Unfortunately, complications from her Type I, insulin-dependent diabetes, as well as a recurrence of a tethered spinal cord caused Kate to retire based upon disability from her job in March of 2018.
She currently lives in the greater Detroit area with her husband. Website: http://katherineitacy.com