10/4/2021
Article by Professor of English Lana Whited
Janine Latus, a New York Times best-selling author and survivor of domestic violence, will speak at Ferrum College on Wed., Oct. 13. Latus is well-known relationship violence prevention educator whose clients have included the U.S. Department of Defense and Major League Baseball.
Latus is author of If I Am Missing or Dead, the story of her own escape from an abusive relationship and her sister Amy’s murder. In April 2002, Amy Latus taped this note to the inside of a drawer: “Today Ron Ball and I are romantically involved, but I fear I have placed myself at risk in a variety of ways. Based on his criminal past, writing this out just seems like the smart thing to do. If I am missing or dead this obviously has not protected me.” Three months later, Amy Latus was dead.
Janine Latus, who is returning to Ferrum’s campus for her third visit, has been called a “heart-stopping” speaker by Jaye Kennedy, a previous sponsor. Kennedy says, “You could have heard a pin drop during her presentation as she had us all on the edge of our seats. Although her story is chilling, it is also very real and a powerful reminder that domestic violence lives among so many of us. Janine is an amazing speaker and one (an) audience won’t soon forget.”
According to the National Coalition to Abolish Domestic Violence, one in four women and one in nine men experience physical violence, sexual violence, and/or stalking by an intimate partner. October is National Domestic Violence Awareness and Prevention Month.
Janine Latus earned a B.S. in horticulture and an M.A. in journalism from the University of Missouri-Columbia. She has taught writing at her alma mater as well as East Carolina University and the Duke University Center for Documentary Studies. She has also conducted writing workshops in several states.
The Ferrum program will take place at 7 p.m. in the Blue Ridge Mountain Room of Franklin Hall. It is sponsored by the Ferrum College chapter of Help Save the Next Girl, the Integrated Programing Board, and the Quality Enhancement Plan. A reception sponsored by the Boone Honors Program will follow the talk, and copies of Latus’s book will be available.
