Before he even voiced that he believed me, my body already felt weak with relief from having broken my silence and spoken the words aloud.
All of life is comprised of moments that fill us with happiness or sadness, fear or confidence, pain or joy. These moments collectively form the foundation—the stories—that shape our lives.
At the heart of our life’s stories, we all have moments in which there is a silencing of who we are or what we believe, or perhaps what transpired in our past. We may do this as a result of societal pressure to conform or in an effort to hide some aspect of ourselves. Perhaps we remain silent because we are succumbing to our own fears about what might happen if speak our truth. No matter the reason, this silencing is a betrayal of ourselves, of our truth and authenticity. What might happen if, instead, we made a decision to become vulnerable and bring ourselves out of the silence?
This collection of stories explores the life of Katherine Turner, a woman overcoming a lifetime of abuse and insecurity, as she journeys to face the vulnerability and uncertainty of breaking her silence in otherwise ordinary moments of extraordinary courage.
Available in e-book, paperback, and hardcover formats.
Katherine Turner is the bravest author out here and her books are just so important. In ‘Moments of Extraordinary Courage’ she shares her memories with emphasis on the situations when she found the courage to break the silence and speak her truth. It means that, in spite of the aching in our hearts, we finish each chapter with a feeling of hope and inspiring bravery. It’s impossible to read this book and not to question our ‘silences’—even for those who had been spared from the same experiences. Once more Katherine Turner educates us with her words and inspires us to act together for a safer and more compassionate society—what she does with her work is a service to the world.
Ana Hantt, co-author of the Extraordinary Series and co-founder of the @30ontheroad project
From time to time we are lucky enough to find a book that we really dive into, we just can’t stop thinking about it while doing things in our day-to-day life. That’s exactly what happened with “Moments of Extraordinary Courage”. I felt anger, I was sad, I was shocked by how cruel people can be, but above anything else, I felt the power of LOVE! I saw how brave we can be, how vulnerability can be our best ally to evolve and connect with people, how empathy and compassion are the keys to solve most of the problems of this world. By sharing her experiences with us, by being vulnerable, Katherine inspires us to be brave! To speak our truth! And most importantly, she shows we aren’t alone in this world. Her story is the story of many out there, and you are not alone! You all can do it! You are all extraordinary! A must read!
Josie Baron, co-author of the Extraordinary Series and co-founder of the @30ontheroad project
A tablespoon of resiliency. Two cubes of raw honesty. And stir. Moments of Extraordinary Courage by Katherine Turner is a marvelous shock to the system. A behind the scenes look into the author’s mind as they bring their real life struggles into their writing, approbatively leaving the sugarcoating on the editing floor. This book is one of the best contemporary cups of truth tea, touching on very real and very raw issues that have gone too long being covered and wiped away.
Reader
What is so special about moments of extraordinary courage is the way it pulls some of the most emotional threads from resilient and distills them, highlighting the powerful message of each. Seeing these moments next to each other, the heartbreak and hope really hit home. You can’t help but look back at your own life and wonder at the times you either missed the opportunity for courage or you instead stood up for yourself and your truth. It makes you want to be more conscious of when those moments come up so you can practice the art of extraordinary courage.
Kayli Baker, editor
I feel like I say “You need to read this book” about every book Katherine Turner releases, and yet, every time I say it, it’s true.
moments of extraordinary courage was the second-most life-changing reading experience I’ve ever had (reading Finding Annie by Katherine was the first!), and it’s hard to separate how wonderful her book is on its own from how it impacted me specifically. So in order to review this wonderful work as transparently as possible, I’m going to share how it impacted me.
When I reached the chapter “#metoo” in moments of extraordinary courage, I had to stop midway through it. Katherine writes how, in 2017 during the peak of the #MeToo Movement, she read story after story online, as well as the responses the posters had received. “I remember reading about people who were skeptical about all the #MeToo stories, even some people I knew were less than enthusiastic, from thinking women were making things up for attention to settling personal vendettas to trying to get rich,” she writes. “There were others I knew—primarily in older generations—who didn’t indicate one way or the other whether they believed these women but simply felt it was airing one’s dirty laundry, sharing something you should want to keep a secret. Whenever I listened to these people, I became angry. Sometimes I argued, but often I was paralyzed by anger and fear of confrontation, and I wasn’t sure how to persuade them to be more open-minded without telling my own secrets.”
Katherine’s words described my experience so vividly, reminding me that even though I hadn’t shared my story yet, I wasn’t alone. And, suddenly, encouraged by her testimony, I found myself rushing for a notebook, penning six pages that detailed my experiences of sexual violence. Before I knew what had happened, I’d scanned those pages and emailed them to her; less than an hour later, she’d replied, praising my courage to speak up and urging me to keep writing. I did, and only months later, Katherine had written the foreword to my debut book. Her courage sparked my own, ushering me out of silence and darkness and into the light, helping me find my voice…all because she dared to use hers.
At the end of moments of extraordinary courage, Katherine writes about the concept of social dominoes, and how, when one person speaks up, that may encourage another to do the same and so on. That’s what her book helped me to do, and my life has been forever changed because of it. Her final words of the book proclaim, “I’ve shown you some of my most difficult moments of courage within these pages and sent my domino tumbling toward you, my dear reader. My neighbor. The next domino is up to you.” No matter who you are, whether you identify as a survivor of violence or the loved one of a survivor, or simply as someone who longs to see more compassion in this world, you need to read this book. If my experience reading it counts for anything, its proof that Katherine Turner has the power to change lives within the pen she wields.
Olivia Castetter, author of Me, Too: Voicing My Story
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Katherine Turner 