We believe that the experience of women needs to be represented more fully in all forms of media. We have interviewed women veterans about their experience in the Armed Forces with special focus on the challenges of deployment and on the issues faced when coming home. We have used these interviews to create monologues to be performed for the public. In the long term, we hope that these monologues
will facilitate dialogue between veterans and civilians and will educate the public about the role that women play in today's military and the challenges that they face. Important to hear Women's voices rising from the contexts of our nation's wars." "The talkback was very informative... I really appreciate [the moderator] saying that the goal is not to sensationalize, that is exactly what I was hoping for, a place to talk about the experiences and challenges and what happens to women in the military." "It all felt true, and perhaps what made it so effective was that what these women Vets came to experience as routine and normal [was] anything but. It was touching and thought provoking to hear about the courage they had had to develop to overcome so many different challenges. The simple reality, which is so clearly portrayed, is [that] women have very different experiences in the military than men do... [T]his needs to be acknowledge and addressed much more vigorously on many fronts." IN OUR OWN VOICE is still interviewing veterans! We invite any women veterans who have recently served in the Armed Forces to contact us for an interview at [email protected]. All interviews used in the final product will remain confidential unless otherwise requested. The project is sponsored by the Psychotherapy & Spirituality Institute, which is a not-for-profit counseling center in New York City. The team includes mental health professionals, a playwright and several volunteers.
