ROWAN UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENT OF WRITING ARTS
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Picture

An Interview with Marissa Cohen
on self publishing and advocacy


Picture
                                                                      by Amanda Spadel

Marissa Cohen is an inspirational leader, author, nonprofit organization founder, and Rowan University alum. Her nonfiction novel, Breaking Through the Silence: The Journey to Surviving Sexual Assault, was published in November, 2017.

Breaking Through the Silence contains a compilation of narratives, interviews, poems, and letters written by survivors of sexual and domestic violence, which Cohen transcribed in her book. The book also contains interviews with professionals working in the field of supporting survivors such as Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners, detectives, Child Protective Services Coordinators, police officers, and more. Cohen, a survivor herself, includes her own nonfictional narratives spread throughout the book as well.

Cohen’s book reminds survivors that they are not alone, and the novel sends strong messages for survivors to seek help sooner than later. Each narrative ended with advice: survivor to survivor. Most of the time, the advice is for survivors to find their voice, to break the silence that many victims struggle with for a while, if not years after an incident. The book encourages survivors to tell their story, without fear of being judged, because there are people who will help them. They should never feel shame.

Writing the book required empathy and patience. “One of the most difficult tasks was transcribing the interviews,” says Cohen. “I had to make sure I was telling their story accurately, while also keeping their identity anonymous,” says Cohen.

Cohen stresses the impact her friends made by being her support system throughout this process: “I would spend days making sure one sentence was perfect. I would call my friends, and talk to them on the phone for hours about this one sentence.”

Cohen self-published Breaking Through the Silence, which was a challenging, yet extremely rewarding process in itself. “It took almost a year and a half. I started early in 2016 and the book was published this past November,” says Cohen.

The decision to self-publish didn’t come easily: “I did all the prep work to find a literary agent, and finally realized that I wanted to have full control over the book. I wanted to take the full accomplishment if it did well, or the full accountability if it flopped. I liked the idea of this project beginning and ending on my terms.”

Another benefits to self-publishing was setting her own deadlines, which Cohen found to be more time efficient. Also considering the nature of her book, self publishing seemed like the better option in order to avoid any edits to the interviews: “I didn’t want anyone to come in and try and change the concept. It’s from a real place. The words you read are verbatim from the survivor’s mouth. I wanted their voices to be heard.”

Cohen knew she had an interest in helping and advocating for people at an early age, and she always knew that she would write a book one day. Cohen is also the founder of a nonprofit charitable organization called Within Your Reach, Inc. The organization is dedicated to advocacy for sexual and domestic assault survivors by creating educational programs, hosting events, planning fundraisers, and raising awareness. “You have to be extremely organized in order to keep everything functioning,” says Cohen. “Creating email lists, planning events and fundraisers, and posting on social media takes up a lot of time, and hopefully when the business really gets off the ground, I’ll be able to hire people to help with these tasks.”

Cohen is currently employed with the United States Army Reserve, where she recently accepted a promotion as a Substance Abuse Prevention Coordinator. Previously, she had been an Employee Assistance Program Coordinator. Cohen graduated from Rowan University in 2014 with her Bachelor’s of Arts in Psychology with a concentration in Cognitive Psychology.

Marissa Cohen is a Rowan alum with a mission rooted in advocacy. In an event titled Publishing Advocacy, Marissa took an audience through her experiences supporting sexual assault and domestic violence survivors. Audiences were exposed to the realities of violence and learned how to be an advocate for victims. Marissa also shared her efforts in self publishing in the field of mental wellness. Students interested in the growing field of self publishing as well as memoir found the talk particularly useful to their careers. Those with similar missions in social justice learned how they could use their skills to make our world a safer, healthier home. The event was held February 28th, 2018 2pm-3:30pm in Student Center Room 144A

                                                                        Photography and Caption by 
Mike Fotos 
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  • Home
  • Programs
    • Creative Writing Minor
    • WA Major
    • Minors >
      • Publishing and Writing for the Public
      • New Media Minor
      • Technical & Professional Writing Minor
      • Writing Arts Minor
    • Certificates of Undergraduate Study >
      • CUGS in Creative Writing
      • CUGS in Publishing and Writing for the Public
      • CUGS in Technical and Professional Writing
      • CUGS in Writing Studies for Educators
      • CUGS in Professional Communication
      • CUGS in Writing for the Environment
    • 4+1 (B.A.+M.A.) Program
    • Degree in 3
    • Graduate Programs
  • Advising
  • WA Major
    • Writing Arts Journey
    • Required Courses >
      • General Education >
        • Science and Mathematics
        • Social and Behavioral Sciences
        • Literature, History, Humanities, and Language
      • Introduction to Writing Arts >
        • History & Materiality of Writing
        • Issues in Writing
        • Technologies & the Future of Writing
      • Methods Choice >
        • Communication Theory
        • How Writers Read
        • Tutoring Writing
      • Creative Choice >
        • Creative Writing I
        • Writing Children's Stories
      • The Writer's Mind
      • Writing, Research & Technology
      • Literacy Studies >
        • Situating Writing
        • Writing With Technologies
      • Senior Seminar: Methods of Analysis and Evaluation of Writing
      • Portfolio Seminar
      • Free Electives
    • Elements of Language >
      • American English Grammar
      • Editing for Publication
      • Introduction to Anthropological Linguistics
      • Linguistics
      • Rhetorics of Style
      • Semantics
    • Concentrations >
      • Creative Writing >
        • Creative Writing I
        • Creative Writing II
        • Film Scenario Writing
        • Fundamentals of Playwriting
        • Magazine Article Writing
        • Professions in Writing Arts
        • The Publishing Industry
        • Screenwriting I: Writing the Short
        • Screenwriting II: Writing the Feature
        • Tutoring Writing
        • Teaching the Writer's Workshop >
          • Publishing & Writing for the Public >
            • Applied Media Aesthetics: Sight, Sound and Story
            • Editing the Literary Journal
            • Environmental Writing & Rhetoric
            • Fiction to Film
            • Introduction to New Media
            • Media Law
            • Online Journalism I
            • Participatory Media
            • The Publishing Industry
            • Publication Layout & Design
            • Photojournalism
            • Professions in Writing Arts
            • Rhetorical Theory
            • Self Publishing
            • Writing for Popular Culture
            • Writing for the Workplace
            • Internship
            • Research Practicum
        • Writing Children's Stories
        • Writing Comedy
        • Writing Creative Nonfiction
        • Writing Fiction
        • Writing Genre Fiction
        • Writing Poetry
        • Writing the Young Adult Novel
        • Internship
        • Research Practicum
      • Technical & Professional Writing >
        • Developing Health and Scientific Literacy
        • Introduction to Technical Writing
        • Medical Writing and Rhetoric
        • Professions in Writing Arts
        • The Publishing Industry
        • Scientific Writing and Rhetoric
        • Tutoring Writing
        • Writing to Bear Witness
        • Writing for Nonprofits
        • Writing for the Workplace
        • Internship
        • Research Practicum
    • WA Learning Community >
      • Publishers
  • Internships
    • Internal Internships
    • External Internships
  • Careers
  • Faculty
    • Faculty Resources >
      • Best Practices in Online Learning
      • Syllabus Requirements
      • HyFlex/Remote Learning
      • Canvas Support >
        • Writing Comedy
      • Accessibility in Online Courses
      • Racial Equity Online
      • Supporting Developmental Writers Remotely
      • Building an Online Classroom Community
    • Acknowledgements
  • Blogs
    • Writer's Insider Blog >
      • Spring 2022 >
        • Writing Diverse Characters
      • Fall 2021
      • Spring 2021
      • Fall 2020
      • Spring 2020
      • Fall 2019
      • Spring 2019 >
        • An Interview with Devon James & Rachel Barton
        • Confession Travel Writer
        • Self-Publishing: A Change in Perspective
        • CCCA Career Fair: Having Your Future in Mind
        • Alumni Success: Entering the Working World
        • Behind the Scenes of Rowan's Hiring Process
        • Writing Comedy
      • Fall 2018 >
        • Singularity Press: Rowan's New Start Up
        • Writing Arts Club
        • How Can We Evaluate Creative Writing?
        • More Inclusive Events for Technical Writers
        • Guest Speaker Manuela Soares
        • Glassworks Reading
        • Spotlight: Taylor Henry, Recently Published Rowan Alum
      • Spring 2018 >
        • Publishing and Writing for the Public: A Reconstructed Concentration
        • What You Think You Know About Technical and Professional Writing is Wrong
        • The Toni Libro Medallion Award Winner: Myriah Stubee
        • An Interview with a Publisher
        • Excellence in Writing Arts Medallion Winner: Sara Skipp
        • The College of Communcation and Creative Arts 6th Annual Student Awards and Showcase Ceremony
        • Rowan Alum, Marissa Cohen, On Self Publishing and Advocacy
      • Fall 2017 >
        • Upcoming Classes in the Writing Arts Department
        • The Writer's Journey Blog by Earl Garcia
        • Rewriting The Department's Social Media Platforms
        • Rowan University Writing Arts Club Reinvents Mission
        • Glassworks Launches Issue Fifteen
        • For Futuristic Consideration: An Exploration of Careers in Writing
      • Spring 2017 >
        • Technical Communication: An Overview
        • A More Inclusive Future for Technical Writers
        • Easing the Tension: Breaking Down Technical and Professional Writing
        • Growing the Technical and Professional Writing Concentration
      • Fall 2016
      • Spring 2016
      • Winter 2015
      • Fall 2015 >
        • 2014 and Prior >
          • Archive
    • The Bulletin Board
    • RU Writing? Podcast
  • Creative Writing
    • CW Faculty Publications
    • CW Course Offerings
  • Writing Center
  • Alumni
    • Undergraduate
    • Graduate
  • Awards
    • 2022 Emerging Writers Scholarship
    • Denise Gess Literary Awards
    • Excellence in Writing Arts Medallion Award
    • AnToinette Libro Graduate Medallion Award
    • Past Awards >
      • 2008 Hollybush Writing Competition
      • Write Rowan, Right Now! Contest
  • Student Groups
    • Writing Arts Club
    • Avant Literary Magazine
    • The Whit Newspaper
    • Her Campus Rowan
    • Odyssey at Rowan
    • Singularity Press
  • Events
  • ECCCA
    • RU Deptartment of Writing Arts - Home
    • News & Announcements
    • Rowan University - Home
    • Ric Edelman College of Communication & Creative Arts at Rowan University - Home
    • Student Groups
  • About Us
    • Our Vision and Mission
    • Land Acknowledgement
    • Our Call to Action