January 12, 2005

City author writes on priest scandal

TORRINGTON (CT)
The Register Citizen

JAMIE PRESTON OLMSTEAD, Register Citizen Staff 01/12/2005

TORRINGTON -- While she has yet to find a specific niche among the fiction, non-fiction and self-help books she’s written, Lisa Rene Reynolds puts a great deal of her personal experiences as a therapist into all of her subject matter.

On the heels of a fiction novel and currently in the middle of a manuscript dedicated to the field of psychiatry, Reynolds, who lives in New Milford and works in Torrington, has been caught up in the whirlwind of attention over her latest release, "Coming Out & Covering Up," a commentary by local priests on the pedophilia scandal that has rocked the Catholic faith.

"The book has been doing fairly well, holding its own. It’s certainly something that is in the news," Reynolds, 35, said Tuesday. "I’ve been in a frenzy for a while, doing a ton of appearances and signings."

Reynolds, who interviewed countless Connecticut priests as part of her three-month research and writing process, drew primarily on her work experience with Danbury Catholic Family Services for background information.

Under the arm of Danbury Catholic Family Services, Reynolds was responsible for helping remove offending priests from office, and providing therapy to the endless number of related rape or molestation victims. It came as some surprise to Reynolds, then, that local Catholic priests met her research with open arms.

Posted by kshaw at January 12, 2005 06:14 AM