Tom North Joins Marin Advocates for Children CASA - August 17th, 2013

Aug. 15, 2013 - PRLog -- Author Tom North will make a special presentation to volunteers and staff at Marin Advocates for Children CASA Saturday, August 17th at 2 PM in San Rafael, California. Then, he will sign his book, True North – The Shocking Truth about “Yours, Mine and Ours”, at Book Passage in Corte Madera, California, at 4 PM. North will donate a portion of the proceeds from the book signing to Marin Advocates for Children.

Before the Brady Bunch, there was the Beardsley Bunch – A True Story about a Famous Family Hiding a Dark Secret

Tom North is one of the eight North children, who together with the ten Beardsley children, became the family which was featured in the 1968 film, “Yours, Mine and Ours” starring Lucille Ball and Henry Fonda. The book begins in the 1950s on Whidbey Island, Washington, where Tom’s mother, Helen North, became a widow when she was just 30 years old and pregnant with her eighth child. Not long after, Helen North met and married Frank Beardsley, a man with 10 children, and she moved her family to his house in Carmel, California. The North children were adopted and their names were changed to Beardsley, and they went from a life filled with love and happiness to a living nightmare. The stepfather’s violence, abuse, and even sexual abuse created a life of intimidation, confusion, turmoil, fear and depression for the North children. All hope seemed lost as Tom realized that he was caught in a prison and there was no way out. When he finally left home, he traveled on a journey of survival, self-discovery, and healing.

Marin Advocates for Children Executive Director, Cyndy Doherty remarks, “Child abuse knows no geographic or socioeconomic lines – it is a very real and pressing concern for children and families everywhere including here in Marin County. We applaud Tom North for speaking out about his experience and raising awareness about child abuse prevention in our community.”

North explains: “Unfortunately, the incidence of domestic violence and child abuse is so common in our society that either we have had a personal experience with it, or we know someone very close to us who has. My book It is a story of survival and hope. It is also an important literary work whose purpose is to advance discussion of the national epidemic of child abuse; a discussion which is critical to the process of identifying solutions to a problem that will only grow if left alone! I’m grateful for the opportunity to support the efforts of Marine Advocates for Children, CASA and CAPC.”

About Tom North
Tom North is the author of True North – The Shocking Truth about “Yours, Mine and Ours”. His book has been recommended by the Washington Times, and is recognized as a best-newly-released independently published book by Independent Publisher Magazine. Tom is interviewed on television and radio and in newspapers, and was recently featured in the cover story of Monterey County Weekly (http://www.montereycountyweekly.com/archives/2013/0711/ar...). For more information about Tom North, please go to www.TrueNorthbyTomNorth.com

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6okXlXa77jE