Dear Sun Spots: Sexual assault survivors, let your voice be heard!

The Sexual Assault Crisis Center will be publishing our spring edition of a newsletter created by survivors of all forms of sexual assault, including childhood sexual abuse. This publication is a forum for the voices of survivors of sexual assault and abuse and their allies to share their feelings, thoughts, memories and insights. The next edition will be published in April as one of our many projects during Sexual Assault Awareness Month.

Please submit short essays and stories, poetry, black-and-white photographs and any other original works for inclusion in this publication. Submissions must be received by April 7 and must include the name and contact information for the author/creator. We reserve the right to edit submissions as deemed necessary for space and content reasons. While acknowledging possible confidentiality and safety concerns, every effort will be made to contact authors/creators whose work is edited.

Please include information regarding the safest way to leave a message should we need to contact you with editing concerns. Submissions without name and contact information cannot be considered for the newsletter. However, you may specify that you wish to identify yourself with first name or initials in the publication.

Please send mail to the Sexual Assault Crisis Center, P.O. Box 6, Auburn, ME 04240. You can e-mail your submissions to stonesoup@sexualassaultcrisiscenter.org. Please remember to include your contact information.

To find out more information about this newsletter, please call Sarah at SACC, 784-5272, ext. 104. – Sarah Wood, Auburn.

Dear Sun Spots: We enjoy your column every day and are always amazed by the community connections made through you.

We once again have many bags of fragrant fabric scraps we are looking to give away. These come from our balsam pillow manufacturing. Most are strips or smaller scraps. We use a wide variety of fabrics. Please call 674-5072, if interested. We can arrange for you to pick them up at our facility in West Paris, or we will ship them for the price that UPS charges. – Wendy Newmeyer, West Paris.

Dear Sun Spots: Recently an obituary in your paper mentioned a published author who was now deceased. The book was called “The Truth Be Told.” What is this book and where can I find a copy? I believe the woman’s name was Dori LaPlant. – No Name, No Town.

Answer: It appears you should be able to order this book online at www.ebay.com or through www.amazon.com. It was published by Publish America, P.O. Box 151 Frederick, MD 21705, (301)695-1707, in 2004. The ISBN number is 1413734677. To order, contact Publish America at the address above or through the Web at www.publishamerica.com.

You might also like to check with your local bookstores to see if they can special order it for you. From what Sun Spots can glean, this book is a romance novel. According to a book review listed online at www.campus.com, it tells the story of Shelly, an only child who forfeits the comfort of her nurturing father to escape the demands of her domineering mother. She enlists in the Navy, planning to see the world, but immediately falls for a charming Southerner. She becomes ensnared in his possessive web while continuing to struggle to maintain her own identity. She finds solace in his family of origin, whose endearing members offer her the closeness and security she missed in her childhood. She embarks on a journey that leads her to lifelong friendships, traumatic losses and unexpected love.

This column is for you, our readers. It is for your questions and comments. There are only two rules: You must write to the column and sign your name (we won’t use it if you ask us not to). Letters will not be returned or answered by mail, and telephone calls will not be accepted. Your letters will appear as quickly as space allows. Address them to Sun Spots, P.O. Box 4400, Lewiston, ME 04243-4400. Inquiries can also be posted at www.sunjournal.com in the Advice section under Opinion on the left-hand corner of your computer screen. In addition, you can e-mail your inquiries to sunspots@sunjournal.com