Speaker |Poet | Author | Editor

I help people live their best lives as they personally and professionally become the hero who saves their own world. 
Photo: Marci Curtis

Jenifer DeBellis, M.F.A., is author of New Wilderness (Cornerstone Press, a 2023 International Book Award Finalist), Warrior Sister, Cut Yourself Free from Your Assault (2nd edition forthcoming March 2025 in partnership distribution with Library Tales and Simon & Schuster), and Blood Sisters (Main Street Rag). In addition to being an inspirational speaker, she edits Pink Panther Magazine and directs aRIFT+ Warrior Project and Detroit Writers’ Guild (501c3). She's featured in Psychology Today and Seattle's My Independence Report and her writing appears in CALYX, the Good Men Project, Medical Literary Messenger, Solstice, and elsewhere. A former Meadow Brook Writing Project fellow, JDB facilitates summer workshops for Oakland University as well as teaches for Macomb Community College. Find more about her freelance and speaking opportunities at JeniferDeBellis.com/jdb-consulting-freelance.

NEW WILDERNESS

NEW WILDERNESS (Cornerstone Press) is now available for sale from the author and your favorite online book retailers. [BUY HERE]

“‘Truth is, the world’s sold you a lie . . .’ Jenifer DeBellis becomes a myth-breaker as, with bracing honesty, she complicates the figures of the precious child, the ‘warrior mom,’ the good doctor, and the inspirational cancer survivor. Yes, this collection has fortitude and resilience in spades, but DeBellis arrives at these only after meticulously surveying the wreckage that illness makes of good intentions, the individual self, and family trust. Not an easy read, New Wilderness, but one that pushes us to see behind ‘Insta-perfect shots by the Ferris wheel backlit by an electric/sunset’ and leaves us with a blueprint for bearing the slings and arrows of any human life.”
                  —Iain Haley Pollock author of Ghost, like a Place

“With emotional poise and lyrical splendor Jenifer DeBellis recreates glass-sharp details and images of a mother always in rescue mode, and her eldest daughter, who, since infancy, lived in gripping persistent need. ‘It’s more like you’re air-/ traffic control and she’s hijacked a plane/ she has no idea how to navigate.’ The real splendor of this book is in the variety of beautifully crafted poetic forms; poems which themselves are objects of rescue, for they bring order to all the contextual turmoil. I could not put this book of valorous verse down.”
       —Joy Gaines-Friedler author of Capture Theory

“Readers of New Wilderness witness the human strength of a mother and the bravery of a poet confronting spaces where ‘Nothing you say makes any of / it go away, any of it // better.’ DeBellis’s use of image, humor and irony (always in tune with contemporary speech) allows readers to navigate emotional highs and lows of mental/physical health as a survivor would and, hopefully, understand the unique power of women, of mothers and of poetry.”           —Brad Johnson author of Smuggling 
                             Elephants Through Airport Security

Ready to become your own hero and save your own broken world?

Warrior Sister, Cut Yourself Free from Your Assault is a vital and timely self-help tool for teen girls, young women, or anyone working to overcome physical and sexual assault trauma, as well as the professionals who serve survivors. This book is also used as a part of the aRIFT+ Warrior Project outreach, which collaboratively works to help assault survivors heal and take back control so they can move beyond their attack and experience self-restoration. Though any survivor can benefit from this book, the pages within are designed specifically for teen girls and young women for two reasons. First, they’re collectively the largest demographic impacted by physical violence with the least recovery resources. Second, as fellow survivors, they should know where to find their sisterhood and how to navigate the recovery valley some of us have already made it through. Warrior Sister, Cut Yourself Free from Your Assault is a road and resource map for survivors thrown into situations where they must become their own hero and save their own lost world. The book offers the trauma-informed support, knowledge, and strategies survivors need to restore their emotional stability, health, and self-worth.

For additional resources and network opportunities, visit aRIFTwarriorproject.org.

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Reviews for Warrior Sister, Cut Yourself Free from Your Assault

"An empathetic and knowledgeable recovery manual. " —Kirkus Reviews

“As a practicing emergency psychiatrist, I am always looking for informed resources to help trauma victims in their recovery and growth. Jenifer DeBellis’s Warrior Sister, Cut Yourself Free from Your Assault is the volume I’ve been waiting for—a compassionate, insightful and systematic guide for girls and young women who refuse to let themselves be defined by their assaults. By incorporating her personal experiences alongside cutting edge techniques from psychology and behavioral health, DeBellis offers an intimate and hopeful book that holds the potential to vastly improve the lives of its readers. An essential tool for both trauma survivors and their providers.”
—Jacob M. Appel MD, Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.

"Not only did Jenifer DeBellis overcome her own multiple sexual assaults replete with all the doubts and self-recriminations our phallocentric culture sadly supports, but she has produced a brilliant, beautifully written, page-turner: a manual, what she calls a 'restoration journey,' that will help others work through their trauma as well. If I was still a practicing psychotherapist, several copies of Warrior Sister, Cut Yourself Free from Your Assault, would occupy a prominent place in my waiting room.”
—Charles W. Brice, Ph.D., author of The Broad Grin of Eternity and All the Songs Sung.

“Poet, podcaster, and activist Jenifer DeBellis is a fresh and important voice in the physical and sexual trauma space. Her stunning observations and eye-opening suggestions in Warrior Sister, Cut Yourself Free from Your Assault, are insightful, precise, and need to be on everybody's to-be-read list this year.” —Heather Christie, author of What the Valley Knows and The Lying Season.

“An invaluable survival tool to help girls navigate their way to self empowerment. I hope it gets in the hands of every young woman who needs help finding the light—her light.”
—Liz Ferro, founder and author of Girls with Sole

“How does one address the trauma of physical and sexual assault in an engaging, inspiring way? Author, survivor Jenifer DeBellis has managed just that in an insightful, empathetic guide outlining concrete recovery strategies for young adult woman. At times she writes in the voice of a trusted friend sharing her own experiences, often with compelling, relatable analogies. To underscore the psychic weight of assault, DeBellis references the ancient Roman penalty for murder—a life sentence of carrying the victim’s corpse strapped to the assassin’s bare back. DeBellis says, ‘We strap the dead weight of our experience onto our backs and attempt to live a normal, healthy life carrying that rotting corpse as it … sucks the life from us.’ Warrior Sister, Cut Yourself Free from Your Assault is a thoughtful, well researched self-help book with the perfect marriage of intellect and compassion. From her modification of the stages of grief, ‘Eight Stages of Assault Grief,’ to her 30-Day Restoration Journey, this remarkable book will certainly change lives.”
—Diane DeCillis, author of When the Heart Needs a Stunt Double

“Jenifer’s deep dive into the 8 stages of assault grief, followed by a detailed roadmap to navigate recovery in her 30-day restoration journey is an essential resource for assault survivors. I was inspired by Jenifer’s authentic voice as a survivor herself, her story brimming with hope toward a bright future, free from the nightmares of the past. I, too, am a sexual assault survivor and look forward to implementing her Recharge 7-Day Journey into my weekly routine.”
—Ally Shaw, Author of Chasing Tigers in the Dark, Life Lessons of a Fierce Survivor

“With deep compassion and positivity, author, Jenifer DeBellis, draws on her experiences with sexual trauma and coaching others who have experienced it to empower her readers to break free of the bonds that may be holding them back from living their fullest lives, becoming their most authentic selves. In addition, she looks to research to reinforce the foundation of her “Thirty-Day Restoration Journey,” which begins with the affirmation, “I am not defined by my assault.” This slim volume is a trove of resources and possible solutions for anyone, particularly young and new women, who have experienced assault. I’m sure this book will help many, many people.”
—Kim Suhr, MFA, author of Nothing to Lose (Cornerstone Press, 2018) and director of Red Oak Writing.

Debut Poetry Collection

The characters and stories within Blood Sisters hold a familiarity that is as resonant as that song you once heard—the one you remember the melody to and have been searching for ever since. These lyrical coming-of-age narratives follow the girl next door through move after move, new school after new school. In her quest to find personal truths and understand the human condition, this collection’s speaker retraces experiences that shaped her relational, sociopolitical, and sexuality views.

Buy HERE.

Publications & Projects

FULL-LENGTH WORKS
Poetry collection, Cornerstone Press, 2023: New Wilderness, a 2023 International Book Award Finalist. 

Self-help/memoir, Library Tales Publishing, 2021: Warrior Sister, Cut Yourself Free from Your Assault, 2nd edition forthcoming 2025 from Simon & Schuster.

Poetry collection, Main Street Rag, 2018: Blood Sisters.

PROJECTS
Restore Your Inner Warrior (TM) Speaking Series.
aRIFT+ Warrior Project outreach and companion book, Warrior Sister, Cut Yourself Free from Your Assault (2021).

Feature fundraising poet, Tupelo Press 30/30 Challenge. August 2018.

SolsticeLit eBooks Series
Jr. Co-Editor: Sad Girls and Other Stories by Margaret Elysia Garcia (2015).
Sr. Co-Editor: The Message by Eugenio Volpe (2014).
Jr. Co-Editor: Everything She Knows by Mike Minor (2014).

Ghostwriting & Developmental Editing Projects
About His Business, Rudnik (2024).
The Real Takers, Hornfeld (2023).
A Foot in Each Realm, Buckman & Story Terrace (2019).
Building a Beautiful Life in the New Country , DiNello & Story Terrace (2019).
The Fullness of an Overcomer’s Life, Linzell & Story Terrace (2019).
Old Roots in a New World, Chirco & Story Terrace (2019).
Catch the Wind in Your Sails, Golding & Story Terrace (2020).
I’m Just a Tag That Came on a Shirt, Malhotra & Story Terrace (2020).
I Don't Belong Here, Pardee & Story Terrace (2021).
The Good Times, Schaden & Story Terrace (2022).
Forget-Me-Not, Bastajian & Story Terrace (2022).

INTERVIEWS [VIDEO/PODCAST/PRINT]
My Independence Report via KM Media, 1/5/22. YouTube video version or radio podcast version.

Psychology Today, "Survivors of Sexual and Physical Assault Have Hope to Thrive: An interview with author Jenifer DeBellis."

Linda K Sienkiewicz's Blog, "What, Why, How: Jenifer DeBellis."

Library Tales Publishing, "Interview with Jenifer DeBellis, Author of Warrior Sister, Cut Yourself Free From Your Assault."

REVIEWS FOR WARRIOR SISTER,
CUT YOURSELF FREE . . .
Kirkus Reviews, 2/24/22.
BookLife by Publishers Weekly, 02/22
NetGalley, 11/29/21.
Book Critics Cafe, 11/22/21.

INDIVIDUAL PROSE
Scholarly article, Open Access Journal, “Equipping Students to Join the Literary Conversation.”

Forthcoming: Alien Buddha Press, The Alien Buddha Goes Pop Anthology, Part 2, "Daddy Issues."

Oakland English Channel, "Not With Me."

Flash Fiction Magazine, "The Floating World."

Oakland English Channel, "Held Together by a Safety Pin: A Broken Story."

Pink Panther Magazine, "Fortune Cookie Luck."

Literary Orphan, “Stubborn Silence.”

Solstice Literary Magazine, “Before You Can Change Your Mind.”

OU Department of English Website and Newsletter. “An American Treasure: A Michigan Gem, Bonnie Jo Campbell.”

Rose Red Review, “Tail of a Turtledove.”

Oakland Journal, "The Things We Carried."

AWARDS
1st place, CNF, Oakland University, 2021 CNF Alum/Faculty/Staff Contest: "Surfing Darkness."

1st & 2nd place, poetry, Oakland University 2021 Ekphrastic Poetry Contest, Alum/Faculty/Staff category: "Flickering Light Is Still Light" and "To the 'Mute Swan' as I Await My Test Results."

1st place, prose, Oakland University 2020 Flash Fiction Contest, Alum/Faculty/Staff category: "Not with Me."

3rd place, poetry, Oakland University 2020 Ekphrastic Poetry Contest, Alum/Faculty/Staff category: "Year of the Crow."

2nd place, prose, Oakland University 2018 Flash Fiction Contest, Alum/Faculty/Staff category: "Held Together by a Safety Pin: A Broken Story."

Award winner, 2018 Springfed Arts Prose Contest, "Stubborn Silence."

Finalist, prose, Oakland University 2018 CNF Contest, Alum/Faculty/Staff category: "New Skin."

Winner, 2017 Alum/Faculty/Staff Ekphrastic Poetry Contest: “unfinished business (for Degas).”

Award winner, 2015 Springfed Arts Poetry Contest, “Say You Walk Away.”

3rd place, prose, Oakland University 2013 Flash Fiction Contest, Alum/Faculty/Staff category: "Lullaby."

POETRY
Forthcoming: Anti-Heron Chic, "Phototaxis."

Forthcoming: Thresh Press, The Power of the Feminine “I” Anthology, “Body of Potential.”

Alien Buddha Press, The Alien Buddha Goes Pop Anthology, Part 2, "County Fair."

Last Leaves, "Red Tide at Dusk."

Medical Literary Messenger, "Neuroplasticity."

Glacial Hills Review. "After the Rain."

Calyx, "Braiding Your Daughter's Hair After Brain Surgery."
   
Lily Poetry Review, "Natural Instincts."

The Dandelion Review, Issue 3, “Little Whore,” “The Night Before the Homecoming Dance,” and “Nice Guy.”

Uproot Magazine and commissioned by Oakland University’s Bridging the Gaps: Guitars for Social Justice Project, “Hungry.”

2018 Pushcart Prize Nominee for audio poetry, Golden Walkman Magazine, “Say You Walk Away.”

The Charleston Anvil, “Minor Characters: A Graphic Narrative.”

Panoply, a Literary Zine, “Harbinger.”

Tranquility Anthology, published by Kind of a Hurricane Press, “Diurnal,” “Oak,” and “A Time To Be Silent.”

East Bay Review, No. 8, "Crossroads."

Mom Egg Review, Volume 14, "The Detroit Institute of Art."

Rat's Ass Review, volume 4, issue 1: “Beneath the Surface,” “Broken Promises,” and “Legacy.”

Poor Yorick: A Journal of Rediscovered Objects, “The Natural Man.”

Zoomorphic, “illume.”

Solstice Literary Magazine, “Asylum.”

Amygdala, “interior rooms” and "Welcome Home.”

Sliver of Stone, “The View from Room 102.”

The Good Men Project, “Season of Renewal.”

Postcard Poems and Prose Magazine, selection of three haiku.

Undertow Tanka Review, October 2014, Issue 2: collection of nine tanka.

The Aurorean, “Answer the Door,”“Empty Box,” and “Faded Scar.” 

Unrorean Broadsheet: “Eyes of Verdigris.”

AWP's Festival Writer, Issue 2:6, “Picking Wallflowers” and “Hush Lil’ Baby.”

The Vault: Soul Fountain. Vol. 45, “Religion Romanticized”; Vol. 46, Fall 2013: “Lost Chronicle: genX².”

The Good Stuff, “Breasts, Orgasms, and Great Shoes.”

Wayne Literary Review, “Book of rElevation” and “Scrolls of Exodus.”

Echo Cognitio, “Alchemy: Insularity” and “Dusted Darkness.”

Oakland Journal, “Catharsis: Soul’s Seasonal Lament” and “Peep Show, a Tango.”

BAC Street Journal, “Enlightenment” “Table for One,” and “Alone Space in this Cold Place.”