Beyond Control: Memoirs of Courage and Freedom
A Conversation with Jenn Todling and Catherine Harrington, PhD
October 9, 2025
4 PM PDT | 5 PM MDT | 6 PM CDT | 7 PM EDT
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How do you write and publish a memoir when your story risks exposing someone who once held power and control over you? That’s the challenge both of us faced in bringing our memoirs — Dancing on My Own Two Feet by Jenn Todling and The Longest War by Catherine Harrington, PhD — into the world. Writing a manuscript and navigating publishing is complex on its own. Add the fear of retaliation from the person you’re writing about, and the process becomes even more daunting.

Yet we both chose to move forward, not because it was easy, but because we needed to tell our stories. There is deep power in speaking our truth, and even more courage is required when the stakes are high. Though our books unfold in different time periods, they share overlapping themes of breaking free from unhealthy power dynamics and reclaiming voice and freedom. Ultimately, these stories remind us that truth-telling is an act of liberation, and that there is freedom on the other side of silence.

Together, we will share:

• The role of perseverance in writing a memoir about challenging circumstances
• Practical considerations when publishing a memoir with a risk of exposure
• How we navigated fear of retribution in our memoir writing and publishing processes
• What contributed to us ending up in unhealthy relationships
• How we managed big emotions through the writing and publishing process

Bio: Jenn Todling is an author, executive coach, CPA and University of Denver instructor whose work celebrates the transformative power of creativity in leadership. A former EY audit partner and professional accounting fellow at the SEC, she spent two decades in high-stakes corporate leadership before making her own bold pivot. Today, Jenn blends neuroscience, emotional intelligence, and the arts to help leaders reimagine their paths, lead with authenticity, and create careers and cultures that truly align with who they are.

Whether guiding executives through pivotal transitions, facilitating leadership retreats, or speaking on the courage to start over, she inspires her audiences to lead with clarity, creativity, and heart. She currently resides near her hometown of Boulder, Colorado, with her husband (and dance partner) and young daughter. Dancing on My Own Two Feet is her first book.

Website: https://jenntodling.com/

Bio: Catherine Harrington, PhD is a psychotherapist whose vocation found her early, when her middle school classmates in Colorado, began to confide in her about their problems. She grew up in Denver, one generation removed from the family farm in Longmont. After graduating from Stanford University, where she spent her sophomore year in Spain, Catherine began teaching high school Spanish.

At age 29, with young children, she returned to school to become a psychotherapist and completed her PhD at the University of California, Berkeley. Catherine was on the staff of the Counseling Center at UC, Berkeley for 10 years, supervised the clinical work of Ph.D. candidates at the Wright Institute and was an Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of North Carolina, Wilmington. She worked as an organizational consultant in the corporate world for 10 years and has maintained a private psychotherapy practice for more than 30 years. To celebrate her 80th birthday, Catherine swam from the Golden Gate Bridge to Alcatraz – and enjoyed it!

Website: https://thelongestwarmemoir.com/