Every year thousands of educators are accused of physical abuse. Some are guilty and are prosecuted, but hundreds who are innocent are forced to surrender their licenses. Billie Murray was falsely accused. A student’s lie extinguished her life’s dream and simultaneously erased her self-worth. Rejected by family and friends she had to reinvent her life.
When a catastrophic fire cripples her new community and individuals grapple with personal tragedy, she gains a deeper understanding of the gift of forgiveness and the power of hope. Her brave struggles save not only her life but also the lives of others. At times brutally painful, at other times immensely encouraging, Today My Name Is Billie explores how a single lie can spread like fire and destroy all that it touches.
Neile Parisi’s debut novel, Today My Name is Billie, explores the aftermath of teacher Billie Murray’s life when one of her trusted students falsely accuses her of physical abuse. In the fallout from this boy’s lie, Billie loses her job as well her relationship with her husband and two sons. Billie chooses to relocate from Connecticut to a small southern town where she begins to heal. After many years she experiences another horrifying experience. This time, however, she learns to love, forgive and become an empowered version of herself. Today My Name is Billie ignites hope in the tenacity of the human spirit. —Charita Cole Brown, author of Defying the Verdict: My Bipolar Life
About the Author
NEILE PARISI is the author of Today My Name Is Billie based upon an incident in her life as an eighth grade teacher. Neile taught school for eighteen glorious years in public schools. She experienced both joy and tragedy in her classroom, but continually loved her students. Following her teaching career, she became a Registered Sanitarian. Having a masters degree in Health Education, she was able to use her teaching skills to help educate workers in the restaurant world teaching proper food handling skills, provide knowledge about radon, asbestos, and lead poisoning to home owners, investigate food poisoning, test beach water and pools for bacteria levels, inspect restaurants, day cares, schools and hospitals, and at times even trapping rats and rodents. Currently she is a realtor who, by the way, won second place in The Woman’s Arm Wrestling competition in Las Vegas, and promises she won’t let anyone “twist your rm.” She is also a stand-up comic on the weekends drawing from her varied background of occupations. This is her first novel.
SPECS
Today My Name is Billie
By Neile Parisi
FICTION / Paperback Original
240 pages; 5.5 x 8.5
Price: $19.95
ISBN: 978-1-73274349-6
Pub Date: May 7, 2019
Distributor: IPG; also available through Baker & Taylor, Ingram, and other wholesalers.
Individuals can order via Indiebound.org, online, or contact your local, independent bookstore.
Booksellers, libraries, colleges/universities, gift shops, etc., can order through IPG:
Independent Publishers Group
814 N. Franklin Street
Chicago, IL 60610
Order Placement: (800) 888-4741
Rights sold: All rights available.
Rights & publicity contact Dede Cummings, publisher: dede@greenwriterspress.com