Kendra Weenie faced many hardships as a young person.
Weenie is a Cree woman from Sweetgrass First Nation. She grew up single-parented, on welfare, with minimal opportunity for success.
She is a single mother and survivor of domestic violence. Her daughter was only eight days old when she was nearly beaten to death by her former partner. After this traumatic experience, she realized that she needed to focus on taking care of herself so that she could heal and be a good role model for her daughter, details her webpage at www.kendraweenie.com
Weenie now travels the country sharing her story of survival and healing and promotes self-care through youth and women's workshops.
Weenie has also published a book ‘Surviving Domestic Violence’ from which she will be giving a reading at the Yorkton Public Library Wednesday starting at 6:30 p.m.
Weenie, who is self-employed is also an inspirational speaker, self-care workshop facilitator and of course author.
“My background is education, however, I’ve never had any formal training for writing,” she told Yorkton This Week. “I graduated from the ITEP (Indian Teacher Education Program) through the University of Saskatchewan in 2012.”
With no specific background in writing Weenie said she had never really expected to write a book.
“I never planned on writing a book because I hadn’t ever considered myself a writer,” she said, adding that view changed. “About two years ago, my brother and I were having a business conversation and he randomly suggested that I write a book. I kind of chuckled, thinking he was kidding. I started to think about it a little obsessively, so I thought ‘well what’s the worst that could happen.’
“I started writing and took breaks for months at a time because my body would get triggers from the trauma that I’ve endured over the years.”
While the writing process proved challenging based on the pains that resurfaced, Weenie kept at it.
“Ultimately, I wanted to help people,” she said. “My goal was to share how I’ve started on my healing journey to encourage others to do the same and let them know that they’re not alone.”
Weenie is proud she stuck with it.
“This is my first book and I’m glad I wrote it,” she said. “It’s helped to market my speaking and workshop business and I’ve had really positive feedback so far from those who’ve read it.”
Still, Weenie looks back on the writing as something of a rough road to travel.
“The writing process was difficult,” she said. “I had no idea what I was doing. I just typed up everything and hoped for the best when I decided I was going to self-publish.
“Thankfully, I hired an amazing editor (online) who really added to my manuscript.
“I think that’s the game changer for brand new authors; a good editor who can bring the book to life.
“The most challenging part of it all was going through all the steps and learning the self-publishing process from scratch. There were so many details from finding resources and people to hire to little things like registering for an ISBN. It was quite tedious, not to mention I was still learning how to run a business.”
But, in the end the story wins out as being one that can help others.
“I think the best part of the book is the overall vulnerability,” said Weenie. “I am completely honest about what I went through and I think that’s what people appreciate.
“I am satisfied with the book overall. It’s definitely helped to boost my confidence as a writer and I am already brainstorming ideas for a second book that will likely focus more on self-care.”
Not surprisingly she hopes the story helps her people.
“My target audience is Indigenous women, however, the book has been popular with women of all ages and backgrounds,” offered Weenie.
