Author Talk: Michelle Horton, "Dear Sister: A Memoir of Secrets, Survival, and Unbreakable Bonds"

Please join YWCA and Darien Library for a powerful evening as Michelle Horton shares the story of how her sister was incarcerated after killing her abusive partner in self-defense. 

Michelle Horton will be in conversation with Ann Rodwell-Lawton, Chief Operating Officer at the Domestic Violence Crisis Center (DVCC). 

Register for Author Talk: Michelle Horton

About the Book

Dear Sister: A  Memoir of Secrets, Survival, and Unbreakable Bonds is a breathtaking memoir about two sisters and a high-profile case: Nikki Addimando, incarcerated for killing her longtime abuser; and the author, Michelle Horton, left in the devastating fall-out to raise Nikki's young children and to battle the criminal justice system.

In September 2017, a knock on the door upends Michelle Horton’s life: she learns that her sister has just shot her partner and is now in jail. Stunned to find herself in a situation she'd only ever encountered on TV or in the news, Michelle rearranges her life to raise Nikki's two young children alongside her own son. Determined to reunite her sister with her kids, Michelle launches a fight to bring Nikki home, squaring off against a criminal justice system designed to punish the entire family.

During the investigation that follows, Michelle is shocked to learn that Nikki had been hiding horrific abuse for years. She realizes that in order to understand the present, she must excavate the past. She retraces their childhood, searching for clues to explain how so many people could have been blind to her sister's dangerous situation. Dear Sister is a profound, intimate story about not just surviving trauma, but turning it into hard-won wisdom. It is a story of resilience and the unbreakable bond of family.

About the Author

Michelle Horton is a writer and advocate living in New York's Hudson Valley with her son, nephew, and niece. Through the Nicole Addimando Community Defense Committee, she continues to speak out for her sister and the countless other victims of domestic violence criminalized for their acts of survival.

About Ann Rodwell-Lawton

Ann Rodwell-Lawton serves as the Chief Operating Officer at the Domestic Violence Crisis Center (DVCC) and joined DVCC in 2019. In this position, Ann is responsible for managing DVCC's direct service programs, community initiatives, and quality assurance processes. With a decade of experience in the fields of domestic violence and sexual violence, she applies survivor-centered and trauma-informed methodologies to her work.  She holds a Master's degree in Social Work from Hunter College, specializing in community organization, planning, and development.