Chidi Asika-Enahoro is a Nigerian- American who
has lived and traveled extensively between England, Africa and
the United States. She has a unique passion for life and brings
that magnetic energy to every endeavor she is involved in. 
Chidi has held various leadership positions including:
President of Florida Rehabilitation Association (two terms in
Miami); Board member of several Community Organizations; Co-founder
and Operator of a Non-Profit Organization; a State of Florida
Trainer, Contract Manager & Rehabilitation Consultant. She
has a Masters degree in Clinical and Community Psychology.
Chidi maneuvered her privileged upbringing to dedicate
her life to excel in championing the plight of the Needy to empower
them. She has the unique advantage of a multi-cultural heritage
and point of view. She has an extensive background in Rehabilitation
spanning the cause of over twenty years between Connecticut,
New York and Miami. She has a host of varied Certificates.
Chidi has provided many well received workshops
across the nation with her poignant and unique flair. She has
presented a variety of subjects ranging from Professional Ethics,
Cultural Diversity, Counseling Skills, Job Development, Management
Techniques, Relaxation Techniques, Leadership Skills, Program
Designs and Social Skills to Company Executives, Managers, Case
Workers, Rehabilitation Specialists, Customer Service Representatives
and the general populace.
Chidi is an avid reader and a prolific writer.
Chidi is an extraordinary and yet very ordinary character whose
main aim in life is to bring happiness to the world by creating
little pockets of joyful moments for the people she encounters
on her current life's journey. Chidi recites her mission in life
as simple "I need my existence in this life to make a positive
difference to those who know me and to humanity in general".
To contact Chidi Asika-Enahoro::
e-mail: InInterrupted@aol.com
phone: 954-394-6633
fax: 954-443-9259
PageOneLit.com: Thank you for taking the
time to talk to us. Please tell us a bit about yourself and your
background.
Chidi Asika-Enahoro: It's my pleasure to
speak with you. I am a Nigerian-American aspiring Visionary on
the brink of realizing my real purpose in life. I have been married
to my soul mate for 18 years and we have two adorable teenagers
together. I had the privilege of growing up and schooling within
three exciting and very diverse cultures (Africa, Europe and
USA). I acquired my primary life foundation in the African system.
My secondary life experiences came from England where I was exposed
to the English Aristocracy. While there, I also met many young
heiresses from over fifteen countries who traveled as I did,
to attend the same Finishing School to become debutantes. I received
my undergraduate, graduate and post-graduate education and work
experiences in the US where I have made my home the past 24 years.
PageOneLit.com:Tell us a little about you
newest book, "Innocence Interrupted: A Sexual Molestation
Survival & Prevention Guide." What compelled you to
write it?
Chidi Asika-Enahoro:Innocence Interrupted
is a book about some real life stories of sexual 
molestations from different
cultures and economic classes. The book reviews how and why it
occurs and presents some useful guides on how to handle such
crimes and how to protect everyone in the family from the destructive
effect. Sexual molestation intrigues me because it happened to
me and I could not get past it for a while. The new wave of media
expose` of such topics and the loud community outcry and recent
push to identify the known molesters made me realize that there
is a group of molesters out there that could continue to enjoy
anonymity. I decided to contribute my small part to make our
world a safer place.
PageOneLit.com:Was the process of writing
this book healing in any way? If so, how?
Chidi Asika-Enahoro: Yes, very much so.
I had buried the experiences deep down for many years. In writing
Innocence Interrupted, I was able to recall play by play details
of my incidents. It was very emotional but I was finally able
to understand why it happened to me because here I am sharing
the experience in the hope that it will help other victims and
may be even prevent many more occurrences. I now appreciate the
experience for what I can do with it. I have made peace with
the whole experience and totally released the pain and anguish
from my soul. I am more emotionally fortified for it.
PageOneLit.com:Are sexual crimes looked
at and handled differently in other countries, such as Africa,
than they are in the US. If so, how?
Chidi Asika-Enahoro: Although every country
has a different frame of reference relative to its cultural beliefs, sexual crimes
are generally perpetrated upon female adults or children round
the world. The US has prescribed well thought out laws about
age of adulthood and what constitutes sexual crimes and the consequences
of violation. Africa has many countries with many contradicting
traditional beliefs that make it difficult to determine when
a sexual crime has been committed. A lot of the cultures marry
underage females and it is accepted. The women are trained to
be prudish and docile which invariably means that they are expected
to act coy and say no to sex as a matter of rule. Under such
context, proclamations of "no' does not mean anything to
the men. Sexual crimes are hard to prosecute in any system for
a variety of reasons but the US is still leaps ahead of the rest
of the world in that regard.
PageOneLit.com:What are some of the causes
of sexual abuse? What do you think motivates a sexual predator?
Chidi Asika-Enahoro: The causes can be one
or a combination of things. I reviewed chemically induced incidents
and others that could be psychiatrically inclined. Each incident
has to be carefully evaluated with attention to certain details
as evidenced in some of the real life stories in Innocence Interrupted.
PageOneLit.com:What steps can be taken to
safe-guard your family from sexual predators?
Chidi Asika-Enahoro: The first step is to
arm yourself with adequate and useful information as reviewed
in my book. The main key to survival is pre-planning. Yes, it
may never happen to you, however, we prepare for eventualities
- for "what ifs".
PageOneLit.com:What advice do you have to
parents of a child who has been sexually abused?
Chidi Asika-Enahoro: Do not blame the child
or ostracize the child. Give them all the love and support you
can muster. Seek professional help if possible. My book details
a list of useful steps to try.
PageOneLit.com:What tips do you have for
victims of a sexual assault -- as far as getting through the
physical and emotional trauma and moving on with their life?
What immediate steps should be taken after the molestation or
assault?
Chidi Asika-Enahoro: The first step should
be a police report and then a medical evaluation. Again Innocence
Interrupted chronicled a list of helpful tips to immediately
relieve the physical pain and the gradual steps to getting through
the emotional trauma.
PageOneLit.com:What do you hope readers
walk away with after reading "Innocence Interrupted: A Sexual
Molestation Survival & Prevention Guide?"
Chidi Asika-Enahoro: I hope they will realize
that it can happen closer to home than they thought possible
and they will become more vigilant to protect themselves, their
children and their sick family members. For those that already
went through the horrific experiences, I hope they will be able
to find relief and use some of the tips to step over the huddle
and start a new happier life.
PageOneLit.com:What has been the reader
feedback from "Innocence Interrupted: A Sexual Molestation
Survival & Prevention Guide?"
Chidi Asika-Enahoro: I have gotten very
positive responses from readers. A lot of moms find the tips very useful to prep their
children. Everyone seems to know someone (if not themselves)
that it happened to and they did not know how to talk about it.
Everyone I spoke to felt my book addresses a very important subject
that should be brought to the forefront. A number of people advised
me to send copies of the book to schools in Africa to be used
as a text book for young boys and girls. I like that idea and
will certainly do that.
PageOneLit.com:Are you a daily disciplined
writer? Do you have certain tricks you use so that you don't
stray from your writing?
Chidi Asika-Enahoro: Yes I am. I have writing
pads and pens all over my house, cars, purses and office. I jot
down ideas as they come to me no matter what I'm doing, I stop
to write. I sometimes pull off the road to write, get up from
bed to write at all hours of the day. I just write and date the
information and at some points every so often, I review all the
notes and sort them according to subject matter. Some times,
I find recurring thoughts or themes from months or even years
past when I review the notes. I do not force myself to write
at specific times of the day, it has become such a habit that
I find that I write all sorts of things, including letters to
friends and families at all hours. I also write for project grants
for all sorts of social programs.
PageOneLit.com:What is your advice to aspiring
writers? What tips or techniques do you use to keep yourself
motivated when life throws you a curveball or two?
Chidi Asika-Enahoro: Find your own unique
niche. Write about what interests and matters to you first. I
spend a lot of quiet introspective time alone to think. I think
and analyze everything when life throws me a curveball. I write
down my feelings about everything that happens around me. I write
when I'm happy, I write when I'm sad. I try to take everything
that happens to me as a learning life experience, no matter how
horrible it feels. I do get upset and despondent sometimes but
it never lasts more than some minutes because once I start writing,
I feel better and see things in a different light.
PageOneLit.com:Who are your favorite authors,
and why do they inspire you?
Chidi Asika-Enahoro: I have too many favorites
to list here. I am more interested in topics than the writers
at this time. I review New age materials now. I go through phases.
I like romance authors like Barbara Cartland, Terry Macmillan,
Denise Robins, Jacqueline Susan etc. I also like Chopra, Shakespeare,
Rasha, John Gray, Brian Weiss, M.S Peck, Victor Frankl, Paul
Brunton, the Bible stories and many more. They all inspire me
because they present thought provoking information but more importantly,
they are all trendsetters on their own quests to share their
discoveries of what life is all about.
PageOneLit.com:What's next for Chidi Asika-Enahoro?
Any plans for another book?
Chidi Asika-Enahoro: Now that I've started
to understand the Divine design of the world, I am trying to
lead a more introspective life so I can figure out why I had
the experiences I've had with the people I've met so far. I hope
that the answers will make me a better citizen of the world and
will reveal to me what my real purpose here this lifetime is
all about. I have many more books to come. I recently began work
on a book of Marriages and Relationships.
PageOneLit.com: When you're not working,
what are your favorite ways to relax?
Chidi Asika-Enahoro:I meditate and read
a lot of books and magazines. I love to travel, shop, discover
new places and cultural trends with my family. My husband and
I love to cook and entertain friends. I cater events on African
recipes from my book A Slice Of Africa, exotic West African recipes.
I live in the Miami area, I love to relax by the water- lakes,
pools and beaches. I try to exercise regularly.
PageOneLit.com:Do you have any final thoughts
to share with us?
Chidi Asika-Enahoro:I feel like I just started
scratching the surface of my potentials. Although I have traveled
extensively round the world and intimately met and mingled with
all hierarchy of people from various societies, I have a lot
more miles to go with lots of people to meet. I eagerly crave
many new experiences that I know await me out there on this stage
of life.
Thank you so much for giving me audience to share
a part of me.
