GVFaces: Kelley Senkowski

October 15, 2024 (Volume 48, Number 4)
Article by Samantha Drougel

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Kelley Senkowski, project specialist for Instructional Technology, self-published a book last year that centers around her great-grandmother, Jessie Trout, and her story about surviving the Titanic sinking.

“The book starts when she was around 18, coming from Scotland over to America with her family then goes through the rest of her life,” said Senkowski.

Senkowski spent 20 years researching Trout's life, which includes the stories she has heard from family members. She started her book, "TITANIC Jessie and Lifeboat #9: The Untold Story," in the second half of 2023. 

Senkowski said she compiled interviews, with help from family members, from different news sources and family genealogy to piece together the story. She did more research on the early 1900s to try and visualize the world Trout lived in. Even though she wasn’t a writer by trade, Senkowski said she wanted to make sure her great-grandmother’s story wasn’t lost to history.

“I always enjoyed writing,” said Senkowski.”I am not a traditional author, so it was really about trying to get in her head.”

Senkowski tried to add things that other movies and books about the Titanic missed. She took accuracy very seriously as this was an important story to her family and everyone involved in the tragedy. She said it was hard to write the section about the Titanic sinking because it gave her secondhand trauma.

“It did give me secondary PTSD writing those chapters. I didn’t realize what I was feeling or why I was so tired until later,” said Senkowski. 

Senkowski self-published her book. She wrote, edited and created the cover herself, using an online program, IngramSpark, to publish. She also created a Facebook page and website and posts updates about sales and events related to the book. She encouraged everyone to share their story.

“If you have a story, write it! We live in a time where there are so many self-publishing tools,” said Senkowski. 

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