Untangling Abusive Relationships

Intimate partner violence is an open secret of alarming proportions—suffered by untold numbers of victims, yet rarely prosecuted as a crime. But the shroud of secrecy is gradually lifting as more victims step forward to tell their stories, seeking justice and healing.

Onstage, Tanya Selvaratnam shares her story with psychiatrist Dr. Mark Epstein in an effort to expose the prevalence of intimate partner violence and offering steps to recognize, expose, and end it.

The program will be followed by a book signing with Tanya Selvaratnam.

Born in Sri Lanka and raised in Long Beach, CA, Tanya Selvaratnam is a writer and an Emmy-nominated and Webby-winning producer. She is the author of The Big Lie: Motherhood, Feminism, and the Reality of the Biological Clock and Assume Nothing: A Memoir of Intimate Violence. Her essays have been published in the New York Times, Vogue, CNN, McSweeney’s, and Glamour, among others.

Selvaratnam has been featured and cited in publications such as the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, New Yorker, CNN, and NBC News. She has been a guest commentator on CNN, MSNBC, Al Jazeera, NPR, WNYC, KCRW, Sirius XM, and CBS Radio News. She has participated in panels and conferences around the world, including various United Nations and World Health Organization events as well as the Aspen Ideas Festival, Skoll World Forum, and Sundance Film Festival. She has spoken on a variety of subjects, including the rights and safety of women and children, and the interplay of art and democracy.

Mark Epstein, MD, is a regular participant in the Rubin’s programs. A highly regarded psychiatrist in private practice in New York City, he is the author of a number of books about the interface of Buddhism and psychotherapy, the most recent of which is Advice Not Given: A Guide to Getting Over Yourself. Other titles include Thoughts without a Thinker, Going to Pieces without Falling Apart, Going on Being, Open to Desire, Psychotherapy without the Self, and The Trauma of Everyday Life. He received his undergraduate and medical degrees from Harvard University and is currently a clinical assistant professor in the postdoctoral program in psychotherapy and psychoanalysis at New York University.

Lead support for Brainwave is provided by Science Sandbox, an initiative of Simons Foundation, and by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.

Major support is provided by Gerry Ohrstrom, Rasika and Girish Reddy, and Noah P. Dorsky.

Program support is provided by Eileen Caulfield Schwab, Eva and Yoel Haller, Cheryl Henson, and Heather Beth Henson.