Sarma Melngailis, the subject of the Netflix docuseries Bad Vegan, will talk about the extreme coercive control behind her astonishing crash from raw vegan media darling to publicly shamed fugitive in the April 14 edition of the online Finding Our Voices Book Club. The free event is from 6 p.m. to 7:15 p.m., and is open to the public. 

The Finding Our Voices Book Club, now in its fifth year, talks with international authors about the domestic abuse in their books and lives. 

"Sarma's memoir The Girl with the Duck Tattoo is a riveting account of navigating extreme psychological manipulation and financial abuse, media distortion, and public shame, and was just released as an audio book," said Finding Our Voices, in a news release.

Melngailis leaped from a degree in economics from the Wharton School to investment banking with Bear Stears to opening New York's first upscale raw vegan restaurant, Pure Food and Wine, which drew celebrity clientele and national acclaim. It all came crashing down through a husband predator's extreme coercive control that included financial fleecing and manipulating her love for her dog.  

Along the way was a marriage to celebrity chef Matthew Kenney whose scandal-plagued empire included restaurants in Belfast, Searsport, and Portland.

Participants are encouraged to listen to or read the book and come with questions for Melngailis.

For more information on joining the Finding Our Voices Book Club and this event, visit https://findingourvoices.net/book-club.

Finding Our Voices is the grassroots nonprofit breaking the silence of domestic abuse in Maine as well as providing critical resources to women survivors and their children. Programs include access to donated dental care through Finding Our Smiles, an online weekly support group, and Healing Together retreats. For more information visit https://findingourvoices.net