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LOCAL
THE CHAMPION, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 8 - 14, 2024 • PAGE 7
Author tells unvarnished stories
about herself and others in memoir
BY KATHY MITCHELL
FREELANCE REPORTER
Atlanta resident Jamie
Andrews has established
herself as an award-winning
"multi-hyphenate in the
entertainment industry"—
actress, writer, producer.
Despite her having the
creativity and brains to
produce such success,
Andrews at one point felt
that for her wellbeing,
she needed to exorcize
the demons of her past,
including a troubled
adolescence in the 1980s.
"One day, I decided I
needed to just write it all
down. I started writing; it
just all came pouring out
of me. It was as though
a fire came over me. For
three months, I put it all
down without stopping to
consider whether particular
stories should be told,"
Andrews said. She detailed
her harrowing experiences
with depression, drugs,
and institutionalization in a
manuscript that sat idle for
almost two decades.
At a book reading and
signing event Feb. 3 at The
Book Bird popup bookstore
in Avondale Estates,
Andrews presented her
memoir The Brink, a book
that she wrote more than
20 years ago when she lived
in Los Angeles.
In a deeply personal
way, Andrews talks frankly
about those who hurt her
and how she responded in
ways that often were more
harmful than healing. In the
preface to the book, she
notes, "I barely recognize
the person to whom you are
about to be introduced. You
may not like her, but that's
fair because she didn't like
herself much either. Yes,
'she' is me, but she also
couldn't be further from
the person I am now. I am
so sorry for the people she
hurt with her actions and for
those she may hurt with the
words found herein. With
gratitude to my mother and
sister—neither of whom
will read this—but who are
responsible for me finding
myself again."
Andrews explained that
she doesn't spare family
members and others in her
life as she recounts stories
of things they did in the
past. "My mother said, 'I
don't have to read it; I lived
it.' I don't believe she ever
will read it. As to other
people, if they become
angry at me because of
what I said about them, I
just have to deal with that."
Despite the disturbing
nature of some of the
stories, Andrews tells many
of them with light-hearted
humor. For example, she
recalls sitting at a desk at
school and noticing that
someone has written on
the desk a declaration that
she is a slut. "What are the
chances that I would sit at
the one desk in the school
that says something awful
about me? Maybe there are
more of them. Maybe they
all say it," she wrote.
Andrews said she
thought of publishing
anonymously but decided
that complete honesty was
much of the point. "Some
people make themselves
heroes in their stories.
They sanitize the stories to
protect their reputation and
the reputations of others,
but I didn't want to do that.
If people can't accept all
of me, including my past,
they can't accept me. If they
choose to judge me, if they
have no empathy, they are
people I don't want in my
life anyway," she said.
When she decided
to go public with her
manuscript, she chose
to self-publish instead of
shopping for a traditional
publisher. "For one thing,
I'm impatient," she said.
"Finding a publisher takes
time and effort. Also, with
a traditional publisher the
author receives about 5
percent of the profits. When
you self-publish, you get
about 50 percent."
Although she initially
saw the book as a sort
of self-administered
therapy, she decided it
was important to make
it available to the public
because she recognized that
others are struggling with
similar issues and might
benefit from reading about
someone who has overcome
such challenges. She said
she hopes readers can learn
from her mistakes and use
lessons from the book to
turn their lives around for
the better.
Most recently, Andrews
wrote, produced, and
starred in the award
winning film Division. Her
performance earned her
Best Actress award at The
Lady Filmmakers Festival.
Other credits include her
five-year run on the truTV
series World's Dumbest and
Good Girls Revolt as well
as guest roles on Chicago
Fire, Crash & Bernstein, and
Heels.
VA hospital shooting death under investigation
BY JAY PHILLIPS
JAY@DEKALBCHAMP.COM
A man was shot and killed at the Veteran's
Affairs (VA) Hospital in Decatur on Jan. 29 after
arriving with suicidal intentions and reportedly
threatening staff with a knife.
Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI)
announced it will conduct an independent
investigation of the shooting, which a news
release states left the suspect dead and no
officers injured.
The news release states that the
Department of Veterans' Affairs Police
requested the investigation.
The news release states that preliminary
information indicates John Robert Smith,
58, of Decatur, arrived at the VA Hospital in
Decatur and hospital staff reportedly took
Smith into the emergency room for assistance.
Once he was inside the emergency room,
Smith pulled out a knife and threatened to
harm himself, according to the news release.
VA police officers reportedly responded to the
ER and attempted to get Smith to put the knife
down.
Smith refused to drop the knife and
eventually advanced toward a staff member
while holding the knife, according to the
news release. An officer shot Smith, who was
pronounced dead on the scene by the medical
staff, police stated.
Smith's body will be taken to the DeKalb
County Medical Examiner's Office for autopsy.
Once GBI finishes its investigation, the case
file will be given to the DeKalb County District
Attorney's Office for review.
AWARDS
Continued From Page 6
performance," added Hindsman.
The Smoke Rise students competed in a pool of
125 groups from 30 states during their weekend at JTF
Atlanta. The award was the second time Smoke Rise
Academy of Arts won a Freddie G. Excellence in Music
award, following the school's first win in 2020.
In 2022, students Sophia Kuechenmeister and
Amanda Riedel also made it to the callback for yet-to-
be-released musicals.
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