The Jaguar Man

“What happens when one harrowing incident changes your life, splitting it between before and now? On the fourth day of what Lara Naughton thought would be two weeks of bliss in Belize, she was kidnapped by a man pretending to be a cabdriver, held in the tropical forest, and raped. In the depths of the jungle–alone with the Jaguar Man–compassion was her only defense. Lara’s survival and journey of healing is poignant, compelling, and exceptional–it runs against the grain of what we’re taught and how we speak about crime and victimhood. Bending the limits of reality, she uses myth to process her experience and further explore the power of compassion. What she comes to is authentic, unorthodox, and fresh, and could serve as a groundbreaking path for trauma survivors to find their own peace and healing. Lara Naughton is a New Orleans-based writer and teacher. As a documentary playwright, she has created work with groups such as AIDS Project Los Angeles, the Program for Torture Victims, and Resurrection After Exoneration. Her play, Never Fight a Shark in Water, toured the United States. Chair of the creative writing department at the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts, she also teaches writing in New Orleans-area prisons and community centers. A graduate of The Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education at Stanford University’s School of Medicine, Naughton serves as the Director of Compassion NOLA and teaches workshops and trainings on mindfulness and compassion”–