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Topics
- Abuse / Domestic Violence
- Children and Youth Health
- Diversity and Inclusion
- Family / Relationships
- Journalism / Literary / Author
- Law
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Regina Calcaterra New York Times Best-Selling Author; Recognized Trauma Informed Attorney
Regina Calcaterra is a New York Times best-selling author and recognized trauma informed attorney. She is a co-founding partner of Calcaterra Pollack LLP, a diverse 100% women owned firm launched early in the pandemic. As a survivor of childhood sexual and physical assault she presently represents adult survivors of childhood sexual assault and other abuse survivors. She also represents individuals and municipal entities deceived or defrauded as a result of consumer protection, antitrust and securities laws violations and represents parties in federal civil rights litigation. Although her painful early life was quite different from her life now, it lead to Regina’s passion and commitment to protect others.
In her New York Times best-selling memoir, Regina shares her story of how she and her four siblings persevered an abusive and painful childhood only to find themselves faced with the challenges of the foster-care system and intermittent homelessness on Long Island. Her story is chronicled in Etched in Sand, a True Story of Five Children who Suffered an Unspeakable Childhood on Long Island (Harper Collins 2013). Regina co-authored her sister’s memoir Girl Unbroken, A Sister’s Harrowing Story of Survival from the Streets of Long Island to the Farms of Idaho (Harper Collins, 2016). Etched in Sand has been integrated into college and high school curricula throughout the U.S. and been selected for community reads. Etched in Sand’s and Girl Unbroken’s impactful messages include those of resilience, optimism and perseverance; how kind acts can forever impact a child in need; the vital role of the public library system, public education and the public university system on impoverished children; how educators can forever impact transient children; that no child is a lost cause; childhood hunger, poverty, abuse, abandonment & homelessness; the power of sibling bonds; risk of homelessness for young adults aging out of foster care parentless; determination to succeed regardless of social status; and breaking the cycles of addiction, alcoholism, domestic violence and child abuse, homelessness and incarceration.