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Interview with Teresa Zerilli-Edelglass, author of Thrown Under The Bus

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One day, more or less out of the blue, after working in a coveted middle-management position, the springboard to my coveted career, I was called into my (temporary or “Acting”) bosses office and told, “We tried you out…now we’re going to try [so and so] out.” The “so and so” was my not-so-bright, system-beating, typical good-for-nothing subordinate.

Oh, yeah, did I say it was a he?

What brought this on?
This changing of the guard was precipitated by the fact that I refused to play dirty with the boys when I failed (refused) to process a “funny business” promotion. I was so idealistic and naive that I thought I was supposed to follow the rules in order to thrive.

Once they demoted me and proceeded to humiliate me on a daily basis, causing me emotional pain I cannot begin to describe over which I proceeded to take internal remedial action against them, things went downhill for the next 6 years while I waited to get to trial.
Upon a successful outcome, after having suffered at the hands of these ill-mannered, depraved beasts for so many years, I succumbed to mental illness and was unable to resume working. But this would not stop them from behaving badly. No. Instead of cooperating with the various requests made of them to accommodate my work-related illness, they ratcheted up the abuse to the nth degree and continued to do so for the next 13 years, forever frustrating my effort to get back in the swing of life. I fought with every fiber of my being for the justice I knew I deserved — and learned the hard way just how corrupt the system I turned to for help really is. Now, you’ll have to read the book if you want to find out the rest!

Oh wow. That sounds horrible. Tell us about the book.
Thrown Under The Bus: The Rise And Fall Of An American Worker is THE premier political road map to workplace harassment and the litigation that often follows. We all know we can go to any HOW TO or IDIOT GUIDE to learn about the procedural aspects of navigating “the system”, that is the doctors, lawyers, and bureaucrats with whom one inevitably becomes enmeshed when attempting to seek justice, but how often do we get to go behind the scenes with someone who spent nearly two decades caught up one of the craziest, most egregious workplace nightmares imaginable? Thrown is a pertinent, timely, relevant American Dream-turned-American nightmare story that will make blood shoot out of your eyes!

Because of the story, it’s naturally aimed at a female audience.
It is gender neutral. I’ve had both women as well as men do handflips over it! It is a great triumph over tragedy story for those who like them, but it is a survival guide for so many downtrodden workers who are bullied out of their jobs every day who don’t know where to turn or what to do next. I’ve had so many folks contact me to thank me for writing the book, and for those who read it “just because”, I’ve heard “I couldn’t put it down!” over and over again. Workplace bullying is an American epidemic and there ain’t nothing like the real thing to help those in need.

Tell us about your life outside of this ordeal.
I grew up in Staten Island in the 60’s during the civil rights/women’s movement era. The product of divorced parents at 14, I realized even more than ever before the value of self-sufficiency. I struck out on my own at 18 and put myself through college at night for 11 years until I had a masters degree in hand. At 29, my career was cut short after having made the transition from the private to the public sector only 4 years prior. At the time, I believed that being a public servant was noble. But I was as idealistic and naive as I was smart. Despite winning a federal lawsuit in 1997, I lost everything to a judo-political system gone totally awry. I came out the other side of nearly 2 decades of mental illness and despair ready to warn others of the pitfalls of workplace litigation and politics that prevail.

Do you have a website where we can keep up with your work?
www.TZEUnderTheBus.com

How can we follow you on Twitter and/or Facebook?
@crushedbygovt
Facebook: Teresa Zerilli-Edelglass

What’s next?
A follow-up book: life after litigation OR a book on fatherlessness from a daughter’s perspective.

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