Welcome to Part 1 of our November 2025 Inspirational Interview with Kathryn Caraway, an author and stalking survivor based in the USA.
On the surface, Kathryn Caraway looks like any other woman. But beneath the surface, she lives a very different life than most. After years of living life as the target of a stalker, the fear of her perpetrator finding her again haunts every decision she makes. She sold her home, moved to a new state, and chose to go into hiding — a necessary separation between her past and present self. Kathryn Caraway is the pseudonym she selected when she chose to speak out about stalking. In 2022, she founded The Unfollow Me Project to raise awareness of the crime of stalking. She has a BA in journalism and an MBA.
All photos are courtesy of Kathryn Caraway.
1.How and why did you join the movement to end violence against women (VAW)?
Two reasons:
- I am a victim of stalking who has experienced the devastating impact of this often underreported crime. The stalker once asked me if I wanted to see death coming and I told him no. I continue to live each day waiting for a death I won’t see coming.
- I wanted to raise awareness and educate people on the impact of stalking. Today’s culture minimises, normalises and even romanticises stalking rather than criminalising it. We see it in movies, books, memes and even joke about it when we run into a friend at the grocery store. Stalking is a crime for a reason; not a joke.
2. Your book, Unfollow Me, which vividly recounts your experience as a stalking victim, has recently been released. Given that it can be difficult and traumatic for survivors of any form of VAW to publicly talk about their experience, much less write an entire memoir about it, it is very courageous of you to share your experience in this way. Why did you choose this method and format of doing so?
I never set out to write a book; it just happened. After changing my identity, quitting my job, and moving three times in eighteen months, I was having a difficult time adjusting. I couldn’t apply for a job even though I have two college degrees (in a name that is no longer mine). I only had time to sit and think about everything. What I realised is because the stalker pleaded guilty to the charge, I never got to tell my story. It was toxic holding it inside. I sat down to write it because there was nobody who fully knew everything I went through. After writing, I realised how alone I felt and moved to publishing my story in hopes it reaches someone that needs to know they are not alone.
3. What were the particular challenges that you faced in the process of writing Unfollow Me?
People suggest writing is cathartic, but my experience was far from it. Not only did I have to relive my experience to write it, but I was also faced with the role I played in my own story. With the benefit of hindsight, I could see the red flags I missed or dismissed and it was difficult. It was so emotionally draining that during the editing process, I suffered a stroke. I had to walk away from the book and look after my health.
4. You have also fictionalised your experience in the form of a Thriller novel which is currently expected to be released on 11 November 2025. Why did you decide to share your experience both as a non-fiction memoir and in fictional form?
After the last criminal charge was finalised, I was faced with a decision on how to move forward. I stood at that fork in the road and made what turned out to be the best possible decision after such a harrowing ordeal. But it didn’t keep me from wondering, what if I had taken the other route?
By the time I finished the first draft of my memoir, I focused my attention on writing my “what if” scenario with no plans to actually publish it. After I signed with an agent, I was encouraged to. Beta readers who read early copies of Unfollow Me shared how frustrated they were with the ending — not the writing, but with the judicial system. It inspired me to move the second book to publishing to offer readers my imagined alternative ending. I can’t think of any other true crime memoirs that offer a fictional alternative ending, so this helps distinguish my books from the millions that are published each year.
5. What advice would you give to any VAW survivor who is considering writing a memoir about her experience and journey as a victim?
Be patient with the process. Reliving a traumatic experience is difficult. Take breaks to assess your emotional fitness to continue. Allow yourself the space and time to write at your own pace — let the world wait to read your words.
