True North is the shocking Truth about “Yours, Mine and Ours.”

Why this interview must be heard? The silence which surrounds domestic violence and child abuse in America is deafening.

True North - The Shocking Truth about “Yours, Mine and Ours” is an important literary work whose purpose is to advance discussion of this national epidemic; a discussion which is critical to the process of identifying solutions to a problem that will only grow if left alone.

Aging Younger Radio listeners will hear firsthand Tom North’s story.  Tom North is one of the eight North children, who together with the ten Beardsley children, became the family which was featured in the 1968 film, “Yours, Mine and Ours” starring Lucille Ball and Henry Fonda, and again in the 2005 version starring Rene Russo and Dennis Quaid.

 Tom’s mother, Helen North, became a widow when she was just 30 years old and pregnant with her eighth child. Tom was six years old, the fourth child in the North family. Not long after, Helen North met and married Frank Beardsley, a man with ten children, and she moved her family to his house in Carmel, California.

The North children were adopted and their names were changed to Beardsley. But, it wasn’t one big happy family as the movie depicted. The stepfather’s violence and abuse created a life of intimidation, confusion, turmoil, fear and depression for the North children. All hope seemed lost as Tom realized that he was caught in a prison and there was no way out. When he finally left home, he traveled on a journey of survival, self-discovery, and healing.

Years later, Tom miraculously led his family to counseling sessions where shocking truths were revealed. He then came full circle as he reclaimed his father’s name and was finally, True North.