(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Famous Fugitive Finally Tells Her Story [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2023-10-11 On September 15th, 1993, at 5 a.m., as it had for years, my alarm clock automatically switched on to the sound of Bob Edward’s familiar voice on National Public Radio’s Morning Edition News. “This just breaking right now…Katherine Power, a fugitive for 23 years, surrendered to Boston authorities this morning.” Within seconds, my phone rang. “Hello. This is the producer for Phil Donahue. We’d like to know if you would come to New York to appear on our show about Katherine Power?” Still in a daze from sleep, I looked at the phone’s receiver with surprise. Why are they calling me? Not knowing what else to say, I said, “Sure, I’ll be on the show.” I hung up, and the phone immediately rang again. “This is Oprah’s producer. We’d like to have you on the show to talk about Katherine Power.” “This is so wild. I was just talking with Phil Donahue’s producer to be on his show.” “If you’ve agreed to be on his show, we’ll have to find someone else.” Click. I hung up, and immediately, the phone rang again. This time, NBC News asked me to be interviewed on their evening late-night show. I agreed again and hung up. After that call, I let the calls go to the answering machine and got ready to go to work. The previous day, I had been contacted by reporters from the Boston Globe and the Corvallis (Oregon) Gazette-Times for commentary about who I knew to be Alice Metzenger, my friend and my chef in my restaurant, M’s Tea & Coffee House. Alice turned out to be notorious fugitive Katherine Ann Power, who, 23 years earlier as a Brandeis University student, had become the target of one of the largest manhunts of the century. Having been radicalized during the Vietnam anti-war protests, Katherine and fellow activists robbed a National Guard Armory near Boston of guns and ammunition and then participated in a bank robbery where a policeman was shot and killed. With the help of the Weather Underground, Katherine eluded capture for 23 years, 14 of those years on the FBI’s Most Wanted List—still the longest time for anyone in history. Katherine had negotiated a plea agreement before her surrender, but when she stood before the judge, he overrode the deal. In addition to added time to be served, he ordered a 20-year probation, under which she could not tell her story, or she would be imprisoned for the rest of her life. At the time of her surrender, I was inundated with the press. My degree is in Journalism, but I had never been on the other side of the microphone. The swirl of the media was breathtaking in its shark-like frenzy, with each reporter shaping the narrative they thought was best for their audience. Time after time, I would give an interview, only to see how much context they would leave out. I quickly saw that I did not want to engage with the press or talk shows anymore, and tried to get out of appearing on those I had agreed to. The entire experience was memorable, 15 minutes of fame I could have done without, as fascinating as it was to observe. Katherine served six years in Framingham prison. After she was released from prison and returned to Corvallis to finish her master’s degree at Oregon State University, she moved back to Boston, and we lost touch. Then, as the 30th anniversary of my restaurant opening approached earlier this year, I realized that her surrender 30th anniversary was also on the horizon. In the years since the restaurant, I had become a writing coach helping authors publish their books, so I reached out to her through social media to offer my help to get her story out to the world. And now, fifty-three years since Katherine disappeared as Alice and thirty years since she surrendered to Boston and Federal authorities, I am excited to share that Katherine Power is finally telling her story in her new book, Surrender: My Journey From Guerrilla to Grandmother. Katherine will launch the book at a reading on October 12th in Provincetown, Massachusetts, at The Wilde/Gifford, 11 Carver Street — a free event. As we see the world at war in numerous places, with protests and anti-war activists gathering, learning from those who have gone before us can help shift perspectives and create new ways of taking action. Katherine’s book tells the story of her transformation from radical to peaceful activism, from being a guerrilla to being a grandmother. It is a valuable book for our time. Katherine’s book can be found through all the usual channels. But if you want to support your local bookstore, purchase it at Bookshop.org. 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