Trisha Meili said she always had fond memories going to Weehawken as a youngster, returning to the place where her parents met in high school and where her beloved aunt still resides.
"My earliest memories were visiting my grandparents in Weehawken on holidays," Meili said. "They were good memories. Dad grew up in North Bergen, but he went to Weehawken High School. Mom was born and raised in Weehawken. I also remember my Aunt Barbara [Murphy, the current Library Board president] and her bright smiling face on the holidays. My Aunt Barbara really lit up the room. I loved those days."
Both of Trisha’s parents were their respective class’ valedictorians. John "Jack" Meili was the head of the Weehawken High School Class of 1946. Jean Murphy delivered the valedictory address for the Weehawken Class of 1947.
That intelligence rubbed off on their daughter, who worked her way up the corporate ladder from her humble beginnings growing up in Paramus, then in Upper St. Claire, Pa. She studied at Wellesley and Yale and found a fine job as an investment banker for Solomon Brothers in New York.
Trisha Meili started to work for Solomon Brothers in 1986 and loved being a resident of New York’s Upper East Side. She was also an avid runner, jogging nearly every day, motoring through nearby Central Park.
"I’d say I ran about six days a week," Meili said. "I was compulsive about exercise in those days. I usually ran about five to six miles per day. Every other runner I knew was a morning runner, but I never liked that. If I ran in the morning, I felt I got to work tired, so I liked it better to run at night. I didn’t think much of running in Central Park at night. I didn’t think anything would ever happen to me. In fact, if something did happen to me, I thought that I was strong enough to fight anyone off. I thought I was invincible."
Added Meili, "I guess I thought it wasn’t a problem. I never had any instances of threats or anything. Nothing was ever going to happen to me in that park."
Meili found out that she was wrong, because on April 19, 1989, she stepped out at 9 p.m. and headed on the leisurely run that would totally change her life forever. Meili was savagely bludgeoned, raped and beaten so viciously that doctors feared her life was over. Last rites were administered. Initial reports were that her injuries were permanent and if she did survive, she would not be able to ever live a normal life. It was a vicious attack that gripped the nation.
Meili doesn’t remember any of what happened.
"My last memory of that day was about 5 p.m.," Meili said. "But obviously, I’ve read accounts of what happened. In terms of healing, my brain had other things it wanted to remember."
From that day forward, Meili received a new name – the "Central Park Jogger."
Years of anonymity
For 14 years, she kept her anonymity. Her closest friends and family knew that she was the woman whose plight had gained national attention for the "wilding" attack that fateful evening.
But Meili’s most important role was to heal both physically and mentally from the torment caused by the brutal and senseless attack.
She spent 12 days in a coma. She had no memory whatsoever for six weeks. Gradually, her long-term memory returned.
"Once I realized what truly had happened, I had to focus on what I had to do to get back to the way I was," Meili said. "I focused on my exercises to get better. I did whatever the therapist told me. I didn’t focus on what happened and why it happened to me. I never said, ‘Why didn’t I go running earlier?’ When I realized what happened, I had to focus on healing. I learned from it. In an unconscious way, I learned to appreciate what I had more."
After Meili had regained most of her life and health back, she finally decided that she had to come out with her story and shake the anonymity she held for so long.
"Going back, the anonymity was only on a wide scale," Meili said. "I never tried to hide it from anyone. It wasn’t like I wanted to keep it a secret. The people who worked with me knew. My friends knew. My family knew. It was just people who I recently met who didn’t know, and I wanted them to feel comfortable with me. I wanted people to know me for me, not as a rape survivor. So I tended not to tell new people right away. And I wasn’t ready to go big-time public with it, like on national TV."
In the spring of 2001, Meili went to a seminar at the Spalding Rehabilitation Hospital in Boston, a medical facility that specializes in patients with severe head trauma and head injuries.
"Once I was there, I told them my story and it really had a lasting effect on me," Meili said. "There was a man in a wheelchair who asked me a question, and it was so inspirational to me. He said that he was in a coma for three and a half months and he said that I gave him hope. He said, ‘You’ve given me great hope that I can beat this.’ "
Meeting the man in the wheelchair in Boston gave Meili inspiration to finally tell her story.
"I felt that if my story had that kind of an effect on someone, then I was willing to give up the anonymity and privacy," Meili said. "I felt that it was a story that had to be told."
Earlier this year, Meili published her emotional and inspirational account of her saga, entitled, "I Am the Central Park Jogger: A Story of Hope and Possibility," published by Simon and Schuster.
The book received high acclaim from several different news outlets. Meili was featured on the Today show with Katie Couric and her tale was written about in People magazine, with excerpts from the book included.
More appearances
Since the book was published, Meili began to appear on several national television talk and magazine news shows and has become an advocate against violence. She has made several speaking engagements across the country to talk about her plight and recovery.
Two weeks ago, she threw the first pitch at a San Francisco Giants baseball game on a day designated as "Strike Out Violence" Day.
"The response from the book has been tremendous," Meili said. "I was a little apprehensive and a little uncertain about the way the press might handle me, but everyone has been fine. It’s been worth it. People are thanking me for sharing my story, for giving them hope. I received a letter from a woman who was raped 30 years ago, and she never told anyone because she was so ashamed. But now, she’s finally told someone, and she said it was like a 1,000-pound weight had been lifted off her shoulders."
Meili added, "I think it’s giving people the strength to share their own stories, just not on national television, like I’ve had the chance. They don’t have a sense of being alone anymore. I really tried not to have expectations about how the book would be received or how it would sell, but it’s turned out to be so great."
The experience has been so positive that Meili has taken a leave from the investment banking industry and is traveling the country full-time with speaking engagements and personal appearances.
"I have a full fall and spring schedule already," Meili said. "I go to places and talk about recovery and healing. I talk about the importance of support, about having a sense of being on track."
The book remains on the New York Times best-seller list after 30 weeks.
"I think it’s a powerful story and it’s my story," Meili said. "From what I’ve seen, the story affects a lot of different people, not just rape survivors, not just women. There’s a message of hope and possibility for everyone in many different ways."
Meili also has appearances lined up at rehabilitation hospitals and domestic violence groups. She will also visit brain injury associations and sexual assault crime centers.
"I’m now focusing on what I can do to help," Meili said.
Meili has lived in Connecticut for the last seven years with her husband. She has also returned to running, albeit not as rigorously as before. She is also the chairperson for the Achilles Track Club in New York and recently sponsored a race in Central Park.
Alleged attackers
The five men involved in her attack pleaded guilty in 1990, but recently had their convictions overturned when convicted rapist Matias Reyes confessed in prison that he was involved in the attack and DNA evidence backed up his claim.
"There’s a lot of confusion involved," Meili said. "Was it one guy? Was it six? Sure, I still have anger about it and there are long-term effects from it. But I don’t get hooked by it to drag me down. I have other things to focus on. I’ve had such tremendous support."
Meili’s mother passed away a few years ago. Her father has since remarried and lives in Pennsylvania with his new wife. Of course, her aunt is still a fixture in Weehawken.
"My Aunt Barbara is tremendously supportive," Meili said. "She’s been behind me all the way."
"I Am the Central Park Jogger: A Story of Hope and Possibility," by Trisha Meili, is available in all bookstores and on Amazon.com. For more information about Meili and her speaking schedule, log on to www.centralparkjogger.com.