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Life Story Links: November 28, 2023
This week's curated roundup is small but mighty, with reflections and advice from personal historians and a look at recent celebrity memoirs of note.
“I hope you will go out and let stories, that is life, happen to you, and that you will work with these stories from your life—not someone else’s life—water them with your blood and tears and your laughter till they bloom, till you yourself burst into bloom. That is the work. The only work.”
―Clarissa Pinkola Estés, Women Who Run With the Wolves
Vintage poster produced by the Work Projects Administration; image courtesy of the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, Digital Collection. The posters were designed to publicize exhibits, community activities, theatrical productions, and health and educational programs in seventeen states and the District of Columbia between 1936 to 1943.
From personal historians…
WHO WAS SHE, REALLY?
Personal historian Marjorie Turner Hollman’s interest in her great-great grandmother—sparked by caches of letters and a crazy quilt in her family’s possession—“turned into a 30+ year quest to piece together the context and events that surrounded a remarkable woman we never really knew.”
THE REVELATORY SURPRISE OF LIFE WRITING
“You may think you are writing about your life for your family—to honor your ancestors, to give a gift to your descendants. But the truth is deeper. You’ll see.”
SOUND MATTERS
Filmmaker Debbie Mintz Brodsky provides tips for turning an audio recording of a family history interview into a compelling video using photos and videos to bring the stories to life.
A YEAR TO REMEMBER
Yesterday I launched a new offering on my website, a year of memory and writing prompts called Write Your Life, and announced an introductory rate on the blog. This has been a labor of love for me and I am excited to finally share!
HONORING MEMENTOS LIKE A MINIMALIST
“I’ve personally helped hundreds of clients whittle down their mementos and treasures into a handful of airtight waterproof bins, which is certainly an improvement, but also kind of a sad end goal.”
A GRANDSON’S INTEREST
“On her piano, between images of her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, is a small cutout photograph of her older sister, Irena, who disappeared eighty years ago. Why hadn’t I ever asked her who that was?” In the film Nina & Irena, a Holocaust survivor breaks her silence after 80 years.(This companion resource facilitates discussions at home or in the classroom.)
…to public figures
CO-OPTING THEIR NARRATIVES
“The [celebrity] memoir offers more than salacious gossip and a jumpstart to waning careers: an opportunity for women defined by their images to finally speak.”
WHO, WHAT, WHERE?
Barbra Streisand’s new memoir—clocking in at a hefty 966 pages—doesn’t have an index (so no skipping to the juicy parts!). That is, until now: Uber-fan Andrew Hopf created an admirably thorough index himself.
...and a few more links
“Why You Maybe Shouldn’t Write a Memoir,” in which the author proceeds to poo-poo “I-talk”
Kindred Tales launches AI transcription services to assist with creation of keepsake memoirs
The Moth and Uncommon Goods have partnered on a few storytelling gift items.
Charles Scribner III on three generations in the book business
Short takes
Life Story Links: November 14, 2023
From biography and memoir recommendations to explorations of memory, truth, and family history, this week’s curated roundup has diverse and rich reads.
“We must acquiesce to our experience and our gift to transform experience into meaning. You tell me your story, I’ll tell you mine.”
—Patricia Hampl, I Could Tell You Stories
Vintage poster with original artwork by Alexander Dux promoting tourism, June 1939, produced by the Work Projects Administration; image courtesy of the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, Digital Collection. The posters were designed to publicize exhibits, community activities, theatrical productions, and health and educational programs in seventeen states and the District of Columbia between 1936 to 1943.
Their stories, in print
A NEW LOOK AT KING WHO ABDICATED
A new bio of King Edward VIII weaves together his own writing, interviews, and diary entries from his original ghostwriter to form “an extraordinary new portrait of one of the most famous characters in modern royal history.”
AN ICON TELLS ALL
My Name Is Barbra, Ms. Streisand’s long-awaited (and rather enormous) autobiography, doesn’t have an index, but a writer for the NYT has teased out “the best bits.” Oh, and the audio book (read by the author) clocks in at a mere 48 hours.
What becomes of our memories
‘OBSESSIVE, DIARISTIC RUMINATION’
“But what I did understand then was that [reading her journals] was an incredible honor, perhaps even a trespass, which came with a responsibility.” Anne Liu Kellor on keeping (a giant chest full of) journals.
REMEMBER WHEN…?
Last week I offered up a few ideas for how to remember intentionally, rather than letting social media sites such as Facebook or the Photos app on your phone be your only source of “memories.”
IT’S IN THE TELLING
“I wanted to see what the local newspaper reported about my grandfather’s act of bravery in preventing a lynching.” How two versions of a family story sparked a writer’s quest for truth.
Personal history, public access
ACCESS TO AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY
“What reduced me to tears was the fact that my great-great-grandmother had spent 60 cents on two “baker tins,” more than the payment she received for an entire day’s work.” How a researcher discovered some of her own history at the National Archives, and an introduction to a project to make Freedmen’s Bureau records available to the broader public.
UNSEALED AT LAST
Unopened love letters in Britain’s archives are “a treasure trove bearing intimate details about romance and daily life in mid-18th-century France.”
20 YEARS IN…
In this podcast episode, StoryCorps goes back to the organization’s early days, including the challenges of building a recording booth in Grand Central Terminal, and follows up with participants from the first-ever radio story they broadcast on NPR:
INTERACTIVE MAP OF MEDIEVAL MURDERS
“While historical records have increasingly been digitized, Ms. Swarthout said that online archives were not always easy to use...[but] tools like the murder map are a fresh way to synthesize large amounts of old information. ‘It’s just very fun to go through.’”
...and a few more links
Short takes
Life Story Links: October 31, 2023
Today’s curated roundup includes some great family history finds, thought-provoking reads about truth and fact in memoir, plus life writing ideas and prompts.
“Are you there? Can you hear what I have to
tell you? Our lives are finite—and yet…Look
at the way they preserve themselves.”
—Judith Kitchen, The Circus Train
Vintage poster with original artwork by Martin Weitzman announcing a roller skating carnival in New York City’s Central Park, October 1936, produced by the Work Projects Administration; image courtesy of the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, Digital Collection. The posters were designed to publicize exhibits, community activities, theatrical productions, and health and educational programs in seventeen states and the District of Columbia between 1936 to 1943.
Towards truth in memoir
MERE BELIEF?
“And so we mold our pasts into a story that may bear little resemblance to the genuine mess of actual life. When I write from memory, am I writing a history or a story? Isn’t it both?” A fascinating look at the sliiperiness of memory, by Sallie Tisdale.
CONTRADICTIONS IN MEMOIR
“As time goes by, we may find ourselves further removed from one kind of truth (what it was) but edging ever closer to another (what it means).” On why it matters how we tell the story of Sinead O’Connor.
WHAT WE TELL, WHAT WE HIDE
“It becomes part of the work of the writer and of the artist to expose the humanness of our stories to light, to air, as a way to transcend and move beyond what binds us, often generationally, to silence.” Elissa Altman on writing, permission, and the certainty of our stories.
What we write about
LESSONS FROM A CHILDHOOD IN A CHINESE RESTAURANT
“Like a welcoming restaurant server, [Curtis Chin] invites the reader to share in digestible bites of memories from childhood up through college graduation. Instead of chapters, anecdotes are dished out in menu sections such as ‘appetizers and soups,’ ‘rice and noodles’ and ‘main entrees.’”
LIFE WRITING INSPIRATION
Last week I shared ways to discover life writing prompts all around you, so the glaring white of a blank journal page doesn’t interrupt your regular journaling practice.
Family history finds
AN AMERICAN PUZZLE
Census categories for race and ethnicity have shaped how the nation sees itself. This graphic-heavy, meticulously reported piece looks at how they have changed over the last 230 years.
WHAT TO SAVE, WHAT TO TOSS
What do you save from the pile of old journals, pedigree charts, group sheets, loose papers and books of remembrance? How Swedish death cleaning can help you declutter your family history documents.
ONCE UPON A CAMERA
Thousands of historical New England photos destined for the trash were saved by a photographer who painstakingly restored the glass plate slides and donated the archive to the UMass Amherst Library.
...and a few more links
Reconstructing memory in Alexandria Canchola’s “Yours to Keep” art exhibit
Curtis Chin on the challenge and freedom of speaking your story aloud
Shoah Foundation to collect and preserve testimonies from survivors of Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel
“Images on our phones have changed the way we make our collective memories.”
Short takes
Life Story Links: October 17, 2023
This week’s roundup is rich with in-depth looks at how we process memories and make stories, why personal writing matters, memoir recommendations and excerpts.
“Readers never get it all. They get some of all of it. Everything I write is true. But I don’t write about everything true. I shape, I cut, I feint and dodge; I want to get to something that is uniquely mine, and at the same time ours, too.”
—Dominique Browning
Vintage poster produced in 1939 by the Work Projects Administration; image courtesy of the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, Digital Collection. The posters were designed to publicize exhibits, community activities, theatrical productions, and health and educational programs in seventeen states and the District of Columbia between 1936 to 1943.
Way more than memories
VOICE AND IDENTITY
“As I read back my words I feel the slipperiness of time, the way a memoir is a snapshot that pins us to moments in our lives and the way that time rolls ceaselessly.” Freda Love Smith on the difficulty of narrating her own memoir.
STORYTELLING AND DEMENTIA
StoryKeep’s Jamie Yuenger “explores the profound impact of using storytelling as a therapeutic tool for people with early-stage dementia, highlighting the use of images, music, and story prompts to bring back cherished memories.”
A CHANCE TO SPEAK
“I have since realized that the real power of memoir is that through the process of writing, the writer learns to own their story, and to find authority in its telling.” Memoirist Lily Dunn on the aftermath of writing about fathers.
STORIES ABOUT HERSELF
“In all this writing and thinking and talking...I am trying to look beneath the stories that so many others have told me and perhaps uncover some truths about my childhood, always hoping to make sense of it so I can make sense of myself.”
THE STUFF THAT HOLDS MEANING
Our homes have soul—they have stories to tell!—says Erin Napier, author of the new book Heirloom Rooms. She brought her grandmother’s buttermilk biscuit bowl to GMA to illustrate how our loved ones’ items can help keep them close:
Mining our stories
WRITING, MEANING-MAKING
“The mapping of my experiences to a narrative has led me to a new emotional plane more than once.” Minda Honey reflects on the catharsis of writing about sex in memoir.
UNPACKING THE TRUTH
“I wanted to really examine the story of who I am, and how I came to be, and how this fact of my conception actually impacted the way that I've dealt with truth and shame throughout my entire life,” Kerry Washington says about her new memoir, Thicker Than Water.
‘UNFINISHED’
“It occurs to me that perhaps I linger because there is something about a liminal space and time that gives me more pleasure than actually getting through to the other side.” Ruminations from Lyn Slater on her “How To Be Old” blog.
HOW TO REMEMBER?
“For a couple of days before I began writing, I just let what memories that I had of my early life [come],” Patrick Stewart says of accessing his memories for his new memoir. “By opening up those doors, things trickled and then ended up flooding in.”
Current biography & life story offerings
‘I DON’T WANT TO BE ERASED’
“In the months, then weeks, before his death, Reed fretted about his legacy, worrying that time would erase him.” Read an excerpt from the new biography Lou Reed: The King of New York.
AN ESSENTIAL AMERICAN STORY
“As a documentarian, part of my job is to really, before I use my camera, [is to] make sure that I really understand where they come from and what is their tragedy or what is their life.” Raoul Peck’s new documentary examines one family’s attempts to hold on to property they’ve owned for over 100 years.
CELEBRATING MEMORIES
Reba McEntire calls her new book/album combo “a medley [that] is, after all, not just a cookbook, a photo album or a narrative of my life. It’s a melange of everything.”
Short takes
Life Story Links: October 3, 2023
From an audio memoir serialized as a podcast to hybrid memoirs worth reading, this week's curated roundup is rich with family history, memory-keeping and more.
“Your diaries and letters are the literature of your past, and each tells a slightly different story. I read and reread your stories as if they were fables, modern-day fairy tales that are constantly changing meaning. Every time I open to a familiar page, I read the words in a new way.”
—Rachael Cerrotti
Vintage poster produced in 1940 by the Work Projects Administration; image courtesy of the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, Digital Collection. The posters were designed to publicize exhibits, community activities, theatrical productions, and health and educational programs in seventeen states and the District of Columbia between 1936 to 1943.
A favorite theme: The power of story
HOW STORIES CAN SAVE US
“The practice of storytelling, particularly when sharing the real stories from our own living, tethers us to what matters most—our families, our friends, nature, the hearts we carry, the wondrous mystery of life itself,” Mark Yaconelli says.
CRAFTING STRONG PERSONAL ESSAYS
NYU writing professor Estelle Erasmus says “every story has a situation (the external), but the underlying story and its emotional implications are what elevate a story and take it to another level.”
ON COMPASSIONATE LISTENING
“I feel like the world is very loud and people tend to talk over one another, but if we were to just sit across from each other and listen to each other’s stories, I think there would be a lot more empathy, love, and compassion,” says Katie Cheesman, who teaches a course about how to film your loved one’s life story.
Memoir recommendations & explorations
WHEN FORMAT INFORMS MEANING
“Creativity, playfulness, and craft are evident in the memoir’s format, shape, and language,” one reviewer writes of Jennifer Lang’s “memoir-in-miniature,” Places We Left Behind.
‘AN UNPARALLELED PERSONAL TIME CAPSULE OF THE ’60S’
Doris Kearns Goodwin’s new book, An Unfinished Love Story, is a “combination of memoir, history and biography; Goodwin was inspired in part by the couple's looking through hundreds of boxes of letters, diaries and other papers.”
A PEEK BEHIND THE SCENES
“Stuart Gordon’s memoir details the cult horror director’s monster creations, his family life, and his passion for grand storytelling...[and how] his own life had enough twists, turns, and serendipitous encounters to be its own film.”
TASTY INSPIRATION
Last week I scoured my bookshelves to recommend three books (not new, but definitely noteworthy) that will inspire you to create your own hybrid cookbook combining your food stories with family recipes.
Listen up!
MISSING PIECE OF YOUR ESTATE PLAN?
Susan Turnbull, a Massachusetts–based speaker, discusses the history of ethical wills and why she was drawn to helping others create them on this episode of the Ebb and Flow podcast from UBS:
TELLING YOUR STORIES WITHOUT APOLOGY
In the below episode of the Freelance Writing Direct podcast, author Allison Hong Merrill talks about how she wrote about her real life struggles without shame, and offers advice on how to protect the privacy of those you write about. (Another episode you may like: the host chats with the editorial director of Narratively.)
‘A MUSICAL DIARY’
“‘Alive and Well Enough’ is an audio adventure of an accidental artist who one day looked up and realized he had a sense of humor, a passion for writing and stories to tell.” Jeff Daniels’s audio memoir is exclusive to Audible.
Emmy-winning actor Jeff Daniels and his son Ben Daniels join "CBS Mornings" to discuss their latest collaboration, an audio memoir titled "Alive and Well Enough."
Miscellaneous
ARTIFACTS FROM A POET’S ORDINARY LIFE
A public database of more than 8,000 of Emily Dickinson’s family objects recently went live. Read the winding story of how this treasure trove was saved; it includes things as varied as letters and poems to travel souvenirs and cooking utensils.
A STORY CONTINUING TO UNFOLD…
Amidst a trove of genealogy info that comprises more than 3,000 ancestors, Utah–based personal historian Rhonda Lauritzen discovered a fascinating story of one of them—her 9th great-grandmother who was hanged during the Salem witch trials—then went on to visit the location where her story unfolded.
Short takes
Life Story Links: September 19, 2023
This week’s curated roundup includes deep thoughts on first-person storytelling, helpful tips for family history preservation, and lots of new biography recs.
“It’s deeds, not tombstones, that are the true monuments of us as people.”
—Tom Vartabedian
Vintage poster with original artwork by B. Lassen produced by the Work Projects Administration; image courtesy of the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, Digital Collection. The posters were designed to publicize exhibits, community activities, theatrical productions, and health and educational programs in seventeen states and the District of Columbia between 1936 to 1943.
The power of our stories
CONNECT THROUGH STORY
Here’s an idea everyone—even self-declared family history haters—will like: Skip the libraries and research documents and pick up the phone, instead: How wonderfully enjoyable conversations can put you on the path to preservation.
GRANNY CALLED HERSELF AN ‘OPEN BOOK’
“Although I beseeched her for new stories, I didn’t expect them, because I’d spent hundreds of hours with Granny and knew her well. Or so I thought.” How Louisiana–based Olivia Savoie turned a love of life stories into a career.
RETURNING TO A HALLOWED SITE
“For a long time, I didn’t want to share my 9/11 experience because I was humbled by the experiences of others. But after I wrote my memoir, so many people told me that they had seen themselves in a story that was distinctively mine.”
OUR ANCESTORS’ ‘WHERE’
This free webinar from Utah–based biographer Rhonda Lauritzen, sponsored by MyHeritage, hones in on the power of place, guiding researchers through a series of steps to find the history of buildings and places.
SELF DISCOVERY THROUGH WRITING
“It’s both mystical and humiliating how your novel can know things before you yourself know them.” James Frankie Thomas on discovering his trans identity while writing fiction.
More than pictures
THE JOY OF REDISCOVERY
“My dad and mom were sort of the glue for the whole family. Now, these photos replace some of the glue that has gone away.” Some fun peeks inside how digitizing family photo archives can unlock memories.
A SECURITY EXPERT’S PERSPECTIVE
“Photos themselves are treasure troves of data.” Usually we think of this as a positive (mining our archives for family history details, for example), but there are plenty of privacy issues to consider when sharing family photos, too.
Reading & listening recommendations
REAL-LIFE WARTIME MYSTERY
Ever since reading Ruth Sepetys’s book You: The Story, I have noticed more and more novels informed by real family history. Case in point: In Nineteen Steps, Millie Bobby Brown elaborates on a story told to her by her grandmother.
LESSONS IN LOOKING
The Light Room “is not quite memoir, not quite an experimental novel, but a text that synthesizes multiple ways of looking at the same thing, [incorporating] Zambreno’s affinity for research and notebooking.” Thoughts on first-person writing, thinking of yourself as a character, and the idea of documentation.
‘WHAT IT WAS LIKE’
In this “rather extraordinary public love letter to her own family,” Ursula K. Le Guin reads a personal essay she wrote years before about the illegal abortion she had in 1950 while studying at Radcliffe. For those who gravitate to writing to preserve their stories, this video, below, is a wonderful example of hybrid storytelling. Read an insightful introduction to the piece by Le Guin’s daughters.
CHANGING OF THE GUARD
In an exclusive excerpt from the forthcoming biography Romney: A Reckoning, written by McKay Coppins based on extensive interviews, the senator Mitch Romney reveals what drove him to retire; plus, six takeaways from the book.
TEXAS AND HIM
“In Larry McMurtry: A Life, a new biography by Tracy Daugherty, the...[subject] emerges as a perpetually ambivalent figure, one who eventually became a part of the mythology that he insisted he was attempting to dismantle.” Read an excerpt here.
GENEALOGY FOR JUSTICE
The Family History Detectives podcast is an inside look at the use of genetic genealogy to reveal hidden truths, solve mysteries, and bring justice. Forensic investigative genetic genealogist Allison Peacock co-hosts with producer Adam Nurre. Binge multiple episodes here, and listen to a trailer below:
Short takes
Life Story Links: September 5, 2023
On the heels of the holiday weekend and waning days of summer, this week’s curated roundup is short but rich: Get your dose of personal history news and tips.
“Writing memoir is one way to explore how you became the person you are and the story of how you got from here to there. Believe me, it’s a good story.”
—Abigail Thomas
Vintage poster promoting literacy produced by the Work Projects Administration; image courtesy of the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, Digital Collection. The posters were designed to publicize exhibits, community activities, theatrical productions, and health and educational programs in seventeen states and the District of Columbia between 1936 to 1943.
Legacies in film
MOVING PICTURES
After watching the British TV show After Life with Ricky Gervais, Montreal–based personal historian Iris Wagner reflected on the enduring impact of videos from departed loved ones.
KEEPER OF STORIES
Texas–based legacy filmmaker Clinton Haby says he approaches his work “with a mindset that it’s sacred, and that future generations are going to want to be consuming this so that they understand where they come from.” Listen in as he talks to podcast host Willie Downs about video storytelling and creating bridges across generations.:
HISTORICAL SELECTIVITY & NARRATIVE
How “two small but potent nonfiction forebears”—documentary films that probe the life and times of those who worked on the original atomic bomb—compare to the blockbuster film by Christopher Nolan, Oppenheimer.
Memories made permanent
HOME SWEET HOME
Did you ever go on a family vacation and plan to make a travel memory book…then never get to it? Last week I shared my top three tips for things to do when you return home to set you up for memory-keeping success later—even if ‘later’ takes a while to come!
LIGHTENING THE LOAD OF FAMILY HEIRLOOMS
“What if we skip the proverbial guilt trip we create by unloading our stuff on our family, intentionally or not, and instead make a plan that will allow everyone to enjoy a trip down memory lane instead?”
THE ACCIDENTAL MEMOIR
“My mother always told us to bring back stories from wherever we went, and the Bronx—what I call the ‘no B.S.’ borough—taught me not to be full of crap, nor full of myself,” says Peter Quinn, author of the memoir Cross Bronx: A Writing Life.
Short takes
Life Story Links: August 22, 2023
In this week's curated roundup for family historians and memory-keepers: pieces on the craft of life writing, new memoir reviews, and ancestors’ artifacts.
“It’s the human imperative, this piecing together of a life. And so, word by word, we lay down our tracks.”
—Dani Shapiro
Vintage poster with original artwork by Earl Kerkam produced some time between 1941-1943 by the Work Projects Administration; image courtesy of the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, Digital Collection. The posters were designed to publicize exhibits, community activities, theatrical productions, and health and educational programs in seventeen states and the District of Columbia between 1936 to 1943.
Narrative framing
WRITING PAST PAIN
How do you share your story without hurting others? Megan February, a trauma-informed book coach, offers up eight important things to consider when writing about your life.
‘RE-STORYING INTERVENTION’
“The way that people tell their life story shapes how meaningful their lives feel.” New research finds that there are psychological benefits to reframing your life as a Hero’s Journey.
GREETINGS FROM…
Last week I shared the first in a two-part series about making memory books from family vacations—starting with the top three things to do during your travels to set you up for travelogue success later.
Things that last
ANCESTORS’ ARTIFACTS
“People don’t give native cultures much credit for their oral processes. When science goes in and verifies something we’ve been talking about for thousands of years, they’re shocked we’ve held onto that history.”
NOTE DISCOVERED IN WALL
“Her letter, a whisper from the past, became a symphony that harmonized generations, reminding us all that our words, even from the tender hands of a 14-year-old, can ripple across time to touch hearts we’ve never known.”
THINGS WE KEEP
“Sharing out loud with others keeps the memories alive, passes on the history, and enables people from all walks of life to build connections and consider their own part in our collective human story.” Meet Martie McNabb, the founder of Show & Tales story-sharing gatherings.
LOVE IN THE TIME OF ALZHEIMER’S
“I’m someone that has come here to help you remember who Augusto Góngora was,” Paulina Urrutia tells her husband in the Chilean documentery The Eternal Memory, called “loving, lyrical,” and “intimate” by reviewers. Read an interview with the film’s director here, and see a trailer below:
DIGITAL GHOSTS
“Estate lawyers have long encouraged clients to account for their digital property, but no one has come up with an emotional road map for the burden of inheriting these things.”
ANALOG TO DIGITAL
“Converting [family slides] into accessible digital media launched me on a journey back to my own childhood and the pasts of my parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents. That, in turn, is giving me a better understanding of how I became me.”
Writing…and reading…our lives
ON FIRST-PERSON WRITING
“And we all change. Stories need nothing else. All you have to add is paper.” For a droll take on the idea of writing about oneself, read this short piece by Rhik Samadder subtitled “What I learned teaching life-writing lessons.”
WRITING FROM AND INTO MEMORIES
“I would save almost everything, the Swedish death cleaners be damned, because these boxes were my inheritance, the stuff out of which my novels are made: old photographs and letters, unanswered questions, ticket stubs, report cards, the unremarkable detritus of ordinary human lives.”
‘A MEMOIR IN EIGHT ARGUMENTS’
“Although I’ve tried to own the fault entirely...I don’t think that take tells the whole story either.” In this excerpt from his new memoir, Chinese Prodigal, David Shih reflects on missing his father’s death.
‘FIRST AUTHORITATIVE BIOGRAPHY’ OF AUGUST WILSON
“If you were interviewing him, you would walk away thinking, ‘I’m the best interviewer in the world!’ Because all he did was talk and tell you these fabulous stories, with these great punchlines and lessons.”
REWRITING HER NARRATIVE
Listen in as successful ghostwriter Lara Love Hardin, author of the new memoir The Many Lives of Mama Love, talks about “her downward spiral from soccer mom to opioid addict to jailhouse shot-caller and her unlikely comeback”:
Short takes