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The Art of Her Life by Cynthia Newberry Martin

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Innhold levert av Georgia Public Broadcasting. Alt podcastinnhold, inkludert episoder, grafikk og podcastbeskrivelser, lastes opp og leveres direkte av Georgia Public Broadcasting eller deres podcastplattformpartner. Hvis du tror at noen bruker det opphavsrettsbeskyttede verket ditt uten din tillatelse, kan du følge prosessen skissert her https://no.player.fm/legal.

At nine years old, on her first visit to a museum, Emily fell in love with Breakfast, a painting by Henri Matisse. Now a single mother, she lives in the world of art and can barely find time for her two daughters, much less for Mark, the man she loves. Her days are a jumble—she’s lost the thread of her life—but a contest at the museum where she’s the registrar gives her hope. The Art of Her Life shows the power of art to transform an ordinary life.

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Manage episode 458324155 series 3494931
Innhold levert av Georgia Public Broadcasting. Alt podcastinnhold, inkludert episoder, grafikk og podcastbeskrivelser, lastes opp og leveres direkte av Georgia Public Broadcasting eller deres podcastplattformpartner. Hvis du tror at noen bruker det opphavsrettsbeskyttede verket ditt uten din tillatelse, kan du følge prosessen skissert her https://no.player.fm/legal.

At nine years old, on her first visit to a museum, Emily fell in love with Breakfast, a painting by Henri Matisse. Now a single mother, she lives in the world of art and can barely find time for her two daughters, much less for Mark, the man she loves. Her days are a jumble—she’s lost the thread of her life—but a contest at the museum where she’s the registrar gives her hope. The Art of Her Life shows the power of art to transform an ordinary life.

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Killer Mike, a Black man from Atlanta, Georgia, and El-P, a white man from Brooklyn, New York, have transformed what should have been the twilight of their careers as rappers into their biggest spotlight yet. Known as the hip-hop duo Run The Jewels, they have headlined festivals worldwide, become action figures and Marvel comic book characters, spearheaded a worldwide countercultural movement, and played a significant role in the last two presidential elections.…
 
At nine years old, on her first visit to a museum, Emily fell in love with Breakfast , a painting by Henri Matisse. Now a single mother, she lives in the world of art and can barely find time for her two daughters, much less for Mark, the man she loves. Her days are a jumble—she’s lost the thread of her life—but a contest at the museum where she’s the registrar gives her hope. The Art of Her Life shows the power of art to transform an ordinary life.…
 
Athens resident Rebecca McCarthy creates an intimate portrait of Norman Maclean, drawing on her long friendship with the author from when she became a student at the University of Chicago through the rest of his life. Norman Maclean: A Life of Letters and Rivers is a well-researched glimpse into the life of a compelling author that benefits from the insights provided by the author's personal accounts and interactions.…
 
In this episode, Peter and Orlando explore the comprehensive, authoritative biography of civil rights icon John Lewis, “The Conscience of the Congress.” The 700-page volume draws on interviews with Lewis and approximately 275 others who knew him at various stages of his life and never-before-used FBI files and documents.…
 
Peter and Orlando discuss Erin Carlyle’s Girl at the End of the World , a collection of poetry that considers the complex grief of a parent lost to Opioids. In the book, the speaker works through her father's death with a sharp focus on place, expanding into the realms of science fiction and mythmaking.…
 
Lori Duff is a two-time winner of the Georgia Bar Journal's fiction competition and a popular humor Blogger. Her humorous essays have won multiple awards, including the Foreword Indies Gold Medal for humor, and first place in the National Society for Newspaper Columnists in the humor category. She also writes fiction. Her novella, Broken Things, was released in September 2023, and her novel, Devil's Defense, is forthcoming in 2024 from She Writes Press. By day, she is the managing law partner of Jones & Duff, LLC and wages war for a living. She prefers making people laugh. Lori is married to her husband of 25 years, Mike, and together they have two children, Jacob and Marin. TRANSCRIPT: Orlando Montoya: Coming up in this episode. Peter Biello: We've had a lot of ghosts in our books in this podcast, haven't we? Orlando Montoya: Yeah, I don't want to keep count because that might encourage people to send us more. Lori Duff: We're here for just this brief shining moment, and then when we're gone, we're really gone. Peter Biello: Is Maria the ghost? Orlando Montoya: I'm not going to tell you who the ghost is. Peter Biello: This podcast from Georgia Public Broadcasting highlights books with Georgia connections hosted by two of your favorite public radio book nerds, who also happen to be your hosts of All Things Considered on GPB Radio. I'm Peter Biello. Orlando Montoya: And I'm Orlando Montoya. Thanks for joining us as we introduce you to authors, their writings and the insights behind their stories, mixed with our own thoughts and ideas on just what gives these works the Narrative Edge. Peter Biello: All right, Orlando, I understand you have a short book for me today. Orlando Montoya: Yeah, I read a short book for this episode because the next episode from me is going to be a very, very long book. Peter Biello: All about the average. Okay, so I think I know which book you're talking about. Orlando Montoya: That one, that one. Peter Biello: All right. Well, we'll get to the heavy brick in a few weeks, but tell me about the much lighter book you have for me today. Orlando Montoya: It's called Broken Things by Lori Duff, a writer from Loganville, east of Atlanta. It clocks in at 105 pages in book form or two hours, 42 minutes as an audiobook, which is how I experienced it. And it's a very cute, inspirational story about grief and loss and loneliness. And it involves a ghost. Peter Biello: Okay, so perfect for spooky season then. Orlando Montoya: Spooky season....you know, we got the ghost. It's always going to come back in themes of literary device. Peter Biello: We've had a lot of ghosts in our books in this podcast, haven't we? Orlando Montoya: Yeah, I don't want to keep count because that might encourage people to send us more. Peter Biello: I mean, I'm always down for a good ghost story, but So where does the book's title come from? Broken Things. Orlando Montoya: The book's title comes from the main character in the book, a woman named Tracie. And I'll let Lori Duff share a little bit more about her Lori Duff: Tracie is a widow, a young widow. She's only in her 30s and her husband died very young, and when he died, she just kind of holed up in her house and she had enough money from the life insurance that she didn't need to work. And so she didn't. And she just really didn't interact with anybody. Orlando Montoya: And so in her widowhood, Tracie quit her job as a secretary and became an artist. And it's the kind of art that she produces with found objects, you know, bits of things. As she takes a walk, she finds things that people might consider trash like coins, broken glass, and she turns them into figures, into furniture and to objects that hang on the wall and other things. Peter Biello: And so she's lonely, right? I mean, she's. Orlando Montoya: I don't get the sense that she's lonely. I get the sense that she's okay with being alone, that she fills her life with art and books and movies. I mean, haven't you known people that who just always seem to be perfectly content, but they. They're single? Peter Biello: Sure. It just in the wake of a big loss like that, I imagine being alone with your grief that that long is difficult. Orlando Montoya: Well, I mean, I know people that I they they don't they don't seem to go out. They don't seem to have many friends. I check in on them, but they're happy with their gardening and their art and drinking wine out on the front porch. Peter Biello: I'm guessing if I knew what Tracie was like before her husband died, I might have a better sense of like, how is this really impacting her? Do you see before her husband died at all? Orlando Montoya: No, we don't. So, that is a good question. But Tracie is content in her creative bubble and seems to be mentally with it until she goes to a storage unit one day to auction for a delinquent storage unit. Customer's possessions. You know the kind. Peter Biello: Yeah, the storage auction wars or whatever. Orlando Montoya: So she goes to this storage auction. And among the items in this one storage unit that she gets is someone's ashes. Peter Biello: Okay, here's the ghost. Orlando Montoya: Yes. This is where we get the ghost. You got it. Peter Biello: So strange things start happening once the cremains show up in the house. Exactly. Yeah. Peter Biello: I love it. I love it. Orlando Montoya: The wind starts to move through the house, or a glass of water falls over, objects are moved. Peter Biello: Doors slamming, windows opening and closing? Orlando Montoya: That kind of thing. Okay. She starts having very vivid dreams and even more unusual for her, she befriends someone. She allows someone to bring a little joy into her life. A woman named Maria. And here's where I'll let you know that the author, Lori Duff, got the idea for this story by reading an article about a storage unit auction that did sell someone's cremains. And just the way that I just described, only that's where the article ends. Lori picks it up and makes a whole story about it and a very delightful story. Lori Duff: My parents both passed away. In recent years. My mom in the very beginning of Covid and my dad last September. So that that just loss has been very much on my mind. And I think that's why, you know, people send me stuff all the time, but I think that's why that article kind of rang something in me that made me want to see, well, you know, I thought, that's so sad because. Whenever anyone dies, there's somebody who's crying and grieving and feeling this hole in their life. And somewhere between that bit of despair. And however many years later. This person just becomes this trash. They just that just something abandoned that no one cares about anymore. And that that thought just struck me that we're here for just this brief shining moment. And then when we're gone, we're really gone. Really gone. And. And it's possible that our memories can be abandoned just as well as our bodies. And I wanted to explore that. Peter Biello: So these ashes come into Tracie's house. Weird things start happening. And Tracie meets Maria. Right? What's going on with Maria? Is she a main character? Orlando Montoya: Yes, she is. There are actually three main characters by the time we get to the middle of the story, there's Tracie, Maria. And a third character that I'll get to in just a bit. But Maria, I can't remember her age or profession or if those things are even mentioned in the story, but Maria literally bumps into Tracie at a store. The two strike up a conversation and it ends up that Maria really wants Tracie to teach her how to make art. Peter Biello: Oh okay. So why doesn't Maria just go to art class, though, as opposed to like asking Tracie to do it? She could watch some YouTube. Tune into some Bob Ross. Orlando Montoya: I don't know. But Maria is persistent. She's like, When are you going to teach me art? When are you going to teach me art, you know, And eventually they start making art together. Lori Duff: They both recognized something in each other. And the story is written from Tracie's perspective, so we don't really get to see what Maria thinks, but. Tracie sees Maria and she's just kind of stunned, like, I know this person. I don't know how I know this person. And she's having this weird day because she's just basically incorporated a ghost into her being and she has all these thoughts and feelings and tastes that are not her own and she doesn't know what to do with it. And she she sees Maria and just instantly recognizes her as something someone important. But she can't quite figure out who she is. And it never really says in the book. But I, I like to think that Maria recognized something in Tracie, too. Orlando Montoya: So Tracie and Maria start making art together. They pour wine together, they eat, they'll talk about their lives. So Tracie is kind of like doing everything that she used to do. Except now there's Maria. And to the best of my recollection, they don't interact anywhere but in Tracie's home or Tracie's home studio. But now Tracie has a friend. Peter Biello: Okay. And so I'm struck by the phrase, incorporate the ghost into her. Right? That's what she said. And. And is that. Does that mean that, like, the ghost has somehow influenced this relationship between Tracie and Maria? Orlando Montoya: Yes. We can definitely say that the ghost is responsible for what's going on. Peter Biello: Okay, the way you're saying that makes me think Marie is a ghost. Is Maria the ghost? Orlando Montoya: I'm not going to tell you who the ghost is. No, I'll tell you. Maria is not the ghost. Peter Biello: Okay. Orlando Montoya: The ghost is the third character. A woman named Evelyn. Okay. And she. Evelyn has a whole story of her own. A whole back life of her own. Told over several chapters. And again, I'm not going to reveal too much about it because I think that's the whole, like, heart of the story is how the Evelyn relates to Tracie and Maria. And like I said, it's very short, very short book. Peter Biello: Okay. And this is not going to end up being kind of a rip off of The Sixth Sense. Orlando Montoya: And so I have to admit, I've never seen The Sixth Sense. Peter Biello: Okay. I mean, the spoiler of that is like he was dead the whole time. Like, he didn't know he was dead. Orlando Montoya: No. Evelyn. Evelyn appears to Tracie in her dreams. And then Evelyn starts talking to Tracie. So, yeah, Evelyn is not a physical character. Peter Biello: Okay, So this is not. This is not a rip off of that. It's just a straight up new ghost story. I love it. So. So someone can read this essentially, and get to the heart of it in pretty much no time. Orlando Montoya: Yeah, like I said, the whole thing is like two hours on audiotape. And so, you know, I think you get to it very quickly. And the heart of the story is very poignant, very personal. I didn't really ask Lori about what she thought the book's takeaway messages were. Maybe I should have. But sort of the takeaways that I took were things like, you know, be honest and authentic love and accept people for who they are. Whatever burdens you have in your life, lay them down. And most of all, take emotional risks. Come out of your shell and stop hiding. Lori Duff: I think it's Bambi, the beginning of Bambi, the cartoon where spring comes and all the animals come out rubbing their eyes and like they're all waking up from this long, deep sleep. And that's kind of how I felt when we were able to emerge from our houses after Covid. And I think that's how Tracie feels. Emerging from her house after this almost decade of mourning. Orlando Montoya: And at the end of the book, I can say that everyone's broken pieces are mended and we learn that Tracie, Maria, and the Ghost are all connected and the resolution takes all of them coming together like it never could have happened individually, which I guess is another take away of the story. But as the way the story spins out, you don't know that right away. It's just a wonderfully written story. Peter Biello: And I wonder, too, since she mentioned Covid, if there's a statement in the book, too, about Covid and its effect on us. Orlando Montoya: I did ask her about Covid. And yes, she said that the isolation of Covid weighed on her like it did for many people. But really, the book is about, as the title suggests, mending of broken things. And here's Lori talking about Tracie. Lori Duff: She talks a little bit about in the book about the Japanese art of Kintsugi. And I think that's so lovely to take a broken thing and fill in the cracks with in Japan. They'd fill it with something precious like gold and make the the fixed object more beautiful than the original and had has. It's considered to have more character than the original. And I think that's true of people that if you have a. If you just sail smoothly your whole life, you're not going have that much to talk about. Peter Biello: So is this spooky? Like, are you kept on the edge of your seat with the way this is written? Like a scary novel? Orlando Montoya: I am kept on the edge of my seat, but not for being scary or something bad is going to happen. I want to know who is this person? Evelyn? What's their story? How are they all connected? And the Ghost is is a very friendly and helpful presence. Peter Biello: I see. Okay, so a literary novel with elements of the supernatural, but not a spooky ghost story. Orlando Montoya: No. Peter Biello: Yeah. Okay. So what gives this book the Narrative Edge? Orlando Montoya: It's cute. It's cute, it's quick, it's got a message, and it's got a ghost. Peter Biello: I love it. Wonderful. All right. Well, the book is called Broken Things by Lori Duff. Orlando, thanks so much for telling me about it. Orlando Montoya: Right. Happy to do it. Peter Biello: That's great. What do you think? Boo. Orlando Montoya: Thanks for listening to Narrative Edge will be back in two weeks with a brand new episode. This podcast is a production of Georgia Public Broadcasting. Find us online at gpb.org/narrative edge. Peter Biello: You can also catch us on the Daily News podcast Georgia Today for a concise update on the latest news in Georgia. For more on that and all of our podcasts, go to GPB.org/Podcasts.…
 
In this episode of Narrative Edge , hosts Peter Biello and Orlando Montoya explore Flight of the Wild Swan by Melissa Pritchard, a novelization of Florence Nightingale’s life. They discuss Nightingale's pioneering role in nursing, her complex personal journey, and the challenges she faced during the Crimean War. The hosts delve into her groundbreaking use of statistics to improve healthcare and her intense dedication to her calling, while reflecting on the novel’s portrayal of her remarkable legacy. Credit: Bellevue Literary Press In this episode of Narrative Edge , hosts Peter Biello and Orlando Montoya dive into Flight of the Wild Swan , a novel by Columbus, Georgia-based author Melissa Pritchard. The book offers a unique and intimate portrait of Florence Nightingale, famously known as the "Lady with the Lamp." Through vivid storytelling, Pritchard weaves together Nightingale's early life, her dedication to nursing, and her revolutionary contributions during the Crimean War. Join Peter and Orlando as they explore Nightingale's fierce determination to pursue nursing against societal expectations, her controversial claim of being called by God, and her pivotal role in modernizing healthcare using statistical infographics. They also highlight Nightingale’s relationship with Sidney Herbert, a close collaborator in army medical reforms. TRANSCRIPT: Orlando Montoya: Coming up in this episode. Peter Biello: I didn't know much about her at all other than, you know, her name and that she was associated with nursing. Melissa Pritchard: The next thing that came was a feeling of just almost an electrifying sense of I'm going to write a novel about this woman. Peter Biello: Quirky seems dismissive of her. Orlando Montoya: Well, the book is called Wild. Peter Biello: Yeah. Orlando Montoya: How was she wild? Peter Biello: This podcast from Georgia Public Broadcasting highlights books with Georgia Connections hosted by two of your favorite public radio book nerds, who also happen to be your hosts of All Things Considered on GPB Radio. I'm Peter Biello. Orlando Montoya: And I'm Orlando Montoya. Thanks for joining us as we introduce you to authors, their writings and the insights behind their stories mixed with our own thoughts and ideas on just what gives these works the Narrative Edge. Peter Biello: We're going back in time a little bit today, Orlando. Orlando Montoya: So how far back are we going? Peter Biello: We are going back to the 1800s, specifically the 1820s, starting in the 1820s and running through the end of the century. And we're going back in time to talk about Florence Nightingale. Orlando Montoya: A name I know. A name everybody should know. The famous nurse. Peter Biello: Yeah, the famous nurse pioneer in the field, so called Lady with the Lamp. Orlando Montoya: So we're talking about a biography? Peter Biello: No, actually, this is a novelization of part of her life by Melissa Prichard, who lives in Columbus, Georgia. It's called Flight of the Wild Swan. Orlando Montoya: And where does that title come from? Wild Swan. Peter Biello: So it's fascinating, right? Like during her research, Melissa Prichard came across a fact that Florence's mother had actually wondered aloud how a family of ducks such as the Nightingales could have hatched a wild swan like Florence. And she saw that line and she's like, There's my title. So that's where it comes from. She was really quite an interesting person. I didn't know much about her at all other than, you know, her name and that she was associated with nursing. But let me turn this over to Melissa Prichard, who wrote this amazing book. It was reviewed well by The New York Times. The book doesn't sentimentalize Nightingale. It shows her as a precocious child obsessed with healing her animals and a person who believes she was called by God, literally, that God spoke to her. Here's how Prichard explains how she came to be interested in writing about Florence Nightingale. Melissa Pritchard: Florence came about because I was in London in May of 2013, and I had seen that there was a Florence Nightingale museum at St Thomas's Hospital. And I went, Oh I remember reading about her when I was a child, and I love medical things, so I'm going to jaunt over there and see this little museum. So I walked off in May 2013. I walked over in the rain, got to this museum. I was the only person there. I had the whole museum to myself for the afternoon and I lost track of time in there. It was like I entered another dimension. And I. I was absolutely overwhelmed by her life and all the objects that related to her life. And. And at one point, I stopped in front of an etching of Sidney Herbert, who she worked closely and collaboratively with in medical reform, army medical reform. And I stood there and I looked at him and I said she knew him. They had some sort of close relationship, Nothing. I didn't see anything romantic. And I just knew there was some bond that they share. And it turned out they did. And then I saw the next thing that came was a feeling of just almost an electrifying sense of I'm going to write a novel about this woman. Peter Biello: And so she did. She visited that museum in 2013, but didn't write this novel until the Covid pandemic. And she did quite a bit of rewriting, essentially tore the novel down and then wrote it again. And the version that we have now is the result of that massive rewrite. This version of the novel, switches perspectives, includes lots of letters from Nightingale and then takes a careful look at her relationship with Sidney Herbert, which is not romantic, as she said, but there is a certain level of passion underneath that I found really fascinating. Orlando Montoya: So pieces of art speaking to her. God, speaking to Florence Nightingale. Do we really believe any of this? Peter Biello: Well, about the God thing, That's what she says, right? When she was 16, Florence Nightingale said she heard God speak to her. It was a day she always remembered, told her essentially that her calling was to help people. Melissa Pritchard: And some biographers like to skirt around that issue of God speaking to her. You know, that sounds maybe with something psychological or who knows what was happening, but. I feel that that was the bedrock of everything she did for the rest of her life, that she really and she said she received impressions from then on and heard the voice of God 13 years later in Egypt telling her would she be willing to give up her worldly reputation, all of her worldly reputation in order to serve the suffering, help the suffering. So that was a defining point in her life, certainly. Orlando Montoya: So we know Florence Nightingale, the nurse, but I imagine this book shows us a bit about how she got to be this famous person that we all know that the the big Florence Nightingale. Peter Biello: Yeah, it does show you that she was born into a wealthy family. We see her as a child helping injured rabbits, for example. Her father notices that she's just this brilliant, curious kid. Her family wants her to marry, enjoy a life of wealth and comfort. But she doesn't want that. She wants to go into nursing. She feels called to it, like we've been saying. But nursing back then is not respected like it is now. Melissa Pritchard: Nursing in those days was the most disreputable thing you could want to be for a woman. Nurses were from the lowest classes. They were considered lower than servants, lower than actresses, lower than prostitutes. You couldn't ask to do a worse thing to be a nurse. In those days, 19th century. And so for her to declare this to her parents was the vehement opposition she had to fight for years. Peter Biello: And I guess you could say nevertheless, she persisted because she became the most famous nurse of all time. Orlando Montoya: So what was her big break, so to speak? The thing that sort of propelled her to fame. Peter Biello: She didn't like fame, but she certainly did have it, especially as the British were trying to clean up the public relations nightmare that came out of the Crimean War. The British government sent her and a cadre of nurses to Crimea to a place called Scutari Hospital, where corruption was essentially making conditions there orders of magnitude worse than they they would have been. Men were dying more from the unsanitary conditions caused by bureaucratic penny pinching than they were from battle injuries. And so the novel features Florence kind of fighting on behalf of the boys who were injured by war and then becoming sick. I mean, she was writing letters to the powers that be demanding better equipment, better resources. But meanwhile, journalists were doing something they hadn't done for nursing before, which is kind of elevating her work to heroic heights. Look what these nurses are doing for Britain, and that in a way changed the way nursing was perceived in creating this image of her in particular as a kind of savior. But there was, to some extent a problem with this. Orlando Montoya: What was the problem with her being the savior? Peter Biello: Well, she was in, from her perspective, any way to good at her job. She was saving these young men only to have them return to the front lines for more injuries. Melissa Pritchard: I think that at some point I felt that she realized in a sense, she was being used by the by the military, the British military, perhaps British government, as a foil to cover up her celebrity, her celebrity, the angel of the Crimea as a foil to cover up their mistakes, their lack of care and their corruption. Peter Biello: So you can see by now that this book is not necessarily a romanticized picture of Victorian femininity. She is She's a fighter out there fighting on behalf of of these young men and boys. She worked. I mean, she was almost compulsive about it. Well, reading this book, I thought maybe she was she was troubled or she she had some kind of trauma and perhaps she did. But I'm not going to wade into the psychology of it. But I did ask Melissa Pritchard if Nightingale was experiencing some kind of mental breakdown as she worked this hard. Melissa Pritchard: I think that you could call it a kind of it was definitely compulsive. She rarely slept. It's said that she rarely slept. She wrote enormous numbers of letters back to the government. She every night walked the wards. It was approximately a four mile walk every night carrying her lantern. Seeing how the how her the patients were doing, writing letters home for them or their last letters home. It's almost like she couldn't stop. She lost weight. She was emaciated. She wore the same dress over and over. People were worried about her, really. And I think at one point she hadn't even been there very long. She cut all her hair off and she said, I can't be bothered with with hair. It's too much. I don't have time. I can't imagine when I try to put myself in her place, the stresses on her and some of the nurses who'd come with her were beginning to rebel. They hadn't expected anything as horrible as the conditions they encountered. And then she had strict rules and they didn't like that either. And so she felt very alone, I think, at times. Peter Biello: And that period, the period during the Crimean War was just one part of her life. But the book spends a lot of time talking about both that part and her childhood, as we mentioned, her wealthy childhood and rebelling against her parents and conflict with her sister in particular, who is more of an ordinary type of of of girl growing up in a in a wealthy family at that time. Orlando Montoya: So we know that she left a mark on us today because we know her name. Talk about her mark on nursing. Peter Biello: Well, from an early age, she like putting things in order. And as she grew up, that manifested itself in the keeping of statistics. She did that during the Crimean War, and she actually developed these circular infographics that that visually represented how troops were dying of preventable diseases. And those really made an impact. Melissa Pritchard: Because she showed this chart to Queen Victoria and Prince Albert and all these various other people who would never look at a bar chart or, you know, this they could see. And she designed it. So it would show that the majority of the deaths in the Crimean War of the British soldiers for by far were from lack of hygiene, diseases like cholera, dysentery, only a few from battlefield wounds. And you can see it and you can't dispute it. It's right there in front of you in it. And it is pretty it's attractive to look at. Orlando Montoya: Yeah, There is no understanding medicine today without charts and infographics. Peter Biello: Right. So to bring that to medicine was was really influential. I mean, it's incredible how she made this thing that we can't live without so essential. And she made the modernization of nursing her life's work. She also spent her later years doing a lot of nursing training, training other people to do the kind of work that she did. And what's striking here, too, is that she did it all with an incredible level of modesty. Like I mentioned earlier, she wasn't excited about fame. Even her headstone reflects that modesty. Melissa Pritchard: She's buried with her family, her parents and her sister. And on the three sides, you know, there's her father, her mother, his sister with the typical ornate embellishments, Victorian quotes from the Bible now on her side simply says F.N. Her date of birth, her date of death, and a small, simple cross above it all. That's it. That said, that to me says everything about her. Peter Biello: I should mention that I did this interview in Pritchard's home where her dog Hugo, was our occasional noisy companion. Orlando Montoya: And how did. How did the book end? It ends with her death. Peter Biello: Well, I won't. I won't share the ending. You're going to get there. But I will say it was way worth getting there. Orlando Montoya: All right. Yeah. And so it has a Narrative Edge that it certainly does. Peter Biello: It's on this program, so it has one. I feel like it doesn't give you too much. It it holds back in just the right ways so that you get to know this quirky doesn't seem seem too quirky, seems dismissive of her, right? Orlando Montoya: Well, the book is called Wild. How was she wild. Peter Biello: She well, she just she followed her own path. Right. This is what she wanted to do. Whether you believe she was actually called by God or she was just experiencing some kind of delusion. The fact is, is that she had her own way of being and she there was nobody who was going to tell her no. And when she set her mind to it, she did things and she did things very well. She's very smart. And I think the short chapters, the sentence level insights into this person also didn't mention anything about Sidney Herbert, too. I mean, he was he doesn't appear much in the book. He was the guy that had that portrait. There's no romance between them. But there's such electricity. I mean, Sidney Herbert was married and a lot of people believe that that Nightingale was was chased her entire life. But there was something between them that when they're just in the room together, the electricity on the page is just incredible. Hard not to notice it. And I think that was well done. Her the details of her life were well done. Just an incredible book. Definitely worth reading. Orlando Montoya: Well, the book is called Flight of the Wild Swan by Melissa Pritchard. Thanks for sharing it with me. Peter Biello: Thanks, Orlando. Orlando Montoya: Thanks for listening to Narrative Edge. We'll be back in two weeks with a brand new episode. This podcast is a production of Georgia Public Broadcasting. Find us online at gpb.org/narrativeedge. Peter Biello: You can also catch us on the daily GPB news podcast Georgia Today. For a concise update on the latest news in Georgia. For more on that and all of our podcasts, go to GPB.org/Podcasts.…
 
The coming-of-age story of Philbet, gay and living with a disability, battles bullying, ignorance, and disdain as he makes his way in life as an outsider in the Deep South—before finding acceptance in unlikely places. Fueled by tomato sandwiches and green milkshakes, and obsessed with cars, Philbet struggles with life and love as a gay boy in rural Georgia. Join Peter, Orlando, and author Jeffrey Dale Lofton as they share some personal insights and reflections on this impactful story. Orlando Montoya: Coming up in this episode. Peter Biello: I'm willing to bet that because of these two things about him he's picked on, he's a target by other kids. Orlando Montoya: Yes, he's bullied, and not just from other kids from his family as well. Jeffrey Dale Lofton: I write for at risk youth. That's my that's my mission to write stories that show that you don't have to be perfect. Orlando Montoya: Yeah. So this goes on for two years, this infatuation. And you wonder all this time, like here I'm saying, how is it going to end? Peter Biello: This podcast from Georgia Public Broadcasting highlights books with Georgia connections, hosted by two of your favorite public radio book nerds, who also happen to be your hosts of All Things Considered on GPB radio. I'm Peter Biello. Orlando Montoya: And I'm Orlando Montoya. Thanks for joining us as we introduce you to authors, their writings, and the insights behind their stories, mixed with our own thoughts and ideas on just what gives these works the Narrative Edge. Peter Biello: All right, Orlando, I hear you have a coming of age story today. Orlando Montoya: Yes, indeed, a coming of age story. It's about a boy growing up in rural West Georgia in the 1960s and 1970s. It's a real emotionally rich tale, a tale with a lot of inner struggle. And it's the kind of story that keeps you wondering how is it going to end? And it's called Red Clay Suzie by Jeffrey Dale Lofton. Peter Biello: Okay. And is this a novel or is a memoir? Orlando Montoya: This is a work of fiction based on truth. Peter Biello: Based on truth and a coming of age story. So what ages are we talking about? Orlando Montoya: Well, we're talking about the boy's childhood and adolescence from his earliest moments that he can remember. I think he's about four years old until just after he finishes high school. So he's about 18 years old. And I mentioned struggle. You know, everybody struggles. But this kid has two big facts to deal with. First of all, he is physically misshapen. Peter Biello: Oh. Orlando Montoya: He was born with a deformity. His chest sort of caves in and he's got like a hole in his chest. And one of the bones kind of sticks out. And he also is gay. And he finds this out through his childhood, through his adolescence, over and over a number of years. And his name is Philbet. Peter Biello: Okay. And I'm willing to bet that because of these two things about him he's picked on, he's a target by other kids. Orlando Montoya: Yes, he's bullied, and not just from other kids, from his family as well. It's terrible. I think one of his uncles, was the one who gave him the name Suzie, which is where we get the title of the book, Red Clay for the Red Clay of West Georgia. And Suzie, you know, he was kind of effete. He was kind of a dandy. So, one of his uncles gave him that unfortunate name. He was fascinated by cars as a kid. And he loved these matchbox cars. Did you play with those. Peter Biello: Oh, yeah, I know Matchbox cars. I didn't play with them, but I didn't know what they were. Some kids went nuts over these things, but I wasn't one of those kids. Orlando Montoya: He went nuts. He dreams about cars. He talks about cars endlessly, thinks about cars all the time. And well into adolescence, when most kids have given up childish things, he kind of holds on to the cars, and his parents don't understand that. It's one of many things that his parents don't understand about Philbet. Peter Biello: Yeah, I imagine he's got to keep a huge part of himself secret from them because he's he's gay. He's got these feelings. Orlando Montoya: Well, he doesn't even know for a long time. He's a kid. He's a kid. He he knows he likes boys. He doesn't understand why boys can't marry girls. There's a scene in the book where he blurts out that I might marry a boy one day, and everybody laughs, and he's pulled over to the side and says, don't say that ever again. So he he knows that, but he doesn't understand, sort of, you know, it's kind of like, there's a time in your life when the light switches on for everybody else, but it doesn't switch on for you. And that's what happens. He can't tell anybody about this. And then he meets Knox. Knox is 18 years old. Neighbor of Philbet. And Philbet at this time is 14 years old. And this is where I'll also introduce you to the author, Jeffrey Dale Lofton. Jeffrey Dale Lofton: Well, he is very sheltered. That's the world that he is in. And because of his physical challenges and because he feels like an outsider, he doesn't engage. He hides himself away from the world. And it is the. The discovery of an older boy who he is. He's besotted with this, this boy named Knox. He doesn't feel worthy of the attention of Knox, but it awakens in him, something that he knows is more than he's ever experienced and is in represents, I think, the world outside of the small conservative community they live in. Orlando Montoya: So Knox basically lives at a junkyard. His family repairs cars. . Peter Biello: Oh perfect. Orlando Montoya: Yeah, he he repairs cars. And so this becomes, you know, something that they, they talk about and. Peter Biello: And it's such a masculine excuse to be together. Right. Traditionally masculine. Let's go work on the car together. Orlando Montoya: Yeah. They're underneath the car. They're getting their hands greasy. And Philbet learns to repair cars with Knox. He rides in Knox's car and let me tell you what kind of car Knox drives. Peter Biello: Okay. Orlando Montoya: GTO. A GTO. Peter Biello: That's hot. Orlando Montoya: Philbet loves the GTO. He learns how to drive from Knox, and then when Philbet is 16 years old, he gets a VW bug of his own. And together they fix up the bug and they outfit the bug. Peter Biello: So this. This sounds incredibly cute. So they're in love, right? Philbet is at least in love with Knox. Maybe Knox doesn't love him. Orlando Montoya: It's an infatuation. Peter Biello: Cause Knox is not gay. Orlando Montoya: We don't know that. Peter Biello: We don't know. Orlando Montoya: We don't know that at this point, you know, Knox could be gay. He could not be gay. Peter Biello: So Philbets trying to, like, read the signs, right? Orlando Montoya: At this point, Knox is just someone who makes him happy. Knox is just someone he likes to be around. He wants to be Knox. You've had this experience. You think about this person all the time. Where is his car? Is that the sound of his car coming? You know. Peter Biello: You think you see it when it's actually not it. Orlando Montoya: Yeah. So this goes on for two years, this infatuation. And you wonder all this time like here I'm saying how is it going to end. Is Knox gay? What will Knox's reaction be even if he is you know, think about this at this time. Philbet is 16 and Knox is 20. And there is a big difference between 16 and 20. Not not like when I met my first boyfriend when I was 24 and he was 28. Peter Biello: Yeah. As you get older, the difference doesn't mean as much. Orlando Montoya: I think there's a legal difference between 16 and 20. Peter Biello: Certainly yeah, yeah, well, I know you're not going to tell me how it ends. I think that's the purpose of the suspense of the book here. But but even if it ends badly, I have to think that Philbet has other friends, maybe other infatuations as well. Right? People he can lean on. Orlando Montoya: Sort of, he has, sort of proto infatuation with a boy named Wright, but this is much earlier, much younger. And Wright rejects Philbet. And in that rejection, again, he learns a lesson. You're not supposed to like boys like that. But he does have a best friend. The best friend is James. James is black. And so because James is black, James can't come over to Philbet's house. Philbet can't go over to James' his house. The father doesn't like James at all. And this is based, like I said, on a real life story. Jeffrey Dale Lofton: I decided to fictionalize it because I wanted to. I wanted to explore alternate endings to some of the stories. For example, the friend James. I did not have that friend growing up. There was a boy. He he was black, and I knew on some level that it would not be okay for us to be friends with each other, and I didn't approach him. And James, of course, in the book he is, I think he's the wisest character. He's funny as all get out. He is an outsider as Philbet is, because he he lives in a world where racism is just a fact of life, and they are drawn together in that outsider role that they both fill. I didn't have the courage to approach him because I didn't think he'd want to be my friend. That's how little I thought of myself. Peter Biello: Wow, so he doesn't think much of himself. Seems like a lot of self-loathing. I know people in his situation have felt that from time to time. So I gotta ask: suicide. Is there a is there a mention of suicide in this book? Orlando Montoya: No. And that was surprising to me. You know, based on my own personal experience, like a lot of gay teens, I was incredibly depressed. Hopeless. And I did attempt suicide on two occasions. Peter Biello: I'm sorry to hear that. Orlando Montoya: And in this particular case, Philbet, it's just that Philbet, although he's different and although he is alone and he is sad, he also knows that this, that his feelings are not wrong and he knows this innately and no one's explaining this to him. Now, I had this explained to me because I read books, I watched television, I very distinctly remember, you know, the first time I was listening on the radio and I heard a person my age, call in and ask about being gay and being reassured that this is not bad and things will get better. And that actually related to my career in radio because I had this sort of very intimate experience with the radio. So I had this explained to me, Philbet did not. And so I wondered, how did Philbet know right back then, you know, in this particular place, how did Philbet know this? And I asked the author and it turns out that Philbet new because it's fiction. Jeffrey Dale Lofton: It is a book based on true and inspired by true life events. That was not my experience. I wanted to create a story that affirmed who we are and what makes us unique in the world. And I wanted this, this young man, this boy, this young man to know that what he was, was okay, was not only okay, but it was a good thing. And so I intentionally gave him that idea that whatever this is, whatever it turns out to be, it is right. It is wonderful and there's no reason to be ashamed of it. Orlando Montoya: So in your experience growing up, it was shame. Jeffrey Dale Lofton: My life was doused, imbued, colored with shame all the way through. Peter Biello: So it sounds like the author, Jeffrey Dale Loften, is kind of taking his own bad experience and really turning it around. Orlando Montoya: Exactly. And in some ways, that's how the author's life was, how he describes it in the book, and in other ways, it's how his life could have been and how it can be today for young readers. Jeffrey Dale Lofton: I write for at risk youth. That's my that's my mission to write stories that show that you don't have to be perfect to be happy. You don't have to be perfect to live your life. And, like, here's a here's an interesting statistic. 39% of LGBTQ youth seriously considered suicide last year, and 12% of them actually attempted it. And when I learned that, it just it shocked me. I can't even describe how surprised I was. And so I write in this book in particular, is a roadmap of sorry, it's not a roadmap for cars, but a roadmap for the heart and mind to help those kids who struggle now, as I did when I was younger, to know that there is a way forward. Peter Biello: There is a way forward. So that sounds like it could be a motto. Orlando Montoya: That is a motto of sorts. Have you heard of the It Gets Better project? Peter Biello: I have, I have heard of the It Gets Better project. Orlando Montoya: Yeah. National campaign 2010 on YouTube. The idea is we tell kids that yes, things suck right now and we know because you can't invalidate somebody's truth. It sucks right now, but it does get better. And speaking of, It Gets Better. I want to transition to fun and joy in this book. You know, it's not all doom and gloom. Peter Biello: Yeah, it sounds like there are some moments, right? There's at least working on cars, the camaraderie. But, are there other ones too? Orlando Montoya: Yeah, I mean, it's an I think the most joyous part about this book is the writing. It's the kind of writing that paints the pictures in your mind. Talking dirt roads. We're talking woods, junkyards, cars. Knox. Peter Biello: Yeah, yeah, Knox is a big one. Orlando Montoya: He's a very visual writer. A joy to read. Anything involving James is funny. James is a clown. He he tells jokes. He talks about white and black people and about boys and girls in ways that are just honest and funny. And let's remember, these are kids for a good part of the book. So, you know, there's wee-wee there's pee-pee and there's all that can be funny. Peter Biello: Sure. Orlando Montoya: And anything involving the grandfather, the grandfather in this book, it's poignant moments. He teaches lessons without teaching lessons. And there are stories that he has, including one early on, about potatoes and how the best potatoes are the misshapen ones. Because when the potato is in the ground, it has to work through the rocks and the bugs. And so that's how they get misshapen. And because they have to work harder, they, they are the best ones. And that's true for anything, any living creature. Peter Biello: Two things about that. One, that is an adorable way to explain it. And two, one of my biggest regrets in life is not having an old southern grandfather. Orlando Montoya: I knew you wanted a mawmaw and a pawpaw. Peter Biello: I totally did. But especially a southern granddad. Right, grandpa? You know, like, give me all the southern advice. I need it, I need it. Orlando Montoya: And by the way, this book has mama and papa and mawmaw and pawpaw. So they're all different people. Peter Biello: All right, so, you talk about the grandfather. Sounds like an awesome character. Were there any other characters that helped Philbet? Orlando Montoya: Well, there's the mother, of course. The mother is protective. The mother takes Philbet to the doctor, and gets him a prosthetic to help cover up his deformity. She defends him when he wants to design cars. He figures out that he doesn't just want to repair cars, he wants to design them like an artist. And the father is like, yeah, you're not. You can't get a job like dad. An artist, you know? Peter Biello: Really? Sounds like such a fun job. Orlando Montoya: And then the mother defends him, and. But, you know, the mother is constrained by her place in society at that time. Peter Biello: Why should people read this book? What gives it the Narrative Edge? Orlando Montoya: Well, it comes from the heart. It comes from a place of kindness and understanding. And again, it's this constant. How is this going to end? The genius I think of this book is that the narrator, Philbet, is telling the story from the perspective of the end of the book. He's 18. He knows the whole story, but the way he tells the story chapter by chapter, it's as if he's the age that he is in the chapter, if you understand what I'm saying. So it's kind of like the language that he uses, the information that he drops, hints that are made along the way. And will Knox reject Philbet? Will Philbet find love? Will Philbet come out of the closet? How? What will the reaction be? And will he follow his family's narrow ambitions in Warm Springs, or will he leave? So no spoilers, as we typically don't do. But, it does give hope. And that's what the author and I lacked in those tender years. Jeffrey Dale Lofton: I struggled, I hid myself, I hid my physical self. I hid my emotions, my heart. And it was not easy. I, I actually some mornings look in the mirror and I am grateful but surprised that I'm still here. Orlando Montoya: And so I'm glad that Jeffrey Dale Lofton is still here. And glad I'm here to tell you about Jeffrey Dale Lofton and his book, Red Clay Suzie. Peter Biello: Well, we're glad you're here as well and certainly glad that this book exists. It seems like it's one of those books that people need. You know, there are books that are entertaining and fun, and then there are books that are both those things and badly needed. So this seems like one of them. Orlando, thanks for telling us about the book and for sharing a bit of yourself as well. Orlando Montoya: My pleasure. Thanks for listening to Narrative Edge . We'll be back in two weeks with a brand-new episode. This podcast is a production of Georgia Public Broadcasting. Find us online at GPB.org/NarrativeEdge . Peter Biello: You can also catch us on the daily GPB News podcast Georgia Today for a concise update on the latest news in Georgia. For more on that and all of our podcasts, go to GPB.org/Podcasts .…
 
The 1987 murder of Lita McClinton Sullivan sent shockwaves through the affluent Atlanta suburb of Buckhead. The neighborhood, with its stately mansions and top-tier schools, was not the kind of place where women were gunned down in cold blood in broad daylight. In A Devil Went Down to Georgia , author Deb Miller Landau details the shocking events that followed Lita’s murder in 1987, including the surprising lack of evidence, racial bias in the justice system, and the international manhunt for Lita’s killer. Full of twists and turns, legal battles, and the McClinton family’s unrelenting dedication to justice, Landau's rigorous investigation is the first complete account of this tragic American crime.…
 
Jessica Leigh Lebos describes herself as a writer, adopted Southerner, anti-socialite and Camellia Thief. On this episode of Narrative Edge , Orlando introduces Peter to the award-winning local columnist and community builder who has published two popular books, Savannah Sideways and The Camellia Thief & Other Tales .…
 
Winner of the AWP Prize for the Novel, Parul Kapur’s "Inside the Mirror" is set in the aftermath of colonialism, as an impoverished India struggles to remake itself into a modern state. Jaya’s story encompasses art, history, political revolt, love, and women’s ambition to seize their own power. In this episode, Peter and Orlando discuss this relatable and timeless pursuit of dreams by Atlanta's Kapur.…
 
In this epic novel, New York Times bestselling author Denene Millner explores the lives of three generations of women tied together by love, hope, dreams, ambition — and family secrets. Potent, poetic, powerful, told with deep love, and spanning from the Great Migration to the civil unrest of the 1960s to the quest for women’s equality in the early 2000s, Denene Millner’s beautifully wrought novel explores three women’s intimate, and often complicated, struggle with what it truly means to be family.…
 
Violence haunts 1915 Atlanta and so does the golem a group of girls creates. A dark, lyrical blend of historical fiction and magical realism, "The Curators" examines an underexplored event in American history through unlikely eyes. All of Atlanta is obsessed with the two-year-long trial and subsequent lynching of Jewish factory superintendent Leo Frank in 1915. None more so than thirteen-year-old Ana Wulff and her friends, who take history into their own hands—quite literally—when they use dirt from Ana’s garden to build and animate a golem in Frank’s image.…
 
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