Search results for

Since she was five years old, Bettye’s mother has reminded her of the family credo, “Always remember you’re a Madison. You come from African slaves and a president.” Her book, The Other Madisons: The Lost History of A President’s Black Family” is Bettye’s gift to her own descendants and to all of us to remember that the Founding Fathers may have laid the foundations for our country, but the actual physical foundations were built and maintained by millions of enslaved people. Bettye is the “griotte” in her family, the one bearing witness to the lives of generations long past by retaining and protecting the oral history which she will in turn pass onto her own daughter. The Other Madisons takes this history and her decades of exhaustive research and puts it in writing for the first time. Yet to listen to this interview with Bettye gives you a taste of the ancient storytelling tradition without which we would never learn the truth. The Other Madisons bettyekearse.com

Standing at the gravesite of their grandmother, three young children and their mother were asked to make a solemn promise that they would never, ever, put their Dad in a nursing home. Decades later, their father is deep in the trenches of vascular dementia, and they try to care for him and for their exhausted, burned out, elderly but determined mother. Then, on Christmas Day as the family gathers, Mom asks her daughter Bernadette, who is an ICU nurse, to seriously consider euthanasia to put Dad out of his daily misery. What follows is a brilliantly-written tale filled with wisdom and life, an unexpected page-turner. Essential reading for everyone with a family member suffering from dementia of any kind. Available from the independent bookseller bookshop.org and directly from Debra on her website at http://dliebhart.com/

A deep, intimate and gentle dive into the journey of a mathematician, loved educator and writer into the Buddhist teachings of mindfulness. Richard Brady joins me with his new book, Short Journey Home: Awakening to Freedom with Thich Nhat Hanh. Richard’s immersion in Judaism, Buddhism and the Quaker tradition uniquely prepare him practice and teach Mindfulness to educators and students even as his personal life is challenged, then and now, by close family members with Alzheimer’s disease.

A mysteriously delicious tale set in Venice in the early 18th Century invites you to step aside from your busy, modern life and listen to award-winning author Julia Fine.

Neil King Jr. takes us on an American Ramble: A Walk of Memory and Renewal. That is the title of his exquisite memoir that took him, and will take you the listener and reader, on a journey from Washington, DC to New York City on paths you have likely never traveled before. Neil walked the 330 miles over 26 days taking literal roads less travelled alongside mighty rivers and delightful fishing creeks, across America’s lost farmlands into quiet villages, acknowledging our famous monuments to battle and blade and skirting suburban mansions and urban thoroughfares. At every turn he meets surprising characters, occasional adversity, frequent joy and moments of transcendence. Beautifully written, a book you will treasure forever and perhaps inspire you to take your own walk. Meet Neil at Collected Works bookstore at 6:00 pm Saturday, May 13. www.neilkingjr.com

A perfect show for a hot day as visual artist and poet Susan Gardner joins me with her perceptive and calming new volume of poetry, Love and The Weather.

Lark Ascending: Magic, Mystery and Mayhem in A Spiritual Community is a perfect description of poet and playwright Meleth Delia Batteau’s delightful coming-of-age story set in the early days of the famous Findhorn Community in Northern Scotland.

An inspiring interview with multi-award-winning author J.C. Cervantes in Santa Fe with her latest book, The Enchanted Hacienda.

How long can you keep a secret and what happens when the secret is accidentally revealed? Award-winning author Carlyn Montes De Oca joins me with her new book, Junkyard Girl: A Memoir of Ancestry, Family Secrets and Second Chances.

“Imagine a place of infinite beauty, peace and healing …. there is a sound that can take you there.” Words of Ashana who offers us a glimpse into that sound as she speaks about her beautiful book, “Crystal Singing Bowls: The Angelic Sound of Healing, Relaxation and Spiritual Awakening.” Let yourself rest into her music and learn about the quartz crystal bowls and her personal path as a classically-trained, gifted musician. And how she unfolded her rare passion, her soaring, angelic voice merging with seeming alchemical resonance with the unique vibration and harmony of each crystal bowl she touches. A very special music-filled episode of The Last Word. www.soundofashana.com