Jesmyn Ward's memoir is about her own life, growing up in a poverty-stricken Mississippi community, and how she was able to make a better path for herself--but it's also about five young men who weren't so fortunate, who basically died, as she puts it, of being poor and black in the South. We talk about why telling their stories is the hardest thing she's ever done as a writer, and why she never expects that she'll be done grieving for them.
(Why the explicit tag for this episode? In our interview, Ward describes the racism she faced in high school using a word--directed at her--that will offend some listeners. I've left it in because what she's describing is an ugly truth we need to confront.)
