Ep. 38: Beth Macy on finding stories to tell
Growing up poor gave Beth Macy a love for outsiders and underdogs. As a writer, she’s on a quest to hold power accountable. Beth talks about how to follow what moves you and write about it.
Beth is the author of three bestselling books: "Truevine: Two Brothers, a Kidnapping and a Mother's Quest: A True Story of the Jim Crow South;” "Factory Man: How One Furniture Maker Battled Offshoring, Stayed Local -- and Helped Save an American Town;” and “Dopesick: Dealers, Doctors, and the Drug Company that Addicted America.”
As a journalist, she learned to follow the stories that made the little hairs on the back of her neck stand up. As an author, she follows what grabs her soul and won’t let go.
Tips and Takeaways:
It is our job to hold power accountable
Follow what moves you.
Seek out mentors, peers and partners who support you.
Call on a wide variety of sources and look for the overlooked ones everyone else missed.
Bio:
Beth Macy is a Virginia-based journalist and the author of three bestselling books, “Factory Man,” “Truevine,” and “Dopesick,” the latter of which is currently being made into a limited television series for Hulu. For three decades, she has reported from Roanoke, Va., where she has long reported on outsiders and underdogs.
Her writing has won more than a dozen national journalism awards, including a Nieman Fellowship for Journalism at Harvard and the 2013 J. Anthony Lukas Word-in-Progress award for "Factory Man: How One Furniture Maker Battled Offshoring, Stayed Local -- and Helped Save an American Town," published by Little, Brown and Company in July 2014. The book was a NYT bestseller.
Her second book, "Truevine: Two Brothers, a Kidnapping, and a Mother's Quest: A True Story of the Jim Crow South", was published by Little, Brown and debuted on the NYT Bestseller list in October 2016, and tells the story of George and Willie Muse, two Black albinos who were kidnapped and sold into servitude with the circus, where they became international stars with the Ringling Brothers and other well known circuses and sideshows of in the 1920s.
Her third book for Little, Brown and Co., "Dopesick: Dealers, Doctors, and the Drug Company that Addicted America" was published in 2018.
Website and links:
Beth Macy on Facebook
Beth Macy on Twitter