STORIES SAVED OUR LIVES

I am so excited to share a conversation I had recently with my critique group partners and friends, Kellye Abernathy and Emily Roberson, all about the stories that impacted us. They are two of my favorite people and amazing human beings. Both of them have been guests on the podcast before where we talk about the books they’ve published, so make sure you catch Episode 69 where we discuss Em’s book, Lifestyles of Gods and Monsters, and Episode 155 where we talk about Kellye’s book, The Aquamarine Surfboard.

Our discussion about how stories saved our lives was a vulnerable look into the things we experienced as young teens, and how books were our refuge and escape.

Kellye is a former business executive happily transformed into a writer, yoga teacher, and practical life skills advocate for trauma survivors. She graduated from the University of Kansas with a Bachelor of Science in Secondary English Education.

Emily is an author and an Arkansan. She has been a bookseller in Little Rock, a newspaper reporter in Vicksburg, a marketing manager in Boston, and a writer in Chapel Hill and Dallas. Emily graduated from Brown University and has a master’s degree in English from the University of Texas at Austin. She now lives in Little Rock, Arkansas with her husband, three sons, and no pets.

HERE’S WHAT YOU’LL DISCOVER ABOUT THE STORIES THAT SAVED US

• The stories that impacted each of us and saved our lives.
• How libraries played a key role in our growing up years.
• How the books we read as kids change when we revisit them as adults.
• That although our stories are different, we all agree that stories saved us.
• The importance of romance novels.
• How books help us feel seen and heard and not so alone.
• Why the grittier novels of today are so important.
• How books add to who we are and give us empathy.