Finding Peace After Family Dysfunction, Abuse, and the Absence of a Legendary Filmmaker Father

Exploring Identity After American-Indian Transracial Adoption

Susan Devan Harness is the author of Bitterroot: A Salish Memoir of Transracial Adoption, a memoir describing her experience as a transracial adoptee removed from her American Indian home and adopted by a white family in Montana. Susan is also the author of Mixing Cultural Identities Through Transracial Adoption: After the Indian Adoption Project. She is a High Plains Book Award winner in the categories of “Indigenous Writer” and “Creative Nonfiction” and is a member of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes. Susan received her B.A. in anthropology from the University of Montana and her M.A. in cultural anthropology and M.A. in creative nonfiction from Colorado State University.  She is still very much involved in the issue of American-Indian transracial adoption and continues to write and speak nationally and internationally about the topic and about American-Indian assimilation policies and practices.

Shining Light on Profound Aspects of the Mexican-American Experience

Reyna Grande is an award-winning novelist and memoirist. She is the author of the bestselling memoirs, The Distance Between Us and A Dream Called Home, where she writes about her life before and after she arrived in the United States from Mexico as an undocumented child immigrant. Her other works include the novels, Across a Hundred Mountains, Dancing with Butterflies, and A Ballad of Love and Glory, a novel set during the Mexican-American War.  She is also the co-editor of an anthology by and about undocumented Americans called Somewhere We Are Human: Authentic Voices on Migration, Survival and New Beginnings. Her books have been adopted as the common read selection by schools, colleges, and cities across the country.

Rediscovering Her Authentic Self and a Daughter Given Up After a Secret Teenage Pregnancy

Judy Liautaud is the author of two memoirs, the first titled “Sunlight on My Shadow: A Birth Mother’s Journey From Secrecy to Renewal,” and the second titled “South of Ordinary: A Moving Tale of Young Love and Self-Discovery.” She’s also the author and publisher of several children’s educational books through her publishing company City Creek Press, including “Times Tables the Fun Way,” “Addition the Fun Way,” and “Story Problems the Fun Way.” In our interview, we discuss Judy’s secret teen pregnancy, the pain and grief of giving up her baby for adoption, the healing and joy of finding and meeting her daughter decades later, and other ways in which she has healed and transformed throughout her life journey.

Finding Peace After Family Dysfunction, Abuse, and the Absence of a Legendary Filmmaker Father

Nicca Ray is the author of “Ray by Ray: A Daughter’s Take on the Legend of Nicholas Ray,” a blend of memoir and biography about her famous father and the impact of his absence in her life. She is also the author of poetry collections titled “Back Seat Baby,” “Curve,” and “Go Go Go Girl.” Her second memoir, “Love and Cigarettes” is coming soon, and her play “Cry of the Butterfly” will be performed in New York City in Fall 2025. In our interview, Nicca and I discuss the impact of addiction and sexual abuse in her life and family, the ways in which her legendary filmmaker father’s absence affected her life, and how she ultimately found healing, peace, and connection.

Exploring Vietnamese-American Identity, Family Dynamics, and Two Vietnams

Christina Vo is a Vietnamese-American writer and the author of two memoirs, one titled “The Veil Between Two Worlds,” and the other a dual memoir written with her father called, “My Vietnam, Your Vietnam.” In our interview, we discuss the differences in experiences and perspectives between her and her father, who fled post-war Vietnam in the 1970s; the death of her mother when she was a teenager; her extended journeys to Vietnam as an adult to better understand her heritage; and her continued exploration of identity, culture, and belonging in her life and writing.