Fox Creek - Confronting America's Uncomfortable History with M.E. Torrey

M.E. Torrey - Author of "Fox Creek," a historical novel exploring slavery in the antebellum SouthIn this powerful 51-minute conversation, author M.E. Torrey discusses her critically acclaimed novel "Fox Creek," which confronts the whitewashed narratives of plantation history. Torrey shares her journey from writing children's books to tackling one of America's most difficult historical periods, and why honest conversations about race and history are more important than ever.The Genesis of Fox CreekTorrey's eye-opening visit to Louisiana plantations in the 1990sEncountering tours that completely omitted slave narrativesThree years of intensive research before writing the first sentenceThe challenge of finding authentic slave narratives vs. abundant plantation owner recordsResearch RevelationsThe shocking diaries of James Henry Hammond (Governor of South Carolina) and Bennett BarrowHow "ordinary people" justified extraordinary harmThe concept of willful blindness among slave owners who considered themselves good peopleThe FDR Writers Project interviews with ex-slaves from the 1930sWriting ApproachDeliberately avoiding author judgment to create moral complexityUsing "silence" as a literary device, especially for enslaved charactersCrossing white and Black narratives to tell a complete storyThe most difficult scene to write: sexual abuseContemporary RelevanceWhy white people need to see themselves in slave owner charactersThe importance of owning history without guilt or defensivenessHow forgiveness and love are essential to healingThe loss of community in modern AmericaParallels to current social justice movementsPersonal ReflectionsGrowing up in integrated military schools in EuropeThe bubble of racial harmony vs. American realityTransition from children's book author to adult historical fictionRedefining success from financial to relational and spiritual"I would never have owned a slave" - white people do an injustice when they say this because they were ordinary people, and horrific things are happening even today by people because society says it's okay.""I have never, to my knowledge, done any wrong to any human being in my life" - Governor James Henry Hammond, despite a diary full of documented abuses"The lesson that we bring from the past is a lesson of forgiveness... this world will not get healed without being kind and loving one another."Title: Fox CreekAuthor: M.E. TorreyAwards: Multiple awards, starred review from Publishers WeeklyWhere to Buy: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or support local bookstores at Bookshop.orgWebsite: METorrey.com (T-O-R-R-E-Y)"Secret and Sacred" - Diaries of James Henry HammondBennett Barrow's plantation journalFDR Writers Project slave narrativesSt. Francisville, Louisiana (fictionalized as St. Marysville in the book)Purchase "Fox Creek" and engage with this important historical narrativeRequest the book at your local library using the ISBNHave honest conversations about race and history in your communityFollow M.E. Torrey at METorrey.comEpisode SummaryKey Topics DiscussedPowerful QuotesBook InformationResources MentionedCall to ActionEpisode ThemesHistoricalFiction #Slavery #CivilRights #RaceRelations #AmericanHistory #SocialJustice #Forgiveness #Community #AuthorInterview #BookDiscussion