Join Javier and Mickey as They Welcome M. E. Torrey, Author of the Historical Novel Fox Creek

I would love to hear from you!A plantation owner writes about rain, cotton, and daily chores then, with the same calm pen stroke, describes whipping people like it is routine. That single detail cracked our conversation wide open, because it forces a question many of us would rather avoid: how do “good” and “normal” people learn to live inside a cruel system and still see themselves as decent?We’re joined by author Michelle Torrey, who publishes her adult historical fiction as M.E. Torrey, to talk about her novel Fox Creek and the 30-year path behind it. We dig into the moment a Louisiana plantation tour erased enslaved lives, and how that silence pushed her into deep research across plantation records, personal diaries, slave narratives, and the Federal Writers Project interviews. We explore what primary sources reveal that textbooks often smooth over, including the everyday logic that upheld slavery and the painful reality that so many voices were never allowed to be written down.We also go personal. Michelle shares the depression that came with reading horrific accounts, the faith experience that gave her permission to hold joy, and the fear of publishing as a white woman writing about slavery in a time of heightened tension. From there, we talk about defensiveness, guilt, civil discourse, and why honest conversations about race can be healing instead of performative. The episode closes with her humanitarian work through Orphans Africa in Tanzania, and what long-term empowerment looks like when you build systems that outlast you.If you care about American history, social justice, historical novels, and faith-informed conversations that don’t flinch, you’ll get a lot out of this one. Subscribe, share this with a friend who loves thoughtful dialogue, and leave a review so more listeners can find Compass Chronicles. Support the showFor listeners looking to deepen their engagement with the topics discussed, visit our website or check out our devotionals and poetry on Amazon, with all proceeds supporting The New York School of The Bible at Calvary Baptist Church. Stay connected and enriched on your spiritual path with us!