Leslie Johansen Nack: Writing
Through Trauma, Resilience, and Recovery
Award-winning author Leslie
Johansen Nack joins Northwest Book Talk to discuss the deeply personal
stories behind her powerful memoirs Fourteen: A Daughter’s Memoir of
Adventure, Sailing, and Survival and its sequel Nineteen: A Daughter’s
Memoir of Reckoning and Recovery.
In this candid conversation, Leslie
shares how her unusual childhood, growing up under the guidance of a
charismatic but abusive father and sailing the world as a teenager, shaped her
life and ultimately inspired her writing.
She reflects on the long journey of
healing that made it possible to tell her story, the challenges of revisiting
traumatic experiences while writing, and how readers have responded to her
work.
Leslie also talks about her
historical novel The Blue Butterfly, based on the fascinating life of
actress Marion Davies, and offers insights into the realities of book promotion
and building an audience.
Leslie will also appear at the Northwest
Book Fair & Media Fest in Vancouver, Washington.