Connecting to Annie's Ghosts: An Interview and a Review
As I watched the computer screen at WPYR-FM in Baltimore, the calls began stacking up.
"A sister no one talked about."
"A half-brother I never knew existed."
"An uncle airbrushed out of family photos."
During an interview Tuesday about Annie's Ghosts on "Midday," Dan Rodricks's public affairs show, listeners jammed the phone lines to talk about the secrets in their own families. We only had time for three calls, unfortunately. Each story was compelling, and each secret was different. Some involved institutionalized relatives, like my aunt Annie, while others involved some other taboo or shame of the generation when the secret was born -- the uncle was gay, the half-brother was from a now-secret previous marriage.
Telling my family's story, and explaining the cultural forces that swirled around my mom as she decided to turn her institutionalized sister into a secret, clearly had resonated with Dan's listeners. It was quite an experience to sit in the studio, earphones on, and hear their stories.
It was also quite an experience to hear this review by Susan McCallum-Smith, which was broadcast Monday on WYPR.
No matter how other reviews turn out, I'll always have this one.
"A sister no one talked about."
"A half-brother I never knew existed."
"An uncle airbrushed out of family photos."
During an interview Tuesday about Annie's Ghosts on "Midday," Dan Rodricks's public affairs show, listeners jammed the phone lines to talk about the secrets in their own families. We only had time for three calls, unfortunately. Each story was compelling, and each secret was different. Some involved institutionalized relatives, like my aunt Annie, while others involved some other taboo or shame of the generation when the secret was born -- the uncle was gay, the half-brother was from a now-secret previous marriage.
Telling my family's story, and explaining the cultural forces that swirled around my mom as she decided to turn her institutionalized sister into a secret, clearly had resonated with Dan's listeners. It was quite an experience to sit in the studio, earphones on, and hear their stories.
It was also quite an experience to hear this review by Susan McCallum-Smith, which was broadcast Monday on WYPR.
No matter how other reviews turn out, I'll always have this one.
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Cheryl
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May 15, 2009 08:34AM
Thank you for posting the links to the interviews. I love that the internet makes it possible to have opportunities that I wouldn't have had any other way. BTW, I definitely agree with you, the review by Susan McCallum-Smith was pure pleasure to listen to! She nailed it so well.
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