What, How, Why: Rachael Hanel

Photo by Steven Pottenger

WHAT?

Writing nonfiction from the heartland. Unintentionally, my themes seem to center on early, tragic death. It’s not the easiest stuff to write; perhaps it’s time to back away from that? But I don’t envision myself as someone who’s going to write about rainbows and butterflies.

My first book, We’ll Be the Last Ones to Let You Down: Memoir of a Gravedigger’s Daughter, addresses my early years growing up in cemeteries and the fallout of my dad’s unexpected death w...