Holly LeCraw's guest appearances

Holly LeCraw

Book Talk

Better World Books » Podcast Feed

BZ Listening

Paul Williams

Jill Bolte Taylor

Lisa Unger

Laura Lippman

Helen Fisher

Daniel Pinchbeck

Molly Fletcher

Van Jones

Owen Egerton

Chloe Benjamin

John Perkins

Boris Fishman

Wendy Wax

Robin Sloan

David Gilbert

OwlTail

Today’s interview is with my first non-musical guest, Holly LeCraw. She’s a Boston-based author of two books, The Swimming Pool and The Half Brother, and is currently working on a third. I met Holly in the spring of 2016 during my brief stint as an amateur journalist, covering the debacle that was the New York Presidential Primary election. You can review some of the work we did together at nyelectionjustice.org, putting together a timeline of the failures of the NYC Board of Elections leading up to and following the primary. During our discussion, we reflect on the work we did with New York Election Justice, and how we’ve been staying active and maintaining our sanity since Trump’s election. I hope to have more members of the New York Election Justice team on the show in future episodes, but Holly and I became very close friends during our work together, so she was my first choice for diving back into this period of my life.

Today’s interview is with my first non-musical guest, Holly LeCraw. She’s a Boston-based author of two books, The Swimming Pool and The Half Brother, and is currently working on a third. I met Holly in the spring of 2016 during my brief stint as an amateur journalist, covering the debacle that was the New York Presidential Primary election. You can review some of the work we did together at <a href="http://nyelectionjustice.org" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">nyelectionjustice.org</a>, putting together a timeline of the failures of the NYC Board of Elections leading up to and following the primary. During our discussion, we reflect on the work we did with New York Election Justice, and how we’ve been staying active and maintaining our sanity since Trump’s election. I hope to have more members of the New York Election Justice team on the show in future episodes, but Holly and I became very close friends during our work together, so she was my first choice for diving back into this period of my life.

5. Holly LeCraw - Author/Activist

The Half Brother begins when Charlie Garrett, Atlanta native and recent Harvard grad, takes a job teaching English at the Abbott School, a boarding school in north-central Massachusetts. He embarks on a love affair with the chaplain's daughter, May, which he abruptly terminates when his mother reveals to him a secret from his past. A few years later, May returns to teach at Abbott, at the same time that Charlie's half-brother, Nick, takes a position there as well. Nick is seemingly perfect: handsome, brilliant, self-sacrificing, a warrior for social justice. But like everyone else in the novel, he has secrets of his own.Holly LeCraw tells us what secrets she knew at the start and what surprised her in the writing, why she initially resisted her ending, and why she fundamentally sees this as a book about identity.Host Cyd Oppenheimer and guest readers Jessica Sager and Annie Thoms talk about  halves, haves, and have-nots; heroes and outsiders; and custom, culture, and conscience.Available at:AmazonBarnes &amp; NobleIndieBound

The Half Brother begins when Charlie Garrett, Atlanta native and recent Harvard grad, takes a job teaching English at the Abbott School, a boarding school in north-central Massachusetts. He embarks on a love affair with the chaplain's daughter, May, which he abruptly terminates when his mother reveals to him a secret from his past. A few years later, May returns to teach at Abbott, at the same time that Charlie's half-brother, Nick, takes a position there as well. Nick is seemingly perfect: handsome, brilliant, self-sacrificing, a warrior for social justice. But like everyone else in the novel, he has secrets of his own.<a href="http://hollylecraw.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Holly LeCraw</a> tells us what secrets she knew at the start and what surprised her in the writing, why she initially resisted her ending, and why she fundamentally sees this as a book about identity.Host Cyd Oppenheimer and guest readers <a href="http://www.booktalkradio.net/about-our-readers/2016/7/8/jessica-sager" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Jessica Sager</a> and <a href="http://www.booktalkradio.net/about-our-readers/2016/7/9/annie-thoms" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Annie Thoms</a> talk about  halves, haves, and have-nots; heroes and outsiders; and custom, culture, and conscience.Available at:<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Half-Brother-Holly-LeCraw/dp/0307474453/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1463958192&amp;sr=1-1&amp;keywords=the+half+brother+holly+lecraw" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Amazon</a> <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-half-brother-holly-lecraw/1119739965?ean=9780307474452" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Barnes &amp; Noble</a> <a href="http://www.indiebound.org/book/9780307474452" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">IndieBound</a>

Episode 6: The Half Brother by Holly LeCraw

Holly LeCraw is the real life hero of book nerds everywhere.  Her dad founded Oxford Books in Atlanta and she grew up with her nose in a book.  Now she’s a writer herself and her brand new book THE SWIMMING POOL is really making waves (pun fully intended). Though it may look like a beach book, it’s really much more than that.  THE SWIMMING POOL is at the surface (yup – I’m punning again) about a young man who falls in love with a woman who was once his late father’s mistress.  But the book also includes an unsolved murder, postpartum depression, and a pivotal cocktail party around (you guessed it) a swimming pool.  Alas, that still doesn’t cover it entirely.  After talking with Holly in depth (ha ha ha), I’d say the book is really about the choices we make either because of or in spite of the people we care deeply about. When Holly and I sat down to chat we hit it off right away.  It turns out we have a few things in common and got to laughing pretty easily.  You’ll appreciate Holly’s insight into her work and her totally cringe-worthy pun towards the end!  Like this interview?  Subscribe today!   Want more of the Better World Books Podcast now?  Click       here to check out the rest of the great authors who stopped by or called in for a chat! Comments or questions about the podcast?  Feel free to comment here on the blog, or email me at podcast@betterworldbooks.com. — Dana Barrett, Podcast Host

<a href="http://www.betterworldbooks.com/The-Swimming-Pool-id-0385531931.aspx?utm_source=blog&amp;utm_campaign=Podcast&amp;utm_medium=HollyLeCraw&amp;utm_term=image&amp;utm_content=product" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"></a>Holly LeCraw is the real life hero of book nerds everywhere.  Her dad founded Oxford Books in Atlanta and she grew up with her nose in a book.  Now she’s a writer herself and her brand new book <a href="http://www.betterworldbooks.com/The-Swimming-Pool-id-0385531931.aspx?utm_source=blog&amp;utm_campaign=Podcast&amp;utm_medium=HollyLeCraw&amp;utm_term=text&amp;utm_content=product" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">THE SWIMMING POOL</a> is really making waves (pun fully intended). Though it may look like a beach book, it’s really much more than that.  THE SWIMMING POOL is at the surface (yup – I’m punning again) about a young man who falls in love with a woman who was once his late father’s mistress.  But the book also includes an unsolved murder, postpartum depression, and a pivotal cocktail party around (you guessed it) a swimming pool.  Alas, that still doesn’t cover it entirely.  After talking with Holly in depth (ha ha ha), I’d say the book is really about the choices we make either because of or in spite of the people we care deeply about. When Holly and I sat down to chat we hit it off right away.  It turns out we have a few things in common and got to laughing pretty easily.  You’ll appreciate Holly’s insight into her work and her totally cringe-worthy pun towards the end! <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/betterworld/pagingauthors" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"></a> Like this interview?  <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/betterworld/pagingauthors" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Subscribe today!</a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/betterworld/pagingauthors" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> </a>Want more of the Better World Books Podcast now?  <a href="http://www.betterworld.com/custom.aspx?f=authorpodcasts" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Click here</a> to check out the rest of the great authors who stopped by or called in for a chat! Comments or questions about the podcast?  Feel free to comment here on the blog, or email me at <a href="mailto: podcast@betterworldbooks.com">podcast@betterworldbooks.com</a>. — Dana Barrett, Podcast Host

Better World Books Podcast: Holly LeCraw